Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country
Our first stop in the Yorkshire Dales was to Emmerdale, the original village of one of our favourite TV soaps where we had a drink at the Woolpack Pub. It was amazing to be sat in here, pretending to be some of our most loves soap characters. We visited the church, main cottages, village hall, vets and famous post office.
We then took a fabulous drive through some beautiful countryside to Holmfirth for our Last of the Summer Wine tour. Our first stop was at Sid’s café where we had a cup of tea with a life size cardboard cut-out of Nora Batty. Next, we were introduced to Colin, our tour guide and bus driver who took us in his old fashioned bus through the village, pointing out some of the characters homes. We then explored the museum which was full to burst with pictures, props and information all about the soap.
The sun was shinning for our adventure aboard the old steam train from the market town of Pickering to Goathland, where our old-time favourite soap Heartbeat was filmed. It is also the exact filming location where the Hogwarts Express arrives at Hogsmeade where the students made their way over to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the infamous Harry Potter films. As we travelled in the old fashioned carriages, we were amazed at the stark difference from rolling green dales to harsh barren heather and sheep filled moors.We then made our way to the explore the iconic buildings and scenes from Heartbeat. Scripp’s Garage and Funeral Parlour was exactly how it looked in the soap but is now filled with memorabilia and souvenirs. We spotted Aidensfield Arms, the telephone box on the green with sheep roaming freely.
It was onto Whitby Bay and we parked by the Whale Bone, which is exactly where they filmed The Royal; another iconic 60’s hospital drama series. After a stroll down the tight, winding pathways to Whitby harbour, we came across a fantastic ice cream shop, and we couldn’t resist! The afternoon was spent on the high seas on our very own pirate ship. As we sailed along the coastline, we had incredible views of the long stretch of sandy beaches as we rode the waves.
Back on dry land we made our way to Whitby Abbey in search of Dracula! The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among the most celebrated sights of North Yorkshire. The first monastery here, founded in about 657 became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo Saxon world. We walked up the 199 steps to the graveyard of St Mary’s Church which is featured in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Once again, the views from the top were spectacular….and no signs of any evil spirits.
A beautiful day was spent in the town of Ripon. The city is noted for its main feature, Ripon Cathedral, which is architecturally significant. We enjoyed walking around the city, popping our heads into local shops as we went along, in search for the odd souvenir to take back home with us. We continued browsing around the market square and enjoyed looking at all the little market stalls before stopping off for lunch. All energised and keen to continue our tour of this cute city, we made our way through the cobbled streets to the cathedral. The history of the cathedral can be traced back to 672, where a stone church stood. The cathedral is notable architecturally for its gothic west front, considered one of the best of its type, as well as the geometric east window. We loved looking around and speaking to the volunteers.
Ripon Scenic Cruises offered us a nice chance to sit back and enjoy the views. The narrowboat was spacious, and the driver was kind enough to let our group steer the boat. Lucky the canal was wide enough for us to drive. Everybody did a great job.
We headed into York for a competitive game of bowling. This was a lot of fun, with both teams showing off their bowling skills. There were strikes and spares galore, anyone would have thought we were pros.
A must visit was to one of the most beautiful villages, Burnsall which lies on a bend of the River Wharfe surrounded by a spectacular circle of fells. We thoroughly enjoyed tucking into our picnic whilst marvelling at the scenery.
A nice, cool ice-cream followed; we were on holiday after all!
No comments:
Post a Comment