Must-see film and TV locations to combine with Yorkshire staycations after lockdown

Staycations in Yorkshire will be on the minds of many would-be travellers desperate for adventure right now.
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Especially after beauty spots such as the Yorkshire Dales took ranked up top in Tripadvisor's latest awards.

Government guidance means people must stay put until further notice - but that doesn't stop anyone making plans.

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Holiday-makers chose to take so-called 'staycations' last year during periods of relaxed restrictions in an effort to avoid the risks and complications of travelling abroad.

Top Withens high on the Pennine Moors above Haworth. The ruins have long been associated with Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.Top Withens high on the Pennine Moors above Haworth. The ruins have long been associated with Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.
Top Withens high on the Pennine Moors above Haworth. The ruins have long been associated with Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

Luckily, all four corners of Yorkshire will have plenty to keep people occupied when the time is right to welcome visitors again.

After a growth in the number of film and television projects in the region over recent years, they also have some top screen locations to visit during their breaks.

But remember, current rules aimed at tackling coronavirus mean people are advised to stay at home and it is illegal to go between different areas without certain justifications.

Calderdale

All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5.All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5.
All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5.
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The West Yorkshire district has in recent years featured multiple times on the television.

This is mainly down to Huddersfield-born writer Sally Wainwright, whose shows - including Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and Gentleman Jack - have been filmed in Yorkshire.

Visitor numbers at Shibden Hall, the focus of the BBC and HBO's Gentleman Jack, rocketed after the show aired in 2019.

Whitby

Shibden Hall, which appeared in Sally Wainwright's Gentleman Jack.Shibden Hall, which appeared in Sally Wainwright's Gentleman Jack.
Shibden Hall, which appeared in Sally Wainwright's Gentleman Jack.

The 2020 BBC version of Dracula was, naturally, filmed partly in Whitby.

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This came after Hollywood director Paul Thomas Anderson brought Daniel Day-Lewis to the Yorkshire Coast to work on Phantom Thread in the Oscar winner's final screen role.

Production also went to the Victoria Hotel in Robin Hood's Bay and the cobbled streets of Staithes.

The production of ITV's Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria, has also dropped into town.

Television show Heartbeat, which aired between 1992 and 2010, followed the 1960s lives and adventures of the local police constabulary, medical staff, and residents of Ashfordly and Aidensfield, but was filmed in Goathland in North Yorkshire.

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The Goathland Hotel doubled as the The Aidensfield Arms, a pub regularly seen in the show.

Bradford

So steeped in screen heritage is Bradford that it was the first to be designated a Unesco Creative City of film more than 10 years ago.

Both Room at the Top (1959) and Billy Liar (1962) were filmed in the city centre.

In recent years City Hall has doubled for other locations in Keira Knightley film Official Secrets, the ABC Murders and Peaky Blinders - meaning it has hosted stars such as Oscar-winner Adrian Brody.

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Bronte Country is also a draw for literature lovers, with locations such as Haworth offering bundles of charm for visitors wanting to see where film versions were made on long walks. It's a stop on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a service which has been used numerous times in screen productions.

This picturesque mill village in West Yorkshire, which has Unesco status, has formed the backdrop for films such as Ghost Stories and Funny Cow.

A recent outing on screen, however, is in Julian Fellowes' Netflix drama The English Game.

It is the story of the invention of football and how it quickly became one of the world's most popular sports.

Leeds

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Yorkshire's largest city has naturally featured in a number of productions highlighted above.

Parts of the early seasons of Peaky Blinders were filmed in the city, with the Town Hall featuring.

Leeds United's Elland Road also featured in The Damned United, about the club's tumultuous time under the management of Brian Clough.

Sheffield

Movie fans will know Steel City primarily as the backdrop for The Fully Monty, the 1997 blockbuster British film about the build-up to a male striptease act.

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Chris Morris' Four Lions was also filmed in the city, as was upcoming film Everybody's Talking About Jamie.

Yorkshire Dales

The Tan Hill Inn, Britain's highest pub (at 528 metres), in Richmond dates back to the 17th century and with its exposed beams, stone floor and crackling fire in the Yorkshire Dales, is ready-made for film and TV producers.

As well as appearing in a Waitrose Christmas advert in 2017, it was also featured on North East detective drama, Vera.

Elsewhere, locations such as Grassington have double for the fictional Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small.

Hull

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Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel and Peter Capaldi, won success at the box office and critical acclaim when it came out in January last year.

And visitors to Hull - previously the UK City of Culture - can retrace the steps of young Mr Copperfield.

During production the Old Town was transformed to look like London in 1840, with filming taking place on location around Princes Street and Land of Green Ginger.