Tucked away at the back of York Minster is the National Trust owned Treasurer’s House. The Treasurer of York Minster was a highly sought after and lucrative position being responsible for all financial matters relating to the Minster. It was only fitting that the...

“The history of York is the history of England,” said King George VI, and it was in York where his grandson, King Charles III, revealed the first statue of our late Queen to be unveiled since her death in September 2022.  The King entered the city from the south by...

The life and adventures of Isabella Bird Bishop has been recently brought into the public consciousness through BBC2’s ‘Trailblazers – A Rocky Mountain Trip’.  A 3-part series televised in December 2022 following Ruby Wax, Mel B. and Emily Atack as they follow in the...

The market town of Knaresborough is famous for its public displays of the art technique of ‘trompe l’oeil’, the painting style that sets out to 'fool the eye' into seeing a painted picture as something real. Originally, local artists painted events and people related...

28th November 2022 marked 70 years since the North York Moors was designated a National Park in 1952. Celebrations throughout the year include the 10th anniversary of its Explorer Club and the 20th anniversary of its Apprenticeship scheme. 14% of the workforce is made...

As series 3 of the Channel 5 show All Creatures Great and Small airs in America, I thought I would tell you more about this classic tale of Yorkshire folk. The TV series is based on the books written by James Herriot recounting his life as a vet in rural Yorkshire but...

In 1923, the LNER had its locomotive works in Doncaster, where it had plans for a larger and more powerful locomotive for its flagship service from London to Edinburgh. The new Chief Mechanical Engineer was Nigel Gresley, who was instrumental in the development of the...

There are currently just 17 dark sky reserves in the world, listed by the International Dark-Sky Association. Six of these reserves are in the UK, with two in Yorkshire - the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks. The stunning dark sky of Yorkshire’s two...

Since 1985, York’s Viking Festival has been getting bigger and attracting more participants and visitors to celebrate a key time in the old Norse year - ‘Jolablot’, a period between winter solstice and the first full moon in January.  Pagan Norse people would have...

Leeds will be a furnace of creativity throughout 2023 as the whole city lets culture loose and shows off its artistic strength in a programme that features major new commissions with world-renowned artists alongside celebrations of everyday creativity. The 12-month...

Harewood House is known as one of the great and grand Treasure Houses of Britain, full of impressive tapestries, paintings and artefacts collected from around the world by the Lascelles family over several hundred years. However, the countryside, beyond the formal...

Our four main ‘Bars’ are gateways or barriers so the Bar Walls are the walls that run between the gateways.  At nearly two miles York’s medieval City Walls are the best in England.  The circuit is virtually complete; only where the wall should join Bootham Bar is a...

There are only four left in England, and two of those are in Yorkshire, what am I talking about?  Why Bridge Chapels or Chantry Bridges of course! These chapels were built in the medieval period to allow prayers to be said for travellers and for departed souls, but...

The English Thoroughbred horse can be traced back through bloodlines and the General Stud Book to the efforts of one Yorkshireman, Thomas Darley. He managed to smuggle out of Syria, with help from friends on the warship HMS Ipswich, a Bay stallion, 15 hands high, “of...

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will take place between Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th July 2022. The event celebrates the very best in crime fiction and the festival has become a firm date in the UK literary calendar. The festival is based at The Old...

ROWNTREE PARK The discerning visitor to York may well need a break from the numerous wonderful and wide-ranging attractions that the city offers. What better place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the crowds than to Rowntree Park. Situated just a short scenic...

The much awaited second series of ‘Gentleman Jack’ is recently hit our screens. Sally Wainwright’s clever and witty writing tells of the eccentric life of Anne Lister - a landowner, industrialist, explorer, mountain climber, socialite, A–grade shopper and sometimes...

Is the name Gertrude Bell one that you’re familiar with? No? But the chances are that you will have heard of Winston Churchill and Lawrence of Arabia, in whose company Gertrude spent many hours. Gertrude was an exceptional woman, a writer, traveller, political...