On a recent tour my corporate guests had a three hour meeting in Wakefield, so after dropping them off I had time to kill. As well as exploring the city I headed to Wakefield Cathedral for a look around.   Wakefield Cathedral is built on the site of a Saxon church with an old Saxon preaching cross found beneath the church during some renovations in 1900 (it was installed again inside the Cathedral in 2016) . The first church was built on the site in 1086 and was mentioned in the Domesday book. A new Norman church was built in the 1300’s and the spire added in 1400’s, with various additi ..read more

Over the years I had been a few times to the little village of Ben Rhydding just outside Ilkley, to a small, homely restaurant called Pranzo. Its reputation had grown by word of mouth and two years later they opened another Pranzo in Harrogate.   Pranzo’s success to date has been based on their delicious home-made Calabrese food and home made pasta.  With its growing popularity, it has led to a move from Ben Rhydding into the heart of Ilkley allowing it to double its capacity.   I was delighted to be invited along after its opening to meet the owner and head chef Marco Greco an ..read more

When you travel on the road between Ripon and Masham, you come to the town of West Tanfield. After crossing the bridge over the River Ure you see the old Church of St. Nicholas but right next to it a strange fortified tower rises up by the name of The Marmion Tower. I often stop with guests to explore the Tower ruins so thought I would produce a short blog about the history of the building. Before a bridge was built over the River Ure, the town evolved where the river could be easily crossed and a small ferry existed to transport people over. Tanfield Castle was built on the far bank as the r ..read more

One of my favourite places to go fossil hunting, if I get a few days off by the coast is Saltwick Bay. After the walk down the cliffside path from Whitby Holiday Park, you end up on a wonderful beach with two distinctive hard rock outcrops – Black Nab and Saltwick Nab. If you turn right and follow the Bay around to Black Nab you will eventually come to a wreck of an old boat. This location with the wreck and the distinctive Nab is one of the most photographed locations on the Yorkshire Coast and one I have captured a number of times. But where did this iconic wreck come from and how did it ..read more

I’d been looking forward to checking out The Seaview Restaurant in Saltburn for a while after seeing Fred Sirieix and Nadiya Hussain visit in the Yorkshire episode of their Remarkable Places to Eat programme. Having booked a table during a holiday to Staithes in August, I was disappointed when we had to cancel and return home suddenly after my wife’s elderly mother had a fall. Finally returning on a wet, windy, stormy, autumn evening in October we found a busy restaurant with walk-ins getting turned away at the door. The Seaview is in the old Victorian seaside town of Saltburn by the Sea. (T ..read more

I’d not been to Appletreewick for a couple of years, but having read that The Craven Arms in the village was used for the inside shots of The Drovers Arms in series 3 of All Creatures Great and Small, I thought planning a walk from there would give me a good excuse to call in for a pint. NB (originally The Green Dragon in Hardraw was used for the inside shots but temporarily shut down by the time they filmed season 3) We had gained permission to park at the pub after promising to return for drinks, so arrived, put on our boots and headed on up a track to the left of the pub. The path ascends ..read more

Well it wasn’t really James Herriot who made the statement, but Yorkshire vet Alf Wight – the author who wrote the famous books under his pseudonym James Herriot now made into the popular TV series All Creatures Great & Small. Alf Wight lived and worked in the North Yorkshire market town of Thirsk sitting in the Vale of Mowbray. His veterinary practice was at 23 Kirkgate, now home of the World of James Herriot, a multi-award winning visitor attraction now restored to show what Alf’s home and practice would have looked like in the 1940’s. Whilst Alf lived at the practice and even after h ..read more

After donating a Tour of York as a prize for a charity auction at the Yorkshire Awards, I was surprised when my wife and her friend started bidding for the tour to try and bump the price up. They “accidently” won the auction and I was booked by them to take a few of the Mum and Dads from my sons first class at school on a walking tour of York. We decided to make a night of it so booked into a hotel and decided we would book somewhere “interesting” to eat. I had not been to York Minster Refectory, but was keen to try the restaurant which if I am honest had had mixed reviews when it was first ..read more

York Unlocked 2023 on the weekend of 7 and 8 October 2023 will see the doors thrown open to around 70 fabulous buildings FREE of charge. The unique 2 day event opens up access to the magnificent buildings and open spaces in the city that are often closed to the public. It aims to help both residents and tourists alike to uncover hidden treasures and experience familiar places through fresh eyes. York Unlocked 2023 follows a hugely successful first year in which an estimated 20,000 physical visits were made to 60+ buildings. Visitors came from York and nearby, regional cities including Manche ..read more

When you mention Stamford Bridge to most people, they always seem to associate the name with the home of Chelsea Football Club down in London as opposed to the bottleneck on the road between York and Bridlington at Bridge over the River Derwent. But what most people don’t realise is that what has traditionally been the boundary of the North & East Riding, and had been used as a crossing point on the road from Malton to Brough by the Romans, was once the location of one of the most pivotal battles in English history. It is the location of the last great triumph of an Anglo Saxon King – on ..read more