What’s so great about Yorkshire?
If you follow me on social media, you may well have picked up that I’m a Yorkshire lass. I was born in Yorkshire, grew up in the Yorkshire Dales, spent a few years in the big city over the border for University, then a few more in Derbyshire before the lure of Yorkshire brought me back north over the border again.
We Yorkshire folk love our county, so it’s no wonder that ‘Yorkshire Day’ was created in 1975 for us to celebrate all things Yorkshire.
It happens annually on 1st August and, whilst you may not see grand parties with champers, you will see Yorkshire flags and bunting, copious cups of Yorkshire Tea drunk, and a general ‘ey up’ from us Yorkshire folk.
Speciality foods from Yorkshire
If you’re a foodie, did you know that we have Yorkshire chorizo, Yorkshire gin, a plethora of Yorkshire beers, Wensleydale cheese, Henderson’s relish and Holmfirth vineyard. Check out Town End Farm Shop (home of BBC’s Top of the Shop) for their selection of Yorkshire produce to see more than I can list.
Heritage attractions in Yorkshire
For the heritage enthusiast, there’s the impressive Ribblehead viaduct, York Minster, Skipton Castle, Halifax Piece Hall, the Bronte Museum in Haworth, Salts Mill in Saltaire, Kelham Island in Sheffield….honestly, I’ve not even started. Get on Google and see for yourself!
Sport in Yorkshire
We’re not so shabby at sports either. If we were an independent country, Yorkshire would have finished 12th in the league table at the 2012 Olympics and 14th in the 2016 games. We hosted the cycling Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014 and have held the Tour de Yorkshire in subsequent years.
We were the birth place of rugby league and, back in the day when Yorkshire cricket club only allowed people born in Yorkshire to play (the unwritten policy was abandoned in the 1990’s), I’ve known of people close to the border choosing a Yorkshire hospital further away to give birth.
Strangely enough, we’re also pretty good at ice hockey. The Sheffield Steelers were created in 1991 and regularly attract over 8,000 fans to their home games.
Outdoor adventure in Yorkshire
But what about outdoor adventure?
Yorkshire is fabulous for the outdoor enthusiast! We have incredible climbing, biking and walking, so don your flat cap and come with me on a little journey around the biggest county in the UK.
First up, it’s worth mentioning that we have 2 National Parks (the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors) plus a rather fab coastline. Even the Peak District wanted to grab a little piece of Yorkshire - part of the southern edge of the boundary is actually in the Peak District National Park.
Secondly, it’s another one of those “I can barely scratch the surface” moments, so I’ll list 5 of my favourites below, but urge you to check out the national park websites and other Yorkshire sites to find out more.
1. The Yorkshire Dales
Walkers and climbers had been visiting the Yorkshire Dales long before Julia Bradbury et al made Malham famous on the telly. I grew up there, so it holds a special place in my heart - read my archive post 5 reasons I love Malham.
2. The east coast
Last year I escaped to the coast for an overnight stay to reset my batteries and realised that I’d like to spend some more time exploring the area on bike and by foot. Top tip - if you love fossils, check out the area around Robin Hood’s Bay.
3. The 3 Peaks
Forget the overly popular 3 peaks of the UK and check out Yorkshire’s own version. It’s a respectable 24 miles and includes 1,585m of ascent. Do them in under 12 hours to complete the formal challenge.
4. Spurn point
This nature reserve is famous for bird migration and other wildlife. It’s a long, narrow, crooked finger of sand which reaches out into the mouth of the Humber and can be walked on foot. However, check the tide times as there’s a 1k tidal section which could leave you stranded if you get it wrong.
5. Last of the summer wine country
The area around Holmfirth and Marsden has some impressive moorland walks, which rival anything you’ll find in the more popular areas of the Peak District (ssshh!). Here’s one I did around Wessenden and West Nab which has a link to a free GPX download.
If you made it this far, well done! I’m guessing you’ll have realised that this Yorkshire Lass really does love her home county.
I honestly couldn’t write about everything without being here for hours, so you may find some of your favourites are missing. If you think readers of this blog would enjoy knowing about them, drop a note in the comments below :)
Outdoor-Girl is run by Jacquie Budd, a freelance writer providing content writing, copywriting and digital marketing services for businesses.
Visit www.jacquiebudd.com for more information.
