You are starting the trail at the Lychgate of St Giles Church. The church is more than 900 years old and is named after St Giles. He lived in medieval times and came from a wealthy family. He gave up his wealth and chose to live as a hermit in the forest in France to pray and listen to God. He befriended a deer which he may have called Dapple. You might see a deer whilst you are on the trail as they regularly visit the churchyard.

As you are walking along the path look for the old brick curved tombs which are quite rare. How many can you see?

Can you see St Giles and Dapple in one of the windows on this side of the church? Look at the stone heads on either side of the window. Who do you think they might be?

Standing here with your back to the church can you see a wall which looks different from the other walls? It is an old wall and built using bits of even older bricks some are probably Roman. Whilst St Giles was living in the forest some of the king’s men came hunting and tried to shoot Dapple with their arrows. St Giles protected Dapple with his arm, but the arrow wounded him.

This is a Prayer labyrinth. Prayer is important for Christians because it is how they talk with God. You could walk slowly along the labyrinth path and thank God for your family and friends. You could also talk to God about anything that is worrying you.

You can see two diamond shaped stained glass windows on this side of the church. Can you see that one shows a church held in someone’s hands. Whose hands do you think they might be?

Stop at the entrance to church and look up at the tower. This tower has bells in it which are rung on Sundays and other special occasions. How many bells do you think are in the tower?

What do you think this piece of carved stone was used for?  If you need a clue…it used to be inside the church and was filled with water..

This is the grave of a man who got a special medal called the Victoria Cross because he was very brave during the war. St Giles was brave when he protected Dapple. The king offered to look after him so he could recover from his wounds. Whilst he was recovering the king was so impressed with St Giles and his love for God that he asked him to set up a monastery so he could help others.

We have lots of birds living in the bird boxes around the churchyard. Can you see or hear any birds today?

You are now walking along an ancient track which feels like a ditch. It could have been an old Roman track. Imagine Roman soldiers walking along here. What would you say if you had met them?

On your left is a huge cedar tree. What other types of tree can you see around you?

These stone steps lead to a gate. Can you see the initials of the soldier they were built to remember?

When you reach the sundial can you see the wooden cross on the other side of the Dell centre? There are lots of plants here that attract bees and butterflies can you spot any today?