Inspiration & ideas

You may recognise this place? It's a tiny hamlet packed with interest, right in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. Perhaps you've seen it on TV, or walked through it?

It's Yockenthwaite, which features as Helen Alderson's family home in the TV series of James Herriot's All Creatures Great & Small. It's by the river Wharfe in lovely Langstrothdale.

There are some beautiful walks through Yockenthwaite, including the Dales Way, and other shorter routes towards Cray or onwards to the historic and very…

Ever wondered about the original of pub names? Go to a pub and you're continuing a tradition that probably started in Roman times, when they developed a network of sort-of-inns to offer refreshment for workers and travellers. The King of Wessex apparently established legal ale houses in the 7th century but the main contributors to the English pub were monks.

The Romans were the first to paint signs outside buildings to indicate the profession of the inhabitants. The large illiterate population de…

I quite often tell visitors this fact and they don't believe me, until they start to look closer... we have some of the greenest grass here in the Yorkshire Dales... ​It's thanks to a unique combination of soil, limestone, the light, wind, rain, sheep droppings and other Yorkshire Dales magic.

Large swathes of land remain relatively undisturbed so they're rarely crushed and trampled underfoot. None of the grass is mown too low - usually, it's the sheep doing the mowing.

Dales grass stays green alm…

There are some places that are so special, I'm in two minds about sharing them. Betty's Vintage hut is one of these. Over the years I’ve carried out a lot of ‘research’ into special places for afternoon teas. The Waldorf, Langham, Café Royal in London, grand country house hotels, beautiful gardens, stately homes – you name it, whether it was for work (I’ve been paid for writing about cake – it’s an actual job…!) or pleasure, I’ve tried quite a few places.

Some have beautiful settings but disappoi…

What links wet feet, The Cure, Wordsworth, Scottish Raiders and the Yorkshire Dales? Have you been to this place and stayed dry?

Is it possible to cross the 60 stepping stones across the River Wharfe without smiling and then cheering as you arrive (possibly) dry-footed at the other side?

Those who choose the less risky route on the nearby foot bridge can't help but look down and smile at the stepping stone crossers, usually with a wry 'they're mad' shake of the head.

It's incredible to realise the …

Mooker, Muck-er, mew-ker... However you say it, Muker* in Swaledale is a tiny place, much-loved and especially popular with walkers and photographers. Muker is beautiful all year round but it's particularly wonderful in June when the wildflower meadows are in full flower. Make sure you stick to the paths - there are flagstoned paths in some of the fields so you can get closer to admire the myriad varieties of wildflowers.

Over recent years the hay meadows have become even more precious. Farmers a…

Bones in the market place, an odd name, plenty of beer, sheep and creative people - where? Masham - it’s ‘peculier’…

The ‘peculier’ bit doesn’t relate to its folk (although…) but to medieval times when the Archbishop of York couldn’t be bothered to travel to Masham to oversee its affairs. So Masham was designated a ‘peculier’ with its own court and government. It’s now better known as the home of Black Sheep Brewery and Theakston Brewery, which created Old Peculier beer.

Masham’s other claim to fa…

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 throug…

There was a time when you might have been very relieved to come across the distinctive AA telephone box that stands sentry on the A684 between Leyburn and Hawes near the West Burton turn-off. Such boxes were built in the 1950s and phased out in 2002. 

The Automobile Association started to install their network of sentry boxes across the UK in 1912. This was when driving was in its infancy and the newly invented motor car broke down quite frequently. The first AA boxes did not include telephones b…

Imagine digging Britain’s longest canal by hand. At 127.25 miles long, the Leeds Liverpool Canal took thousands of navvies 46 years to build, starting in 1770, using just picks and shovels.

It became an important trading route connecting the industrial towns to the port of Liverpool and the through-route for goods from America. So while it was primarily used to transport coal and limestone, the barges also carried everything from beans and brandy through to calico, clog soles and gunpowder.

No won…