All Creatures Great and Small: I went on a tour of filming locations for Channel 5 series in the Yorkshire Dales and it reminded me why I love Yorkshire

He drove me in his black Peloton car to Grassington, the famous Yorkshire Dales village that is transformed into the fictional town of Darrowby.

As we passed through the Yorkshire Dales countryside I was blown away by the views. The various textures and vibrant colours of the green grass and trees, yellow buttercup fields and grey dry stone walls were beautiful.

I’ve lived in Yorkshire since I was 12 years old and I’m still surprised by what I see. For example, I couldn’t believe how vast the Dales countryside was.

Even though the weather was not the best; it was cloudy and grey, the beauty of the landscapes was not affected.

“I have to do tours no matter what the weather,” Tim said.

“Even if it’s pouring with rain, the show goes on. But the Yorkshire Dales look absolutely stunning no matter what the weather is like.

“A lot of people in America are fans from all over the country. Some people live in deserts, so [the rain] is a novelty for them, believe it or not. You’ve also got to explain that you don't get lush landscapes like this without a bit of rain.”

Burnsall

As we passed through the village, I was mesmerised by the aesthetic look of the village. It was like driving into a scene of All Creatures Great and Small.

Another popular culture reference that came to mind as we drove down the very narrow bendy country roads was the scene in the 2006 Christmas film The Holiday. Tim said that American tourists have often asked him to do last minute tours after struggling to drive on the roads.

Grassington

The contradiction of what I saw as we walked into the centre of the village and Tim’s description of its history was stark.

“It was once a lead mining centre,” he said.

“As it was a male-dominated environment to start with, it was a very boozy environment, with a lot of fighting going on, Grassington was the first town in England to have an armed police force at that time which gives you some perspective.”

The first thing I noticed when we walked into the centre was how busy it was for a weekday, there were people out and about and the car park in the middle of the square was packed. I was also pleasantly surprised that despite being a small village, it had a lot of shops and eateries.

The top half had been used to film all seasons of All Creatures Great and Small but what was especially interesting was that for series five, they had used the lower half of the centre for the first time.

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The Ice Cream Parlour was transformed into a butcher’s shop and the Glad Rags Boutique was turned into a pram shop for the fifth series.

Rachel Shenton, who portrays Helen Herriot, was seen filming outside Church House walking with her pram for the new series. It dates back to 1694.

“You talk to Americans about that and they’re like ‘1694? That’s older than our country’, it’s quite incredible,” Tim said.

“I was talking to the caretaker of this place and was told that the inside was used for filming season five, this is where they were distributing gas masks from. This plays almost like a community centre.”

Another shop was transformed into Darrowby Cycle Shop for series three, four and five and when we walked to it, we found it had stayed as its fictional establishment.

The gift shop Rustic Rabbit had been turned into Hirst’s Laundry, The Hutch plays Higgins Bakery and Walker’s Bakery is transformed into Darrowby Ironmongers. One of the residential houses is transformed into the front of Skeldale House.

The Stripey Badger, which is turned into a grocers, was a highlight as we browsed the bookshop and a little room filled with All Creatures Great and Small memorabilia.

The dry stone buildings, the cobblestone streets, the characteristic shops had an almost romantic feel to them.

Tim led us to Grassington Hall where he told us his vision for the 17th century building.

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“It sold for a couple of million pounds during Covid,” he said.

“I would have loved to have had the money to buy it and turn it into an All Creatures Great and Small-themed hotel.”

Arncliffe

This village had been used to film various scenes as the back of Darrowby. The pub The Falcon Inn appeared in various scenes of the series.

“From a continuity point of view, in the first series when there was the Darrowby Show for instance, James would walk to the front of Skeldale House from the square in Grassington and he’d walk out the back and he’d be in Arncliffe but it would be 20 miles down the road,” Tim said.

“Less people realise that Arncliffe was one of the locations in the series so you only get people who are really in the know who come here.”

St Oswald’s Church was used for the outside of the church where Helen and James got married, whereas the inside of the church was filmed at Hubberholme St Michael & All Angels Church.

Yockenthwaite Farm

An iconic scene in the series is the red post box that overlooks Helen’s farm.

“They changed it to be a 1941s [post box] for the TV show,” he said.

“With the blue skies, the greenery, and then the greys of the limestone dry stone walls and buildings, the director quite often brings in red as a highlight colour, whether that’s a mailbox, a telephone box, or Helen wearing a red coat.

“It’s that juxtaposition from the natural colours.”

I met the owners of the farm, the Hird family, who have farmed there since 1842.

They told me that tourists and locals alike often visit who love the series and want to explore.

The outside of the farm is transformed into Aldersen’s farm and the little shed with the green door is where Helen and James had their first kiss.

Having explored all of the filming locations and the stretch of the Dales, I am certain that I haven’t seen the extent of it and that there is so much more to explore.

It has everything that sums up why Yorkshire is a great place to visit and live; the landscapes, history, TV connection, friendly locals, multiple shops, restaurants and pubs and more importantly, no two days are the same in the Dales.