Appleton Wiske is a small village and civil parish that sits between Northallerton and Yarm in the Vale of York, a flat tract of land that runs between the North Yorkshire Moors to the east, the Yorkshire Dales to the west and the River Tees to the north. The village, which was known as Apletona in the Domesday Book, eventually took the name of the nearby River Wiske to distinguish itself from other Appletons in the area, such as Appleton-le-Moors.