All Creatures Great and Small Preview

Bolton Castle is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the country, dominating Wensleydale with its powerful and commanding presence. It was built in the late 14th century by Sir Richard le Scrope, Lord Chancellor of England under Richard II, and remarkably, it remains in the hands of his direct descendants today.

Construction is said to have taken 18 years and cost around 12,000 marks—an enormous sum at the time—reflecting both the wealth and influence of the Scrope family. Unlike many castles that have fallen into ruin, Bolton’s four great towers still stand at their original height, creating a striking silhouette that has remained largely unchanged for over 600 years.

The castle has witnessed dramatic moments in British history. Its most famous resident was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was held here for six months after her defeat at the Battle of Langside. Although she was a prisoner, she lived in relative comfort, accompanied by a household of 51 people, and it was during her stay that she is said to have learned to speak English.

During the English Civil War, the castle was besieged and partially slighted, leaving sections damaged. However, parts of the building were later restored, helping preserve its impressive structure. Today, the terraced gardens surrounding the castle add to its charm, offering beautiful views across the dale and a sense of how the estate once functioned.

Bolton Castle’s authenticity has made it a popular filming location, appearing in productions such as Elizabeth and All Creatures Great and Small. With its blend of history, architecture, and storytelling, it remains one of the most atmospheric castles in England.

Covering 2,178 square kilometres of northern England, the Yorkshire Dales National Park is a breathtaking tapestry of deep glacial valleys, rugged limestone crags, and iconic pastoral beauty. Established in 1954, the park is defined by its "Dales"- valleys largely named after the rivers that carved them, such as Swaledale and Wharfedale. This landscape is a living monument to centuries of hill farming, most visible in the staggering 5,000 miles of dry-stone walls that crisscross the hills. These hand-built structures, many dating back to the Enclosures of the 18th century, are crafted without a single drop of mortar; if laid end-to-end, they would stretch nearly halfway around the world. The Dales have served as the backdrop for everything from Harry Potter to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The name Askrigg is of Old Norse origin, consisting of the combination of askr (ash tree) and hryggr (ridge), meaning the ridge where ash trees grew, denoting the existence of Viking settlers and their farming. The oldest settlement probably dates back to the Iron Age. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Ascric. At the time of the Norman invasion the manor was held by Arnketil. One handsome house in Askrigg enjoyed television fame in the 1970s and 1980s as Skelldale House – home of the fictional Dales vet James Herriot, whilst the King's Arms became the setting for the Drover's Inn.

Stretching over a dramatic mile-long gorge on the River Ure, Aysgarth Falls is one of the most famous triple-flight waterfalls in England. Rather than a single vertical drop, the falls consist of three distinct stages—Upper, Middle, and Lower—where the river tumbles over broad, staircase-like layers of Carboniferous limestone. This "stepped" effect is a geological marvel known as the Yoredale Series, formed over 300 million years ago when the area lay beneath a shallow tropical sea. The current dramatic landscape was sculpted much more recently, during the last Ice Age, when surging glacial meltwater carved deep into the rock to create the valley we see today. While the falls have been a major tourist draw for over 200 years, they earned modern global fame as a filming location for the 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The Upper Falls provided the backdrop for the iconic river duel. Long before Hollywood arrived, the falls inspired the romantic sensibilities of William Wordsworth, who honeymooned nearby.

In the heart of Hawes, the Wensleydale Creamery stands as an icon of British culinary heritage, attracting over 300,000 visitors per year. The story of its world-famous cheese began nearly 1,000 years ago in the 12th century, when Cistercian monks from Normandy settled at Jervaulx Abbey. In 2013, this legacy was legally protected when Yorkshire Wensleydale was granted Protected Geographical Indication status, ensuring that only cheese handcrafted in Wensleydale itself can bear the name. The Creamery’s survival is a tale of northern grit. During the 1930s, local businessman Kit Calvert rescued the factory from closure, and decades later, the staff staged a daring management buyout in 1992 to prevent production from moving out of the Dale. However, its most famous "saviours" are undoubtedly the animated duo Wallace and Gromit. After the inventor declared it his favourite cheese in the 1995 film A Close Shave, sales skyrocketed, forging a permanent cultural bond. At the Visitor Centre, you can still pose for a photo with life-sized figures of the characters.

Sitting at an elevation of 850 feet, Hawes holds the distinction of being the highest market town in England. Its name, derived from the Old Norse word hals, meaning a “pass between mountains,” perfectly reflects its dramatic setting between the peaks of Fleet Moss and Buttertubs. This location also made Hawes a natural hub for transport and trade, with routes converging here from across the Dales. As a result, the town became known for its many inns and pubs—many originally coaching inns—serving stagecoaches, drovers, and travellers crossing the fells. These provided rest, food, and fresh horses, making Hawes a lively stopping point on long journeys.

Though small, Hawes has been a centre of commerce since it was first recorded as a marketplace in 1307. This tradition continues today, with a bustling Tuesday market granted a royal charter by King William III in 1699. Alongside trade, traditional industries flourished here, including rope making—an essential craft for farming and transport—once carried out in long ropewalk buildings.

Hawes sits in the heart of “Herriot Country,” the landscape that inspired Alf Wight, better known as James Herriot. The town reflects the close-knit, hardworking rural life captured in his stories and seen in All Creatures Great and Small, both the original series and its modern adaptation. Today, Hawes remains a vibrant and characterful town, where history, industry, and storytelling all meet.

Nestled in the tiny hamlet of Hubberholme, is St Michaels & All Angels Church, rich in history as the location where the ashes of the well-known writer J. B. Priestley are buried. This historic church has also been featured in the television series All Creatures Great and Small, it was used for filming the wedding of James and Helen Herriot and a baptism scene. This idyllically located 12th-century church sits peacefully beside the River Wharfe. The church is known for its medieval architecture and a rare monastic Rood Loft and pews carved by Robert Thompson, known as " the Mouseman” of Kilburn ".

Nestled in the remote and rugged beauty of Langstrothdale, Yockenthwaite Farm is a site where television fiction and authentic Dales heritage collide. For fans of the Channel 5 adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small, this picturesque working farm is instantly recognizable as Heston Grange, the home of Helen Alderson and her family. Its traditional stone architecture, Grade II-listed packhorse bridge, and the "drunken" red post box that sits outside the gates have become iconic symbols of the show’s 1930s-set charm. The farm’s connection to James Herriot extends beyond the screen. The real-life Hird family has farmed this land since 1842, embodying the same resilience and grit often depicted in the series. While the show uses the farm’s exterior to capture the timeless spirit of the Yorkshire Dales, the interior of the business has evolved into one of the region's most successful diversification stories. In the early 2000s, Elizabeth Hird began hand-baking granola for guests at their farmhouse Bed & Breakfast. The cereal was such a hit that it grew into the award-winning Yockenthwaite Farm Granola brand, now sold nationwide. Visitors walking the Dales Way, which passes directly through the farm, can experience the same "glittering sunshine and pale mist" that the real James Herriot (Alf Wight) once praised in his journals

Comprising a single drop of 100 feet (30 m) from a rocky overhang, Hardraw Force is claimed to be England's highest unbroken waterfall. The drop and surrounding, create a natural amphitheatre and in September each year it is the site of an annual brass-band contest, attracting bands from all over the North of England. Hardraw Force featured prominently in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, serving as the backdrop for the scene in which Maid Marian discovers Robin Hood bathing beneath a waterfall. The grounds are owned by the Green Dragon Inn whose owner has been restoring them to their former glory.

The stone-built market town of Sedbergh is famous for being one of Britain's leading 'Book Towns', positioned under the massive backdrop of the Howgill Fells, a magnificent area of rolling hills and open common land. Sedbergh owes much of its development to its location at the convergence of four valleys formed by the rivers Lune, Rawthey, Clough (Garsdale) and Dee (Dentdale) – each serving as access and trade routes. The Romans followed the north-south axis of the Lune Valley, establishing forts at Borrowbridge (near Tebay) and Over Burrow (south of Kirkby Lonsdale) linked by a Roman road that runs on the line of Fair Mile and Howgill Lane. Sedbergh is mentioned in the Doomsday book, and the name’s a derivative from the Norse ‘Set Berg’ meaning ‘flat-topped hill’. The town was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1251. In 1652, in the early days of the Quaker movement, George Fox, founder of the Quakers, preached to a congregation of a thousand from a large rock on the fellside just outside Sedbergh, which became known as Fox’s Pulpit.