Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country with Colin & Wendy

We all met up en-route to Yorkshire and set off to our holiday home. After stopping off for lunch at an old country pub we arrived at our large cottage set in a very pretty village in the Yorkshire National Park. We quickly settled in and made ourselves at home for the week ahead.

We were keen to see many of the sights made famous in TV shows through the years. We first headed to Esholt, where the ‘Woolpack Inn’ is located, used in Emmerdale for 22 years. After a look around the main street we stopped in the Woolpack for a drink. On another day we drove through the countryside to the village of Holmfirth. Here we visited Sid’s Cafe, where we popped in for lunch and walked through the village stopping to see the house where Norma Batty lived.

One day we visited Harewood House, the setting of which has been used in Emmerdale. We walked the grounds of the magnificent residence and visited the Bird Garden, home to over 90 species of birds, many of them endangered. We visited Bolton Castle, where we saw the 14th Century structure as well as various animals, including baby hogs and a falcon. We also went to the Wensleydale Creamery, where we saw cheese being made, and got to taste many of the varieties on offer.

At Oakworth we visited the Edwardian railway station that played the setting for The Railway Children film. We even found time to play 10-pin bowling. Though the weather hadn’t always been kind to us, we enjoyed marvellous views of the countryside all week, and visited many interesting places.