After our visit to the World of Herriot museum in Thirsk, we found out that there is actually an official ‘Herriot Trail’ which takes in many of the original locations from the TV and film adaptations. So, after yesterday’s indoor sets, we’ve spent the day driving around the Dales countryside, bringing All Creatures Great and Small to life.
All Creatures Great and Small used many Yorkshire locations
We started in Askrigg, where Cringley House which doubled as Skeldale House, the surgery is located. The local King’s Head pub also had a part, too, as the Drovers Arms, and bygone pictures of the cast litter the main hallway entrance. From Askrigg, we went to Reeth, which served as Darrowby in the 1974 film. After lunch in the Copper Kettle, when the rain had subsided, we went onto Langthwaite.
This is really the iconic one. Used in the opening credits of the first two series series, Siegfried’s car drives over the little bridge, so for nostalgia’s sake, we did the same in the BlueMotion. If you ignore the handful of modern-day cars in the little square, the tiny hamlet with its tiny streets is unchanged, and looks the same as it did in 1978.
‘Siegfried, are you sure that this is the way to Mrs Pumphrey’s?’
From there, Leyburn was next (the fictional Ministry of Agriculture building from the TV series was here, although we didn’t find it), and then we finally made Wensley our last stop of the day. It was the Holy Trinity Church here in which James and Helen were married on TV, although we couldn’t go in today, due to the setting up of the local flower festival.
The church at Wensley was used in James Herriot’s TV wedding
It’s been fun and nostalgic seeing the places we watched on the box in the corner as children (and are watching again as adults), and through visiting many of the original locations this week, I think I’ve developed an even greater fondness for the show…
Tags: All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot, Yorkshire Dales