Slideshow: Escape to the Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales National Park as seen on All Creatures Great and Small is a land of black-faced sheep, centuries-old villages, and geological wonders. Connect with this spectacular landscape in north-central England, marvel at the resilience of its inhabitants, and watch full episodes of the whole series on PBS Passport.
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Dale is a Norse word for valley. There are 10 official dales according to the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which create a series of valleys to channel local rivers.
Sheep often graze on common land and farmers’ flocks can get mixed up. Their wool is dyed in spots with bright colors to identify which sheep belongs to which farmer.
While farming was pretty much a male world in the 1930s, female farmers are more prevalent in today’s Dales.
The weather is unpredictable and can be extreme—a feature of the Dales that’s reflected in James Herriot’s stories.
Field barns made of stone (laithes) dot the landscape. Set in fields and hay meadows, away from main farm buildings, they house cattle below and fodder above.
A steam train crosses the Ribblehead Viaduct, an engineering marvel built 104 feet above the moors in 1870.
Malham Cove is famous for its “limestone pavements,” which resemble enormous molars. Malham locations appear in the Harry Potter films.
Dales Shorthorns were the dairy cow of choice in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire for 200 years. Its milk was used for the famous Wensleydale cheese. James Herriot enjoyed the mild, crumbly cheese and so do the animated characters Wallace and Gromit!
The village of Grassington in North Yorkshire stands in for the fictional Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small.
The Dales offer wide, meandering rivers as well as those that tumble off cliff faces. The water is quite clean and if a bit warmer, tempting for a dip!
Dry-stone walling is a real art because it doesn’t use mortar or cement—it’s literally only rocks. These walls are ubiquitous in the Dales, built to stay in place for hundreds of years.
The native Dales Pony has a good deal of energy and power and thrives on work. First used as pack animals for the lead mines, Dales Ponies today are used for farm work, but also pleasure riding and show jumping.
There’s a lot of history to discover in ruins throughout the Dales. Relics of the past like 7th-century Whitby Abbey, medieval castles, and ancient mills are key attractions for visitors.
