Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country
The soap fanatics couldn't wait for a tour of some of our most loved TV shows. We started with a firm favourite, Emmerdale. The group were so excited and chatted about their favourite soap stars and favourite scenes from the past and to the present day.
We were greeted by our informative tour guide and we began our walking tour experience, exploring the village and admiring the exterior sets of all the iconic scenes such as The Woolpack, Cafe Mainstreet and David's shop. We were also able to visit the vet surgery where Paddy works. Luckily for us we were also able to get a glimpse of the garage which bad boy Cain Dingle owns. It was such a fabulous experience to see exactly what we watch on our tv screens. 
One of our favourite places to visit is the real-life Woolpack pub, which is full to the brim with photos of all the soap stars over the years which decorated the walls. The landlady always makes us feel so welcome invited us to experience what it would be like to pull a pint behind the bar. Everyone thought they made a great landlord/landlady.
Our 2nd soap tour of the holiday was in Holmfirth, the picture-postcard town that is the renowned location of the TV classic Last of the Summer Wine. We made our way straight to the Summer Wine Exhibition which is directly under Nora Batty's infamous blue door. Here we looked at an incredible range of photographs and displays with information capturing the many characters and situations from the show with a whopping 295 episodes broadcast over 37 years. We were able to watch some famous clips from the series and even dress up in some costumes making our visit to the exhibition great fun. Then, it was off to the gift shop to purchase a few more souvenirs to take home. We took a short stroll to Sid's Cafe and enjoyed a hot drink and a photo opportunity with a life sized Nora Batty.
Our final tour was in Goathland, home of the popular to series Heartbeat. After some tea and cake in the village tearooms, we took a stroll down to Bernie Scripps garage where we browsed the many unusual gifts and souvenirs. Our avid soap fans spotted the Aidensfield Arms which is the iconic pub used in the show.
A lovely day was had in Wensleydale, a beautiful village set in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and is home to the famous Wensleydale Creamery. We made our way into the visitor’s centre to watch a demonstration on the process of making cheese. It was so fascinating and Helen was invited to put the final touch to the cheese by wrapping it in cheesecloth and placing the Wensleydale sticker on- she was so delighted. Then we watched a short video on the history of Wensleydale and how the process has developed throughout the years. We couldn't leave without a photo opportunity with the cheese loving characters, Wallace & Gromit and of course a visit to the gift shop where we could buy a huge variety of the delicious cheese.
We were in chocolate heaven at the Inspired Chocolate Factory where we were greeted with some delicious hot chocolate. Start as we mean to go on! It was then our chance to get hands on and make our own chocolate pizzas which we decorated beautifully with marshmallows, smarties and then finished off our masterpieces with a sprinkling of hundreds and thousands. Wow! We were delighted with our marvellous creations.
We headed to Skipton, a charming market town with its historic cobbled streets. We walked down to the canal and decided to have a cruise along the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Once we boarded, we slowly made our way along the water, waving to passers-by and were delighted to receive a friendly hello and wave in return. There were lots of swans and ducks who swam close to the boat as we gently passed.
We visited the old church which stands proudly in its beautiful surroundings, with the very impressive stained-glass windows taking our breath away. All of us enjoyed the spring flowers in full bloom throughout the impressive grounds.
One of our favourite place to stop at is Billy Bob's Ice Cream Parlour, a 50's style classic American Diner/Parlour serving ice cream with the widest variety of flavours. We really enjoyed listening to Rock & Roll music whilst we sat eating our delicious creations. Some of the group climbed aboard the American school bus which was a great photo opportunity.
Once we had chosen our flavour it was then topped and decorated with every colour of sprinkles imaginable. Delicious!
On our way home we stopped at Ripley for lunch and decided to take a stroll around this beautiful village, ending up being fascinated by the cascading waterfall with the old castle and a huge field of daffodils in as a backdrop. It was truly stunning.
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