Arncliffe: a tiny hamlet with a starring role

The lovely hamlet of Arncliffe feels like it's tucked away in its own special time zone, safely distanced from the troubles of the world. The houses around the green mainly date from the 17th and 18th century, some of them quite grand. There are over 20 listed buildings in the village, with some lovely details such as a 1677 date stone or tiny carved hearts on a n otherwise simple barn door.

The village pump still stands on the green. As you wander around, peek through into pretty gardens through ancient gateways. These were all once tiny farmsteads, with small pockets of land behind the house, with neighbouring fields full of sheep belonging to the Fountains Abbey estate. There's a medieval ridge and furrow field system nearby.

Charles Kingsley stayed at Bridge End in Arncliffe when he wrote 'The Water Babies'. More recently it was the setting for the popular TV programme, 'Emmerdale'. The old name for Littondale was Amerdale so perhaps that's how the programme got the name. In the early days of the TV series, Arncliffe was the setting for the fictional village of Beckindale, and the Falcon Inn was the original Woolpack. More recently you may have spotted Arncliffe as the setting for some of the scenes in Channel 5's remake of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small.