Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country with Oli & Marguerite

 Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country 

Our group of soap fans were so excited when we visited the real Woolpack Pub. The landlady made us feel so welcome and let us pretend to pull a pint! 

We visited the set locations of Emmerdale, seeing all the iconic filming locations. 

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.

We then climbed aboard the tour bus and were taken on a fabulous ride through some stunning countryside. Our guide was full of knowledge and pointed out many a famous sight that we recognised from the shows.

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. 

We met our favourite cheese loving characters at The Wensleydale Creamery. There was a demonstration as we learnt the process of how cheese is made. Luckily for us we got to sample some of the tasty delights!