Before I go any further with this blog, I’ve a confession to make – Mum and I haven’t watched Emmerdale for years. But a day out is a day out, especially if it’s with our lovely friends from Red Bus and visiting our lovely Yorkshire countryside, and so we went along to see some of the places where scenes for Emmerdale have been filmed since it started life as Emmerdale Farm, way back in October 1972.
We were blessed with fine but windy weather for our trip, but instead of going out into the country, as Mum and I expected, we went first to Leeds to drive past Yorkshire Television’s Emmerdale Production Centre, next to their Leeds Studio in Kirkstall Road, where many of the interior scenes for the series are now filmed.
From there we went to Headingley, seeing various places along the way where some of the urban scenes have been filmed over the years. By this time we were ready for some refreshments and soon found ourselves at a place called Art and the Secret Garden, which is a small art gallery and cafe combined, with a pretty, walled garden at the back with tables and chairs. Unfortunately it was too windy for us to sit out – a little bear would have blown away! – so we sat inside and Mum ordered a pot of tea and some hummingbird cake. I was a bit worried as I thought she might choke on the feathers, but she said there were no real hummingbirds in it – it was just a name for a very nice cake containing pineapple, banana and pecan nuts. (In fact, it was so nice that she looked for the recipe on Google and has promised to make us some – yet another excuse for doing anything but write!)
Once we were all refreshed, we set off again, this time into the countryside to the north of Leeds. On Eccup Lane we stopped briefly by Brooklands Farm which is used for filming any outdoor farming scenes. We also saw the entrance to the purpose-built set on the Harewood estate which has been used for most outdoor filming since 1997. Then it was on to Creskeld Hall at Arthington which has been used as Home Farm throughout the series, then Lindley House at Leathley which was used as the original Emmerdale Farm from 1972 to 1993.
From there we went into the market town of Otley (or Hotton, as it appears in Emmerdale) and had a late lunch – a hot sausage roll and a quick cup of tea – then it was on to the pretty village of Esholt where Emmerdale was filmed from 1976 (when it moved from Arncliffe in Littondale) to 1997 when it moved to the purpose-built set.
By the time we got there the wind had dropped and it was a beautiful afternoon, warm and sunny and with the autumn colours starting to appear on the trees. We went for a lovely circular walk, past The Woolpack, along the main street and through the churchyard and thoroughly enjoyed it – though I’d to be a bit firm with Mum as she wanted to go in The Woolpack and have a pint, especially when she saw that they had Timothy Taylor’s beer, and I’d to tell her she didn’t have time to drink so much.
After that, we’d to set off home, but, being a nosy little bear, I kept looking out of the coach window – and that’s when I saw the poor Mrs Sheep, lying down at the edge of the field and looking absolutely exhausted, with a bag fixed on a harness and resting on her chest. I told Mum about her and said I thought maybe she’d been shopping and tired herself out…
When Mum finished laughing, she told me that it wasn’t Mrs Sheep that I’d seen – instead it was Mr Ram and he certainly hadn’t been shopping. Then she told me what he had been doing and I blushed so much that my fur’s still pink. Sometimes I feel like a very ignorant little bear!
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02/10/2018
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 