All Creatures Great and Small Preview

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York is one of England’s most fascinating historic cities, originally founded by the Romans as Eboracum in AD 71, it began as a military fortress at the meeting of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. The city quickly grew into one of the most important settlements in Roman Britain. A church was established on the site now occupied by the magnificent York Minster, linking York to the origins of Christianity in Britain.

Following the Roman era, York remained a centre of power and later became the Viking capital of Jorvik after being captured by Scandinavian settlers in the 9th century. Their influence helped shape the landscape and economy of the region, much of which can still be seen today. King George VI once remarked that “the history of York is the history of England,” a reflection of the city’s remarkable role in the nation’s story.

York Minster remains one of the city’s greatest treasures. As the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, it contains the Great East Window, the world’s largest expanse of medieval stained glass. Encircling the historic centre are York’s medieval walls, the longest and most complete city walls in England, stretching over two miles.

Within these walls lies The Shambles, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval streets. Its overhanging timber-framed buildings inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films. York is also known as Europe’s most haunted city and, more sweetly, as the UK’s City of Chocolate, the birthplace of the KitKat, Yorkie and Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

It may not feel like it, but we are already in a valley. This is the Vale of York, a broad flat low lying plain in North Yorkshire. It surrounds the city of York which sits roughly at its centre. To the North we have the North York Moors and Howardian Hills, The Yorkshire Wolds to the east and to the west the magnificent Yorkshire Dales. The vale is fed by a number of rivers - the Ure, Foss and Nidd and drained by the Ouse.

The limestone rock beneath us has made a fantastic fertile, well drained soil and makes this area one of England's major agricultural regions. The main crops include wheat, barley, oilseed rape or canola and vegetables. Around 73% of the land in the Vale of York is cultivated with over 1,000 farms. Historically, this intensive agriculture developed over centuries of drainage, enclosure, and land improvement, with origins stretching back to medieval and even prehistoric periods.

James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, one of Britain’s most beloved veterinary surgeons and authors. Although closely associated with the Yorkshire Dales, he was actually born in Sunderland in 1916 and moved to Glasgow as a child. He graduated from the Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939 before beginning work as a vet in rural Yorkshire.

Herriot’s experiences treating farm animals and pets across the Dales inspired his famous series of books, beginning with If Only They Could Talk. These stories were later adapted into the hugely successful television series All Creatures Great and Small, introducing millions of viewers to the charm, humour and challenges of veterinary life in the Yorkshire countryside. The fictional village of Darrowby was based on the market town of Thirsk, where Herriot lived and worked for most of his career.

Despite becoming a bestselling author whose books sold millions of copies worldwide, Herriot continued practising as a veterinary surgeon for many years. He was awarded the OBE in 1979 for services to literature and veterinary science. Today, his former home and surgery in Thirsk has been transformed into the World of James Herriot museum, celebrating the life and legacy of the man who brought the Yorkshire Dales to readers around the world.

We will soon be arriving at Boroughbridge, the exact half way point between Edinburgh and London. This town grew in significance as a rest point on the 400 mile journey. Nowadays the journey in a car would take around eight hours, a long, tiring day - But on a horse it would take a couple of weeks.

The town had a cobbled square, where horses would be tied up, and farriers would be fitting new shoes to their hooves. Traders would sell wares from England and Scotland; it would have been a real melting pot of cultures and produce.

Now, there is a real mixture of architecture dating all they way from six hundred years to ago to the modern age. You can usually date a building by it's height. People were shorter and didn't need such high ceilings, so typically the shorter it is, the older it is.

We are currently driving alongside the A1, also known as the Great North road, and the first paved road designed for cars in the UK.

Connecting the capital cities of England and Scotland, London and Edinburgh, it has been an important thoroughfare for centuries. It stretches 410 miles and key cities along the route include Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Peterborough, Durham and Doncaster. Much of the road was established and mapped by the Romans as a way for them to navigate the country easily, particularly the sections from London to York and subsequently York to Hadrian's Wall. The half way point sit in Wetherby.

In the 1700s, the road gained a grizzly reputation thanks to an infamous highwayman known as Dick Turpin. Born in Essex, Dick led a gang of thieves who would rob travellers and stagecoaches travelling along this stretch of road and surrounding areas. Known for violence, Turpin accidently shot and killed his accomplice Tom King in 1735 and remained on the run avoiding the law for several years living under an alias. Eventually, the truth caught up with him and on the 7th April 1939, Turpin was hanged in York for this crimes.

Looking ahead you may be able to spot the Ripon Cathedral rising in the distance, and we'll shortly be driving through Ripon, England's third smallest and the oldest city in England.

Whilst it is technically a city as it has a cathedral, Ripon feels much more like a small town. Known for it's dominant cathedral, atmospheric market square and local traditions, Ripon is famous for the Wakeman ceremony. Performed at 9pm every night, a horn is blown in the market square, a ritual that has reported been unbroken for nearly 1000 years and originally servicing as a watch setting practice for the city's protection.

Over time, Ripon transformed from a monastic centre into a thriving market and wool town. Although not heavily involved in the industrial revolution, the economy adapted through trade and eventually tourism. Neighbouring Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal provided interest for people staying in the town.

Horse racing has been a huge part of Yorkshire culture for centuries, and North Yorkshire became one of the most well-known places for this.
Racing at Ripon dates back to 1664, but Ripon really hit the history books in 1723 when the first race was organised exclusively for female riders, a landmark moment in racing history.

Keep an eye out for the current racecourse which has been open since 1900 establishing Ripon as a key horse racing destination. During World War I, a part of the racecourse was used as an airfield for the No. 76 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, later the RAF. Today, the racecourse is known as "Yorkshire's Garden Racecourse" for it's attractive landscaped surroundings.

Ripon Cathedral (officially the Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid) stands as one of Northern England’s most architecturally diverse and historically significant sites. While the present structure was built largely between the 13th and 16th centuries, it sits atop a much deeper history. Visitors can descend a narrow stone staircase into the Anglo-Saxon Crypt, founded by St Wilfrid in 672. This tiny, barrel-vaulted chamber is the oldest built structure in any English cathedral still in use today that has served as a site of pilgrimage for over 1,350 years.

The Exterior West Front is a masterpiece of the Early English Gothic style, featuring three tiers of tall, slender lancet windows. In the nave, you can see a rare sight where a rounded Norman arch and a pointed Gothic arch sit side-by-side as a result of a 15th-century tower collapse and subsequent partial rebuild.

In the mid-19th century, Lewis Carroll spent significant time here while his father served as a residentiary canon. Many believe the cathedral’s whimsical medieval woodcarvings inspired Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Coming up on the right is the entrance one of the most stately and luxurious hotels in Yorkshire, Grantley Hall. Originally built as a stately home in the 17th century, the site was reopened as a luxury hotel and wellness retreat in 2019. In 2023, the hotel won the award for "Best Countryside Hotel in the UK", and in 2026 was featured in the Channel 5 Television series "Yorkshire's Poshest Hotel".

Other five star hotels in Yorkshire include the Grand in York, only a hundred metres from where we met this morning, and Swinton Park Hotel in Masham. Visitors have been coming to Yorkshire for over two hundred years - starting inthe Victorian times, the upper classes were able to travel thanks to the invention of the railway, and the middle-classes could join them in this new hobby. Destinations like Whitby, Scarbrough and of course York became popular places to visit, and tourism as an industry was born.

Upon the hills over to the left, you maybe able to see the giant golf-ball shaped buildings. This is the location of the highly secure RAF communications and intelligence gathering station.

A Joint effort between the UK and US governments, it has been described as the largest electronic monitoring station in the world and is critical in the global Five Eyes intelligence network.

Covering 605 acres, the site was built int he 1950s by the American military and transferred to the National Security Agency in 1966 with the purpose of monitoring shortwave communications from Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Over the decades, it's mission has expanded enormously with upgraded technology and satellite interception capabilities. The site is able to communicate with satellites and can provide early warning missile threats both to the UK and US.

Pateley Bridge is a market town in Nidderdale. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd, siting just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The town has the oldest sweet shop in the world. Established in 1827, it is housed in one of the earliest buildings in Pateley Bridge, dating from 1661. For those with an appetite for history, the Nidderdale Museum, housed in a former Victorian workhouse, offers a fascinating glimpse into local lead mining, agricultural life, and folk traditions. Outdoor enthusiasts will find Pateley Bridge an unbeatable base camp; it marks the start and finish of the Nidderdale Way, a 53-mile circular walk that showcases the valley's dramatic landscapes.

Stump Cross Caverns is a show cave which lies alongside the road between Grassington and Pateley Bridge. The caves at Stumps Cross were discovered in 1860 by miners looking for lead seams in the Yorkshire Dales. Although they didn’t find any lead, they did find the natural caverns which you can see today. The formation of Stump Cross Caverns began millions of years ago, when the area which is now the Yorkshire Dales was covered by oceans. Sediment from the ocean floor would eventually form limestone, the caves themselves began to form as the limestone was eroded by weak acid rain. Underground streams then found their way into the cracks and began to expand the cave system as more rock was worn away.

The Yorkshire Dales has a long history of Lead mining. Dating back to at least the Roman occupation nearly 2000 years ago. The Romans sent armies and built forts to protect the Lead industry and for nearly 300 years it was sent across the Roman empire, including to Rome itself where it was used in pipework and weatherproofing.

Lead continued to be mined in the medieval period and was largely controlled by the great dynastic orders such as Fountains and Jervaulx Abbey. With strong catholic connections across Europe lead was sold via the trade routes through York, across the North Sea and often ended up covering the roofs of great churches, abbey’s and cathedrals throughout Europe.

Lead Mining slowly started to decline but continued until just before the start of the first world war in 1914. Shrinking veins of lead and competition for other sites made it unprofitable to continue. However the evidence of the lead industry can still be seen around the Dales, Just look out for the tell tale scars on the hill side as well as many of the old ruins such as smelting Mills, chimneys and spoil heaps.

Grassington is a charming market town in the Yorkshire Dales, known for its cobbled square, traditional stone buildings, independent shops, and vibrant community, serving as a hub for exploring the stunning Wharfedale valley. It's famous as the filming location for fictional "Darrowby" in All Creatures Great and Small, with many of the Grassington businesses having their shopfronts transformed into the late 1930s style during filming. The town hosts annual events including a 1940’s weekend and a popular Dickensian Festival.

Grassington lies in the valley of Wharfedale taking its name from the River Wharfe which we are following. The river is 65 miles long, it becomes the River Wharfe at the confluence of Greenfield Beck and Oughtershaw Beck, it is one of the most scenic and longest rivers in Yorkshire. It passes through the villages of Hubberholme, Buckden, Starbotton and Kettlewell before travelling past Bolton Abbey and eventually joining the River Ouse just outside of York.

The Wharfe provides a fertile breeding grounds for Trout, Grayling, Pike and many other fish species. You can often spot a Grey Heron, White Egrits and Kingfishers hunting these fish along the banks of the Wharfe. Although you need to be eagle eyed to spot the blue flash of a Kingfisher. The river Wharfe has powered farming and industry for thousands of year with Romans, Vikings and Saxons all establishing settlements along it banks taking advantage of natural resources.

Directly ahead of us is Kilnsey Crag, a huge overhanging limestone crag rising dramatically above Wharfedale. Made of carboniferous limestone, it was formed around 320 million years ago under warm tropical seas. Over millions of years, marine organisms compressed to form the rock. Then during the ice age, the rock was cut to reveal the cliff edge that we see today, and as its highest point sits 52 metres above the valley floor.

This cliff is very popular within the climbing community, being considered one of Yorkshire's "Big three" limestone climbing venues. The extreme overhang makes for an extreme challenge and certain routes are real hotspots for climbers seeking the hardest routes in Britain. The rock face features pre-set bolts that climbers can clip into as they climb, providing protection and allowing them to focus on the physical aspect of climbing.

Sheep roam the dales both in fields and often on the roads and streets of towns. While they are not wild animals, they are farm animals owned and managed by shepherd and farmers who pay a small amount each year to land owners for grazing rights. Sheep are one of the most important animals to humanity, used over centuries for their wool which allowed humans to survive in colder climates.

Nowadays, the labour intensive process of turning wool into clothing is expensive, certainty in the UK, and most of the wool from the sheep is discarded; with most clothing now cotton or synthetic material as it is much cheaper and easier to produce. However, a few Yorkshire-based weavers are still going for example Moon on Stonegate in York.

The most common and iconic breed of sheep in the Yorkshire Dales is the Swaledale - so iconic that the head of a Swaledale is in fact the National Park logo. Instantly recognisable thanks to it's black face, while nose and curly horns, they are native to Swaledale valley to the north.These hardy sheep live out on the hills of Yorkshire all year round, only coming into the fields in the valley bottoms for breeding, shearing and ultimately taking to market for slaughter.

Coming up shortly is the famous little village of Kettlewell, with history dating back over a thousand years. Known for it's stone cottages, scenic bridges and winding beck, and surrounded by hills like Great Whernside and Buckden Pike, it is a favourite spot for walkers and visitors.

Kettlewell is known for it's Scarecrow Festival which began in 1994 and has become widely known. Each August, residents create imaginative scarecrows, often themed, humorous or referencing pop-culture and local stories. They're then displayed around the village. The festival attracts thousands annually and raises money for local causes.

The village made international fame in 2004 when the film Calendar Girls was filmed here. Starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, the film focussed on the true story of the Rylstone Women's Institute whose members created a nude charity calendar to raise money for leukaemia research. It also spawned a stage show and musical and helped raise millions of pounds for charity.

Famous locations include the Village Hall and bridge in the middle of town. The 1991 series Chimera filmed scenes here, as did the 2010 film The Trip starring Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan.

Throughout the day, we will see lots of small stone barns known as field barns or laithes. They are icons of the Dales and are featured prominently on postcards and merchandise of the area. These isolated structures sit scattered through hay meadows and pastures, often far from farmsteads, creating the patchwork landscape that the Dales are famous for.

Most of the stone barns that we will see today were built in the 18th century, a period of agricultural improvement when farmers increasingly enclosed fields and intensified haymaking, and they served two main purposes - to store cattle on the ground floor and hey in the loft. The design allowed farmers to keep cattle on the fields all winter. Towards the top of the barns, you will see small holes; these are for owls! Owls make their nests here in the hay lofts; this keeps mice populations low and protected the hay and grain from being eaten by the robbing rodents!

Historic surveys show that at it's peak, there were at least 6,000 field barns in the Yorkshire Dales. They were always made from the local stone that was available, and unlike the dry stone walls, the barns did utilise cement to keep them up.

Separating the fields, you will notice these stone walls. Sitting around one metre high and made from locally sourced stone, they are a surprising marvel of engineering. Look closer. There is no mortar or cement holding these walls together - they're simply rocks on top of rocks on top of rocks.

They started to be formed when the ancient people were clearing the land to make way for agriculture. Often, rocks would lie in the way and they would be moved to edge - in fact, the shape and size of the fields was often dictated by how far they wanted do carry the rocks. As the stones gathered, a wall began to form, and care was put into creating a formal field boundary, separating the land due to ownership and for field management - keeping the animals in place.

Today, it is rare that new dry stone walls are built. They are extremely time consuming to build, and therefore very expensive. A professional dry-stone waller can build around two meters of dry stone wall per day. It's estimated that there are around 5,000 miles of drystone wall in the Yorkshire Dales, enough to stretch from York to central India and would take one person 456 years non-stop to build!

We now drive through Buckden. The name comes from Buck - the name for an adult male deer which would roam the dales, while den comes from "denu" which means valley. The largest building in the village was built as a hunting lodge; with groups of wealthy men travelling here to stay for hunting trips. In the 17th century, the village transitioned to lead mining as its main economy with hunting taking a more informal role within society.

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 ".

Hubberholme is an old village in Upper Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales, at the point where Langstrothdale meets Wharfedale.

St. Michael and Angels Church is a notable stop where the ashes of the well-known writer J. B. Priestley are buried. St Michael and All Angels, Hubberholme, is one of the most historic and picturesque of all churches in Wharfedale. The farthest church up the dale, it was originally a Forest Chapel of the Norman hunting forest of Langstrothdale Chase, and dates from the 12th century, with its oak roof not been completed until 1558.

St Michael’s was originally dedicated to the Northumbrian St Oswald and was given to the monks of Coverham Abbey in 1241. It was the craftsman Robert Thompson, also known as “the Mouseman” of Kilburn”, who designed the oak church pews and left his trademark mouse in the woodwork.

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

As we venture deeper into the Yorkshire Dales, the landscape becomes more remote and rugged. Oughtershaw is less of a village in the traditional sense and more a scattering of farmsteads set within Langstrothdale, one of the most secluded and unspoilt parts of the Dales. This is where the River Wharfe begins its journey, starting as a small beck before growing into the river we see further downstream.

There are no pubs, no shops and no churches. Life here has always been shaped by the environment. The terrain is challenging, the weather can change quickly, and communities have historically been small and spread out. Farming remains the main activity, particularly sheep farming, and the rhythm of life is still closely tied to the seasons. Climbing up from Oughtershaw, the road takes you over Beggarman’s Pass, the highest and most atmospheric routes in the Dales.

Like many of these routes the names come from folk law and stories.One suggestion is that travellers crossing this high, exposed route might have found themselves in such difficult conditions that they arrived at the other side in a rather desperate state, like beggars. At the top, the views are expansive and dramatic. You’re surrounded by open moorland, with very little to interrupt the horizon. It’s a place where you become more aware of the elements, the wind, the changing light, and the sheer scale of the landscape.

Historically, routes like this were vital links between valleys, used by farmers, traders, and travellers long before modern roads made movement easier. Crossing them would have required effort and resilience, especially in poor weather.

Towering above other hills in the Yorkshire Dales stand the iconic Yorkshire Three Peaks - Peny-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, all contained within the Ribble Valley to the west of Wensleydale. Well known to walkers, they attracted thousands of visitors each year who try to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge - a circular route including each hill within twelve hours. Pen-y-Ghent is the shorted of the three, standing at 694 metres, but the steep sides provide a challenge for hikers.

Whernside is the tallest and is actually the highest point in all of Yorkshire. A gradual ascent and decent, this hill offered amazing views for miles and miles. Ingleborough is many people's favourite, however, with a stepped, table-top summit created by alternating layers of limestone, mudstone and gritstone. The 24 mile hike is a challenge for even seasoned hikers and typically goes anti-clockwise.

As we move out of Wharfedale and into Wensleydale, we can see to the right that the landscape opens into the peaceful valley of Raydale, home to one of Yorkshire’s most tranquil and slightly mysterious natural features, Semerwater.

Semerwater, is the second-largest natural lake in North Yorkshire, and it has a very different feel to the rivers and reservoirs you might have seen elsewhere. The water here is still and reflective, often mirroring the surrounding hills and sky, giving the whole area a calm, almost timeless atmosphere. Unlike many bodies of water in Yorkshire, which were shaped or expanded for industry, Semerwater is entirely natural.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

Welcome to Wensleydale. Most valleys in Yorkshire take their name from the river that flows through them; Swaledale or Ryedale, for example. Wensleydale is a little different taking it's name from the ancient main settlement of Wensley. Today, Wensley is a much smaller village that others in the valley, largely due to something that happened in the 1600s.

The black death ripped it's way through London where it was mostly confined to. However, it did find it's way to Wensley, this tiny town in Yorkshire. The diseased devasted the population, forcing people to flee or sadly taking their lives. Leyburn became the new administrative capital, but to show honour to the people of Wensley who sacrificed themselves to avoid spreading the disease, the name Wensleydale remained.

It is one of the most well-known valleys thanks to it's most popular export, Wensleydale cheese. It is also one of the widest valleys in the Yorkshire Dales - the wide U-shaped valley quite clear to see. Enjoy the patchwork pattern of the dry-stone walls cross-crossing, and the gentle undulations of the rolling hills.

The river Yore flows through the valley and is one of the main tributaries of the River Ouse that flows through York. Perhaps you can count how many times we cross the River Yore whilst driving through Wensleydale.

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.

We will soon be passing through Carperby, a pretty, linear village stretching for over half a mile. The village sits beneath the scars of Great Wegber and Weyber and enjoys south facing views across Wensleydale to Penhill and the branching valleys of Walden and Bishopdale.

In the 17th century, Carperby became the centre of Quakerism in Wensleydale. Built in 1864, the Carperby Quaker Meeting House is the largest building in the village and the striking classic structure reflects the movement's importance here.

The local pub in the centre of the village is called The Wheatsheaf and hints at the history of the industry in the village. This is where the real-life James Herriot, Alf Wright, and his wife spent their honeymoon in 1941. Actor Greta Garbo also once stayed here during a retreat to the Yorkshire Dales.

Ahead and to your left is Bolton Castle this is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the country, dominating Wensleydale with its 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. 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.

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.

Settlement in Redmire goes way back to the iron age, but it was the building of Bolton Castle that secured the future of the village.

Featuring in filming for All Creatures Great and Small; the bus stop has stood in for Darrowby and the local pub the Bolton Arms has appeared in several episodes.

Redmire was used as the main set for the films 28 Years Later and its sequel Bone Temple. The eponymous Bone Temple was actually constructed here in Redmire, down close to the river, and filming took place over several months. Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Abbey railway were also used in the films.

Redmire sits at the Western end of the Wensleydale Heritage Railway. Today it is a tourist attraction and conservation line, but historically the railway was a part of the main railway network that was developed in the 1800s. Sadly for the people of Wensleydale, the line was closed in the 1960s during something known as the Beeching cuts.

We'll soon be arriving into Middleham. This small market town is known for is horse racing heritage and it's castle. Middleham Castle dates back to the 12th century when it was built to enforce Normal rule here in the north of England. One of England's most famous kings Richard III was raised here after his father's death, and would always consider it home, giving it the nickname Windsor in the North.

Middleham is also widely known for its horse racing heritage with a history stretching back 300 years . Today, the town is home to around 13 trainers, 16 yards and more than 1,000 racehorses. Middleham's stables have gone on to produce winners of major British races including The Derby, The Yorkshire Cup and the legendary Grand National.

The town has also featured regularly in both the classic and current versions of All Creatures Great and Small.

Just outside of Middleham, a metal detectorist in 1985 discovered one of the finest examples of English Gothic jewellery. Known as the Middleham Jewel, it featured a gold pendant with a 10-carat sapphire engraved with a depiction of the trinity. It weighs 68 grams and sold for £2.5million. It is now on display at the Yorkshire Museum in York.

Coming up shortly on the left will be Jervaulx Abbey, one of the Abbeys built after the Battle of Hastings in order to restore rule and manage the large areas of empty land following the Harrying of the North. The name Jervaulx comes from a French stylisation of the word Yoredale, the valley in which the abbey is located.

Jervaulx Abbey is actually responsible for one of the most important exports from the area, Wensleydale Cheese as it was the French Monks living here that started the cheese making, initially using sheep milk and eventually cows milk.

Jervaulx would have been the centre of the community in this area, owning much of the surrounding land and making it's money from wool, cheese, honey and of course typical church practices. There was an infirmary, a school and of course a church for services, though the monks and the common folk would rarely interact, instead communicating through a friar.

Jervaulx is fairly unique as it is actually now privately owned. In fact, it is the largest privately owned abbey in England - most others are owned by conservation charities such as English Heritage or the National Trust, but this one is owned by a local family who preserve the abbey.

Shortly we will be passing through Masham known as the home to two large breweries. The original brewery is called Theakston's which is still run by the Theakston's family who started it in 1827 making it one of Yorkshire's oldest breweries. One day in 1992, one of the brothers named Paul Theakston wanted to go his own way with brewing; an argument broke out, he went and set up his own brewery.

As he went against his family, he was called a Black Sheep - so that's what he named his brewery! Now with 2 breweries in the area you can often smell hops in the air.

Evidence of settlement here goes back to Anglo-Saxon times, though may go back further. In around 900AD, the Vikings raided the village, burning the church and taking this land as their own. They introduced sheep farming to the area, which became the main industry here for centuries. The large market square was important for this industry, and still hosts a market today.

The White Horse of Kilburn is one of Yorkshire’s most distinctive landmarks, carved into the hillside of Sutton Bank on the edge of the North York Moors. Measuring around 96 metres long and 69 metres high, it is the largest and most northerly white horse hill figure in England. The horse was created in 1857 by local schoolmaster John Hodgson and his pupils, inspired by the famous white horse at Uffington in Oxfordshire.

Constructed from limestone chippings laid over the hillside, the figure requires regular maintenance to keep its bright appearance visible from miles around. Perched high above the Vale of York, it offers spectacular views across the surrounding countryside and has become an iconic symbol of the region.

The National Railway Museum in York is one of the world’s finest railway museums, celebrating over 300 years of railway history. Located beside York station, it houses an impressive collection of locomotives, royal carriages and historic trains. Its most famous exhibit is Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive, which set a speed record of 126 mph in 1938. The museum also features a Japanese Shinkansen bullet train and royal coaches used by British monarchs. Reflecting York’s importance as a major Victorian railway hub, the museum offers a fascinating insight into how railways transformed Britain and the wider world.