Blog
All Creatures Great and Small – A Feast of Yorkshire on the Small Screen!
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 did you know that James Herriot is actually made up?! Don’t worry, you haven’t been lied to, there really was a vet working out... Read more
Happy 100th Birthday Flying Scotsman!
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 more powerful locomotives. On February 24th 1923, at a cost of £7,944, locomotive number 1472 was put into service, pulling... Read more
Yorkshire’s Dark Skies Festival – 10th to 26th February 2023
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 National Parks, free from light pollution, are one of the county’s very special qualities. They are officially the best... Read more
Jolablot Festival, York 2023
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 travelled miles to join parties (‘Jol’) celebrating the return of lighter days and making sacrifices (‘Blot’) to Odin and Freyr... Read more