Danes' Graves

A windswept field just outside Driffield holds something genuinely arresting - the burial mounds of Viking settlers who died over a thousand years ago. Danes' Graves is exactly what it sounds like: a cluster of ancient tumuli spread across open Yorkshire Wolds countryside, with nothing between you and the horizon except grass, sky, and the weight of history.

You're looking at Bronze Age and Iron Age burials here, along with those Viking graves that give the place its name. The mounds themselves are modest - nothing like Stonehenge or Hadrian's Wall - but that's partly what makes them compelling. There's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards, no crowds. Just you, the landscape, and the knowledge that people were laid to rest in this exact spot centuries before England was even a country.

This is walkers' territory. The site works brilliantly as part of a wider ramble across the Wolds rather than a destination in itself. Allow an hour if you're just visiting the graves, but the surrounding countryside invites proper exploration. It's free to visit - that's the Yorkshire way - and there's no specific opening times because it's essentially open land.

Stay at East End Farm Campsite just three miles away and you've got a solid base for exploring both the archaeological sites and the gentler valleys of the Wolds. History enthusiasts will appreciate the authenticity of an unvarnished site like this. Families with restless children might find it underwhelming unless they're genuinely into archaeology. But if you like your history raw and unpackaged, Danes' Graves rewards the detour.