| Great Escapes: North Yorks 3 |
| Secret hills and whodunnits |
For years, directors have flocked to Yorkshire in search of locations for their films. Its unspoilt charm has led film crews to set up their cameras throughout the area, in order to create some of our favourite television dramas and movies.
Visitors are welcome at many drama locations, including Emmerdale at Esholt, near Leeds, and Holmfirth where Last of the Summer Wine was shot. Castle Howard in North Yorkshire will not fail to thrill you with its echoes of Brideshead Revisited, while in Thirsk you can reminisce about long winter evenings watching All Creatures Great and Small.
1 CASTLE HOWARD
More than 20 years on and Castle Howard is still synonymous with the TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Perhaps one of the grandest country houses in Britain, it was the perfect film set for this 20th-century costume drama starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews.
Your first glimpse of the house is across a lake, as you drive along the three-mile avenue. Taking more than 100 years to build, the construction spanned the lives of three earls and numerous architects. Its cathedral-like dome was the first of its kind to be seen on a private residence in England.
The extensive gardens and parkland are famous for their 18th-century landscaping and Victorian fountains and waterways.
2 WORLD OF JAMES HERRIOT
When hard-working vet Alf Wight decided to note down some of his more amusing encounters on farms around the Dales he had little idea that within a few years he would be an internationally acclaimed author. From his books was born the series All Creatures Great and Small and a generation of viewers became hooked on his mucky veterinary escapades.
The World of James Herriot is in Alf Wight's
original surgery in Thirsk where his home and
veterinary rooms have been restored to their 1950s glory. At the back of the house you'll find a
recreation of a 'foldyard' or livestock shed, and you can watch a video introduced by actor Christopher Timothy, who played James Herriot. There are also the original sets and a veterinary museum.
3 BRIMHAM ROCKS
A dramatic location, used in the equally dramatic film adaptations of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, these rocks look out across Nidderdale. This is a National Trust Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where millstone grit has been eroded into unearthly shapes. Look out for the Sphinx, the Dancing Bear and the Druid's Writing Desk. You'll be transfixed by the winding paths, dark nooks and tempting ledges. Although exposed, the sun always seems to shine on Brimham Rocks, and the endless view across rolling Yorkshire hills makes it an ideal spot for a picnic.
No adventure playground could compete with the stacked boulders and easy scrambles you'll find among the birch trees, although it's worth
remembering that many climbs should only be attempted by experienced participants with ropes. Here you will also be able to see the experts showing how it should be done, clinging on to tiny holds and ascending the smoothest of rock faces.
4 RIPLEY
This impossibly pretty village surrounds Ripley Castle and has been used for a number of dramas. Perhaps most recently it was the setting for Micawber, the TV drama based on the Charles Dickens
character, Mr Micawber from David Copperfield. David Jason starred as Mr Micawber in this gentle comedy set in Victorian England.
Most of the action took place in the village, the
castle and the main square. Also filmed in Ripley was Ain't Misbehavin', a '90s BBC comedy starring Peter Davison and Nicola Pagett.
It is easy to see why the village is so popular with film-makers, with its rows of cottages, quaint village shops and central square. If you're going to spend a day there, pay a visit to specialist food shop Hopkins-Porter, opposite the castle, have dinner at the Boar's Head Hotel, or try an ice-cream from the little shop on the square.
5 ESHOLT
This is the original Emmerdale location before the
village was recreated near Leeds. Finding the village is a bit tricky, as it lies down a narrow lane just off the busy A6038, between Guiseley and Shipley, but once you're there you can congratulate yourself with a drink in the Woolpack Inn.
Unmistakeably the real thing, the pub dominates the village. It sits at the top of a tiny square and it's difficult to imagine how the film crews fitted in. Now that the TV companies have gone, it looks like the kind of place where people lead everyday lives. It feels almost cheeky to be ogling the locations, but seeing the memorabilia for sale makes you realise that visitors bring useful trade and that the pub must be more than appreciative of its loyal pilgrims.
Not far from Esholt, near the village of Leathley, you can drive past the original farmstead, or Emmerdale Farm as it was then known, by passing through the village, towards Harrogate on the B6161.
6 HOLMFIRTH
This Last of the Summer Wine Mecca is easily reached by those travelling north on the M1. On the surface it seems just like an ordinary Yorkshire town and it would be easy to wonder what brings visitors from all over the world to visit this place of grey stone walls and cold northern air. The answer lies in the numerous locations made famous by the BBC series which has been running for the past 30 years.
In the town centre, opposite the parish church, you'll find Sid's Café, where a life-size mannequin of Compo greets visitors, or there's the Wrinkled Stocking Tea Room, next to Nora Batty's home. In Compo's old house you can visit a permanent Last of the Summer Wine exhibition.
A whole industry has built up around the series, but the town still retains an unpretentious northern charm and will tickle the fancy of anyone who's enjoyed the series over the years. |
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Yorkshire Tourist Board
Tel 01904 707961
Refreshments
Ripley Ice Cream Shop
Tel 01423 771771
Attractions
Castle Howard, near Malton, North Yorkshire
Tel 01653 648333
Website Click here for website
World of James Herriot, Thirsk
Tel 01845 524234
Website Click here for website
Brimham Rocks, Summerbridge
Tel 01423 780688
Website Click here for website
Boar's Head Hotel, Ripley
Tel 01423 771888
The Woolpack, Esholt
Tel 01274 582425
Holmfirth Tourist Information Centre, near Leeds
Tel 01484 222444
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