“At times, it seemed unfair that I should be paid for my work; for driving out in the early morning with the fields glittering under the first pale sunshine and the wisps of mist still hanging on the high tops”
- James Harriott, Author of All Creatures Great and Small.
This quote was perfect for our English road trip. The drive through Yorkshire was so captivating that we needed another word for "Wow!" There seemed to be a breathtaking vista around every corner - and both of us would simply say…"Wow!" So we tried "Holy Cow!" OMG, "My Stars", "That's Amazing," and "Can you believe this?" But really, "WOW!" was the best word to describe the seemingly endless beauty. That and the fact we were on our way to explore James Herriott Territory.
Our budget rarely allows for rental cars. Besides, we are city mice and enjoy using public transport, UBER, and our feet to get around. But once or twice a year, we take a short road trip as a "vacation.” This one started after we visited our friends in Wrexham, Wales, which I shared in the previous blog. We enjoyed our stay with them, seeing the sites, and spotting the locals featured in the Disney+ HULU series Welcome to Wrexham, a streaming series about two Hollywood stars acquiring the local football that we found very engaging.
New Wrexham FC owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
From there, we took a train to Manchester and hopped into our shiny red Jeep Commander Hybrid. Not only did the car have bells and whistles we had to adjust to, it had also been a while since Michael had driven on the left side of the road. We were vigilant - chanting "Stay left, stay left!" when leaving a parking lot or exiting a roundabout. It was easier on freeways than on country lanes, but we lived in England for five years in the late 80s and Michael lived there before that, so it was a bit like riding a bike and muscle memory kicked in.
Another television series we love is the current PBS Masterpiece Theatre production of All Creatures Great and Small. It may sound crazy, but we were unfamiliar with the stories of James Harriott, the beloved country vet from the village of Darrowby. The characters and the bucolic countryside featured in the show captured our imaginations, so we set out to visit the places highlighted in the show.
Photos from Grassington, including one I found of the filming of of All Creatures Great & Small, and me at our Airbnb. Michael was happy to find Walkers Bakery - which in the film is the also the bakery, just with a different name.
Our first destination was Grassington, the village where most of the filming took place. This is not the actual village where Harriott practiced, but it was the perfect village to be transformed into the fictional hamlet of Darrowby circa 1937. Of course, during filming, the shop signage changed, and old cars and extras filled in for the modern-day hustle and bustle, but we were able to recreate the town square using our imaginations and a map from the tourism office. And once inside the pub that doubled for the Darrowby Arms, we felt we felt like we might run into Tristan at the bar!
An entire room at at the pub in Grassington, is dedicated to the filming of the current PBS version of All Creatures Great and Small.
This ten-day jaunt occurred in late July, and while Southern Europe was sweltering under a heat dome, we were enjoying sweater weather and rain showers. In fact, we fired up the space heater in our cozy Airbnb! For most of our trip, the weather was mixed. Mostly 70s and sunny - but definitely punctuated with scattered rain and cooler days. We didn't mind one bit.
After our very enjoyable film set experience, we began exploring the rest of the countryside. Our first day trip was a long one - all the way to Windermere in the Lakes District. It is the gateway city for exploring the region and it is a Victorian beauty. Someday, we will return to spend more time in that part of the country, but we enjoyed the drive through country lanes and small towns, and once there, the marina and pristine park in Windermere proved worthy of the journey.
A peek at the lake from the shore in Windermere
Our lunch stop that day was The Snooty Fox in Keighley. Pub food is the best - Guinness and Steak Pie, Ploughman's lunch, Fish and Chips, and Sunday Roast with Gravy and Yorkshire Pudding, of course! And a tasty half-pint of local draft beer. Just right for a lunchtime tipple.
Michael’s Ploughman’s Lunch plate and my steak pie with an edible bowl. Pub food is getting fancy - except the vegetables are still over cooked wherever you go!
Michael and I both love reading books set in places we visit. One we both recommend is The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson about two disenchanted women of a certain age looking to shake up their lives. Their paths cross, and shortly after that, they meet a third woman in crisis - a crotchety old gal who lives on a narrowboat. She needed medical treatments that would prevent her from navigating her boat to an important rendezvous near Liverpool. In short, the two younger women volunteered to take her boat on the somewhat arduous journey.
They don’t have a whiff of boating experience, but that’s what makes the story engaging. The book was full of colorful characters and marine mishaps, and not only was it a glimpse at life on a narrowboat, it was full of life lessons as well.
I am telling you this because we came across a canal during our day trip that was full of boats going through the locks on their way back to Skipton, a popular boat rental site. Now that we knew a little about navigating the locks, watching the process was fun. Michael even jumped in to help open a set of gates.
Another day trip took us to the ruins of Bolton Abbey. It was another spectacular drive through tight lanes where the hedgerows brushed your car when you pulled over to let an oncoming car squeeze past. But we loved how they wound up and down hillsides to reveal sweeping views on both sides.
The Abbey was constructed in the 12th century and was an architectural marvel. Sadly, when King Henry VIII was busy rousting all things Catholic from his Kingdom in the 1530s it was pilfered and pillaged along with most other Catholic edifices. It is a haunting and beautiful relic.
A fledgling congregation of about 100 locals gather on Sundays in a renovated corner of the original priory. If we’d stayed for the afternoon we could have joined the congregation for its first after-service picnic!
Probably the most touristic stop on our tour was the World of James Herriott Museum in Thirsk, his actual birthplace. This countryside equivalent of Graceland was set in Harriott’s actual home, and it was complete with rooms set just as they would have been in the 30s including the veterinary clinic, the kitchen, the living room, and the garden.
After three nights in our Airbnb cottage in Linton, near Grassington, we moved to an Airbnb that was a Private Room In a House on the outskirts of York. We often stay in private rooms when we take car trips like this, and the host frequently serves breakfast. Not only is it more affordable, but we also enjoy meeting our hosts - who always give us the best local advice on how to enjoy their city.
Me outside the restored VIctorian home where we had a huge room and a great breakfast prepared by Amanda.
In this instance, our room in a renovated Victorian mansion was comfortable and full of amenities. Our Scottish host Amanda and her husband were delightful. And the location was great. The local double-decker bus stopped at the front door, and the ride into town became our own Hop on Hop Off tour.
Clifford’s Tower sits in the center of York.
York is a walled city in northeast England founded by the ancient Romans in 71 A.D. Its massive 13th-century Gothic Cathedral, York Minster, has medieval stained glass and 2 bellowing bell towers. The City Walls form a splendid walkway on both sides of the River Ouse. The Monk Bar gate houses an exhibition tracing the life of 15th-century Plantagenet King Richard III. York was also a Viking stronghold in 866 A.D. A popular interactive museum proposes to take you back in time to experience the sites and smells of that era. No thanks.
Actually, other than the very informative free walking tour of the city led by a volunteer, we didn't go inside any museums or the magnificent Cathedral, known as York Minster, because the admissions cost was sky-high! $35. USD each to go inside the church - which actually looked pretty great from the outside. $20 for the small art museum and $15 to peek inside the small castle on the hill. We were happy with our meanderings and found plenty to see and do without spending a threepence. Other than eating delicious food from the rambling outdoor food court, which included a stop at Roberto’s for some of the best gelato outside Italy, where the servings were huge! Now that was value for money.
Two highlights were The Shambles and the National Railway Museum. The Shambles is a narrow street (more like an alley) in the center of the old town where well-preserved medieval houses on either side precariously lean toward one another. This little stretch of real estate was home to the city's butchers. We delayed lunch once our walking tour guide shared the details of how livestock was slaughtered on site and that people tipped their chamber pots out of the overhanging windows. On a brighter note, the Shambles was also featured in the Harry Potter movies - you'll know it as Diagon Alley
Harry Potter sites were all over Yorkshire including Diagon Alley (The Shambles) and the railway station in Pickering.
The National Railway Museum was a gem. Usually, we wouldn't have gone out of our way to see a warehouse full of old locomotives - but it was free. And, as it turns out, very well done. There were trains of all kinds from every era and dozens of engines and carriages to explore. A few machines had cutaways that allowed you to see their inner workings. Another cavern was full of memorabilia and model trains. You will enjoy this museum if you are even remotely interested in British rail travel.
After three nights, we moved to another Airbnb Private Room in a House in the idyllic village of Boltby. The drive to this sleepy village in a hollow was the most WOW of all. It was hard to grasp the natural beauty below us when we reached a high point along the way. I had Michael pulling over on both sides of the road so often to take pictures that we could have been suspected of imbibing more 1/2 pints than I alluded to earlier.
This last Airbnb was part of a farmhouse. We chose it because of the view from the windows that opened onto a small deck overlooking the valley. We weren't disappointed, except it rained intermittently for all three days. But that also made for some dramatic breaks in the weather when the sun pierced the clouds and illuminated the fields below. The cows in the distance looked like tiny white pearls scattered on the hillsides.
The view from our room - fabulous is any weather!
Once again, our hosts, Diana and her husband made us so comfortable. Breakfasts were bountiful and delicious, and they were so helpful in making sure we found every nook and cranny to explore. We did take one long day trip to the coast to visit the fishing villages of Whitby and Helmsley. The drive took us across rugged moors carpeted in purple heather, which I am sure were stunning, but we had the windshield wipers on full bore most of the time.
What the view of the moors might have been if we hadn’t been socked in by rain and mist!
That and being on the lookout for sheep drifting out of the mist onto the road made the trip less a bit stressful, but we did enjoy the famous Fish and Chips we were told we couldn't miss.
After ten days of great meals, countryside rambles, and endless fresh air, it was time to head for the hustle and bustle of London. See you there!
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell