SITUATED at the end of a no-through road and with a population of 62, the hamlet of Fryton has never been a tourist magnet.

For years it has survived as a farming community and has never been high on the list of destinations for North Yorkshire holidaymakers.

But that could be about to change - with the imminent launch of a mile-long heritage trail.

The village has created the trail, with three ornate mosaics along its route, depicting life in Fryton in the past and in the present.

Fryton - off the B1257 between Hovingham and Slingsby - beat much bigger places to become the first community project in Ryedale to win funding from the Countryside Agency's Local Heritage Initiative and Ryedale District Council.

It will be opened by Simon Howard, of Castle Howard, on Saturday, at 10.30am.

Thirsk-based Rural Arts advised on the design of the trail and Crayke craftsman Ian Warriner made sturdy benches from local oak for the mosaic sites along the route, which runs from a disused railway line to Fryton Wood.

Local heritage initiative advisor Jane Haigh said yesterday: "It is an exceptional project that owes its success to the hard work of the village's Millennium Group.

"Its members are drawn from a wide range of the community and we hope they will continue their work."