Following in the footsteps of the stars
3:41pm Thursday 20th March 2008
Lights, camera, action. There's been plenty of that going on all over for Yorkshire decades - from the movie greats to the nation's favourite TV series. But do you have any idea just how many times the cameras have rolled in Yorkshire?
It's well over 60, and many you may be familiar with such as The Railway Children, Calendar Girls and Brideshead Revisited, but some might not spring quite so readily to mind.
For instance, did you know that some scenes from Sharpe, the television series starring Sean Bean, were shot at Hardcastle Crags and East Riddlesden Hall? Or that black comedy horror The Cottage - in cinemas this month - was shot in the grounds of Harewood House last year?
Earlier this year When Did You Last See your Father? was released on DVD. Starring Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth and Juliet Stevenson, and written by Blake Morrison, who grew up in Thornton-in-Craven. The film was set in and around Skipton, and was premiered last October in The Plaza in the town.
So, why not plan some of your weekend and bank holiday days out around the places scenes from your favourite films have been shot, such as East Riddlesden Hall, between Bingley and Keighley, a 17th century manor house with formal and wild gardens, duckpond and grounds, owned by the National Trust? Although the Bronte sisters may have lived in Haworth, few of their books have been filmed in the area, until a later version of Wuthering Heights, starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, used the hall as a location, also used for scenes in Sharpe.
The success of The Railway Children in 1970 ensured moviemakers would keep returning to West Yorkshire - and they have, from Pink Floyd and director Alan Parker in the 1982 film The Wall, to Born and Bred, starring James Bolam (even though the series was set in Lancashire) and Song of Experience, a BBC play broadcast in the 1980s about three young transpotters which was filmed at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
Keighley and Haworth are great destinations for a trip out. There's plenty to see and do, some great walks, and lots of places to part with your money, from antique shops to market stalls.
Harewood House, off the Leeds-to-Harrogate road, has popped up in a number of films and TV series, including The Cottage and Seaforth and, of course, Emmerdale, the country's second longest-running television soap opera. The series is produced on a purpose-built set on the estate, and although not open to the public, the area is so beautiful it is a great destination for a popular day out.
There's plenty going on at Harewood over Easter, including egg decorating and children's activities, a puppet theatre, circus workshop, face painting and walks and trails.
Heartbeat continues to be filmed in and around the North York Moors, in particularly Goathland, which doubles up as Aidenfield. But did you know they also filmed scenes at the station there for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. North of Pickering, off the Whitby road, it is surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Fans will not be disappointed by a visit to the fictional town as many of the series landmarks are recognisable, including the stores, garage and funeral directors, the public house and the railway station.
When you watch the series you may be forgiven for thinking that all the settings are close to one another when in fact some other regular settings in the series are located outside of the village.
The police house is 70 miles away in the small village of Askwith, near Ilkley, and the police station can be found in the town of Otley, and was a real police station in past years.
Brideshead Revisted has once again revisited Castle Howard, near York - this time for a film adaptation. For five weeks last July, the castle was a hive of activity as the setting of a new film based on the novel. Stars including Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson, visited the castle and local extras were used in ballroom scenes and as soldiers, while hounds from the Middleton Hunt starred in the hunt scenes.
Castle owner Simon Howard said: "We've had great fun hosting the filming, and seeing Castle Howard revisit its role as Brideshead. The crew have been fantastic to work with, and apart from a very busy schedule we've enjoyed having them here."
Castle Howard is having a gruesome Easter this year to coincide with its new exhibition, Surviving Henry: Tudor Howards on the Block. Tomorrow and Monday children will be able to paint Tudor Egg-Heads', in the style of Henry VIII or one of his victims - complete with bloody stains!
Redcar is a town on the North Sea coast near Middlesbrough, and was the setting for scenes in the award-winning film Atonement, which saw Redcar beach transformed into Dunkirk, with hundreds of extras playing retreating British soldiers. One long tracking' scene from the re-creation of actual events for the film has been hailed as one of the best of its type in cinematic history.
The popular seaside resorts of Marske and Saltburn and the quaint historic market town of Guisborough are all in the area, or you could enjoy a flutter at Redcar Racecourse, which has its first meeting of the season on Easter Monday.
No mention of parts of Yorkshire which have provided the perfect backdrop from movies series would be complete without a mention of Calendar Girls.
Filmed in Wharfedale, Burnsall was used as the location for the annual village show. The Tennants Arms at Kilnsey was the public house where the men waited for the production of the calendar, and where they held the press conference, and Kettlewell was used as the fictional village of Knapely.