Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country
Our first stop of our tv soap holiday was at Esholt, where they film all the village scenes of ITV's popular soap Emmerdale. We started with a drink at the iconic Woolpack Pub and the lovely landlady invited us to have some photos taken, posing to pull a pint. It was a memorable experience pretending we were the owners of the pub! It was full to the brim of memorabilia relating to previous and current cast members of the show. The landlady also gave us a chocolate bar with different scenes on the wrapper from the soap as a souvenir.
We then walked around the picturesque village, naming all the houses that belonged to what character and saw the iconic church that hosted all the weddings and christenings scenes. We couldn’t leave without popping into The Old Post Office to buy a few souvenirs to remind us of our time here.
We spent a fun morning in Skipton, a charming market town with its historic cobbled street and quaint old buildings. We took a leisurely stroll down to the canal. We boarded our river boat cruise liner, taking us down the Leeds and Liverpool canal. As we meandered along the water, everyone happily waved to the passing boats, and we were delighted when passers by shouted and waved to us.
Our next adventure was at Skipton castle. The castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England and we all found the tour very interesting. There were a lot of stairs that we weaved and climbed our way up and around.
Another day, meant another soap set and this time we explored Holmfirth, a small town located in the beautiful Holme Valley and the location of the infamous British sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. Our first stop was at the Last of the Summer Wine Exhibition. There is an incredible range of photographs and display information capturing the many characters and situations from the show. We also watched a video featuring famous clips from the series plus some hilarious outtakes when things did not work out exactly as planned. Next door to the exhibition are the most famous steps in the country, those leading to the cottage of the fearsome Nora Batty and we all had a photo taken in front of her door.
We then met up with our tour guide Colin with his old fashioned style bus and climbed aboard. Colin shared his expert knowledge and pointed out various places of interest and areas which are the locations of some of the most well known scenes including the laundrette, garage and pub. Everyone loved spotting the homes of our favourite characters too. Our fabulous journey ended in front of Sid’s cafe.
It was a unanimous vote for ice cream, and we knew just the place! Billy Bob's Ice Cream parlour is a 1950s style classic American dinner/parlour lying in the middle of the beautiful countryside serving the best ice cream with the widest variety of flavours. There was a great atmosphere too as music was played out of on old jukebox.
All aboard! The views from the old stream train were beautiful as we passed trough the lush, green rolling hills. We were heading to Goathland station, the location where a scene from Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone was filmed. It was here that the Hogwarts Express dropped off the young Wizards and Witches for their first day at the Wizarding School.
We then made our way to the village of Goathland, in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors. This is also the location of the fictional village of Aidensfield from the popular TV series Heartbeat. It was amazing to see all the iconic buildings that we recognised from the show including The Aidensfield Arms and Scripps Garage. A traditional afternoon tea was enjoyed in a quaint old tea rooms before we walked around the village where the sheep roamed freely!
Another ice cream treat, we were on holiday after all! G&T's ice cream parlour, had so many different flavours to choose from and we all enjoyed our refreshing treats.
An afternoon was spent at Ripon Prison and Police Museum. It is housed in the former Ripon Liberty Prison which later became Ripon Police Station. We explored the history of Yorkshire policing and the harsh realities of the Victorian prison. Everyone loved the hands-on activities to help us imagine the horror of the prison regime.
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