On the trail of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’

Grassington dressed for the filming of All Creatures Great and Small

WHERE AND HOW TO VISIT THE FILMING LOCATIONS USED IN THE RECENT CHANNEL 5 ADAPTATION OF ‘ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL’.

The beautiful landscape of the Yorkshire Dales has long been associated with James Herriot and his vetinary adventures in ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, and with the third series of the most recent adaptation in full swing, the rolling hills and dry stone walls of the Yorkshire Dales are back in the spotlight!

So where should you head for to see the filming locations for yourself and what are the best walks to do around them?

Grassington – Darrowby

Popular Grassington, with its mixture of traditional stone cottages and grand period residences, winding lanes and cobbled centre, made a perfect set for Darrowby, the village in which James Herriot worked and lived. It is seen regularly in the programme, especially the outside of the Devonshire Arms, which was transformed into Herriot’s regular, the Drovers Arms, and ‘Cringley House’ which was the exterior of Skeldale House, the veterinary practice.

Grassington is easy to visit, with a large car park and National Park Centre on its edge and is also a great starting point for many walks in the area, including our ‘Introduction to the Dales’ private guided walk. It is also on a lovely circular walk that is part of our ‘Wharfedale Ramble’ walking holiday, which is a fairly gentle 7 mile circuit, taking in many of the pretty villages of this part of Wharfedale, including picture-perfect Linton, popular Burnsall, with it’s beautiful setting on a bend in the River Wharfe and tucked away Hebden.

Kettlewell

The traditional village of Kettlewell in upper Wharfedale was used regularly in the filming of All Creatures Great and Small so a stroll around the village is likely to feel familiar and many of the sweeping scenic shots in the programme are of the beautiful scenery that surrounds the village.

In series one, James is seen going for a run on a rocky track with lovely views, which took place on the famously scenic ‘Top Mere Road’, a track running uphill from Kettlewell to Cam Head with stunning views down the full length of Wharfedale. This track is part of one of the linear routes on our ‘Wharfedale Ramble’ walking holiday between Kettlewell and Buckden and can also be part of a great circular walk up to Great Whernside, the brooding mountain that sits behind Kettlewell.

Yockenthwaite Farm, which was Helen’s farm in All Creatures Great and Small

Yockenthwaite Farm – The Alderson’s Farm

The Alderson’s farm features regularly in series one and two of All Creatures Great and Small as Helen’s home before she marries James and moves to the practice. In reality, it is Yockenthwaite Farm, high in upper Wharfedale and one of the most beautifully situated farms in the Dales, next to a charming packhorse bridge over the infant River Wharfe.

Yockenthwaite is also well-known as the birthplace of the delicious Yockenthwaite Granola, which started life as a homemade treat served as part of the farm’s B&B breakfasts but became so popular that it so now sold nationwide and produced in Skipton as it quickly outgrew the farmhouse kitchen (but it is still made by the same family and still by hand).

There is a popular footpath that goes right past Yockenthwaite Farm and is part of a fantastic circuit of the ‘Head of Wharfedale’, which is another route on our ‘Wharfedale Ramble’ walking holiday.

We’re also organising a small group social walk with Yockenthwaite Farm for 2023 which will take in the stunning scenery of this part of the Dales and stop at the farm for a drink and to try one of their homemade flapjacks (date TBC).

Arncliffe

Tucked away in remote Littondale, a tributary valley to Wharfedale, the village of Arncliffe must be one of the most picture-perfect villages in the Dales so it’s no surprise that it has been used for several scenes in All Creatures Great and Small. Parts of Darrowby are filmed there, including the back of Skeldale House where they keep the cars and the scenes of Darrowby Show in series one. More recently, it is where James’ parents got off the bus from Scotland and went to stay in the Falcon Inn (one of the few places that kept it’s real name and signage for the show!).

You can visit Arncliffe on a great circular walk from Kettlewell, which takes you up over the moors and provides stunning views down into Littondale and over Arncliffe before you drop down into the village itself. The return leg takes you around Knipe Scar for great views down Wharfedale. This is another circuit that forms part of our six night ‘Wharfedale Ramble’ walking holiday.

Malham Moor and Cowside

The wide open expanses of moorland between Arnside and Malham, the areas known as Cowside and Malham Moor, are where many of the rural driving scenes are filmed on narrow, open, traffic free roads, and is also where James was seen arriving off the bus from Glasgow at the very beginning of the series.

To follow in the footsteps of James and co. (albeit probably in a slightly more modern vehicle!), the drive from Malham to Arncliffe and on into Wharfedale is absolutely stunning (although only for those who don’t mind narrow, winding lanes, the likelihood of sheep and cows on the road and, in one instance, having to stop to open a gate across the road and close it behind you!).

Top Mere Road out of Kettlewell, where James Herriot went for a run!

Janet’s Foss

In one of the few bits of filming to take place outside Wharfedale, James is seen swimming at a pretty waterfall in one of the early episodes. This is in fact Janet’s Foss near Malham, one of the many highlights on the famous ‘Malham Landscape’ circuit, which is a walk that features on our ‘Highlights of the Southern Dales’ walking holiday.

If you don’t want to do the full circuit, the waterfall is a flat, easy mile from the village.

The Green Dragon Inn, Hardraw – The Drovers Arms interiors

While the exterior of the Drovers Arms is filmed in Grassington, the interior is all the way over in upper Wensleydale at the hugely characterful Green Dragon Inn in Hardraw. At the time of writing, the Green Dragon is closed due to unsustainable energy costs but we’re hoping it will reopen soon.

Hardraw is most well-known for being home to the highest single drop waterfall in England (which is on private land so there is a small charge for path upkeep etc.). It can be visited on a lovely, short circular walk from Hawes and is also part of our ‘Wensleydale and its Tributaries’ walking holiday, either at the beginning of a long walk up to the summit of Great Shunner Fell or as part of a gentler route to Hawes and Aysgill Force.

We hope you have fun exploring these All Creatures Great and Small filming locations and drop us a line if you’re interested in visiting some of them on one of our self-guided walking holidays or as part of a guided walk.

More information about James Herriot (and real life author, Alf White) and the areas that inspired the books can be found on the ‘Herriot Country’ website.