YorTours

14/02/2025

The saying “ every day is a school day” is 100% accurate. I NEVER knew anything about this ruined “ hidden treasure” church just outside Pateley Bridge , so it’s high time I visited myself 👀 thanks to Yorkshire Treasures intrigue below ⬇️

13/02/2025

Todays “ extended” tour with an early start from Breuil-Cervinia (2050 m) was beyond all expectations, the weather so kind too 🏔️, onto the Plateau Rosa (3480m) Italy 🇮🇹; and down 1 of the Matterhorn glaciers into Switzerland 🇨🇭. My ski tour map took us to the double observatory shown here. Having not been on the Matterhorn cog railway 🚃, that was a must down the mountain around valleys , over rivers, glaciers & ski ⛷️ trails small stations into Zermatt. From there time was pressing to return prior to the snow clouds looming ( & a wonderful children’s mountain ski park )

12/02/2025

Todays tour takes in the Italian 🇮🇹 side and 🇨🇭 of “ M” for mountain ⛰️ of Matterhorn. Always use a professional mountain guide , observe safety protocols & double check your equipment, experience & enjoy 👍” Z” for Zermatt 😉

11/02/2025

Outstanding achievement. Winner of Best TV drama series ( and my favourite 🤩) All Creatures Great & Small 🎥 🏆

All Creatures Great and Small has won Best Drama Series in the TV Choice awards - an accolade voted for by TV viewers and presented last night at the Hilton in London.

11/02/2025

I had never thought of this, obvious when so eloquently written thanks to Yorkshire Treasures below ⬇️. Spend £10 in the local shops and economy and the actual overall benefit is up to 5 x times locally 👌 “ multiplier”

Where does your money go? Is one £10 more valuable than another? Depends where you spend it! I remember going to our local shop when I was about 15. There was always a queue, in part thanks to the sign on the counter: 'local news desk'. It was tongue-in-cheek but also true. Almost every one stopped to talk, ask about families and exchange news. At 15 I was impatient, anxious to be on my way and out into the world so I found it really frustrating, but it was that sense of community that brought me home again. There's real heart in every local business.

There's a big difference between shopping in independent businesses in rural areas, and in large shops in bigger towns. When you walk into a shop, gallery, cafe, pub or any other small business here, you're likely to be greeted by the owner, a member of their family or someone who lives locally and has worked there for a while.

There's a sense of welcome and connection. It doesn't take long before they remember you and what you like. There's banter in the butchers, the wine shop owner who always remembers your favourite wine even when you don't (thanks Corks and Cases!), the gallery owner who can second-guess not only your preferences but those of the friends you've bought for in the past (Masham Gallery!)

Shopping can take a bit longer here, as you go from shop to shop in search of each of their specialities. But that's a good thing. Slowing down can do us all good, and the conversations along the way are uplifting and satisfying.

You're not just spending money in a shop - you're investing in a sense of community. It might be easy for me to drive to the nearest supermarket but they won't remember me next week, nor will they gather up produce and take it out to the person on a mobility scooter outside, checking that they're well. Shops here perform a service beyond their basic sales.

Spend a little while in Settle, Skipton, Masham, Richmond, Leyburn, Hawes, Reeth, Ingleton, Pateley Bridge, Sedbergh or one of the other Dales market towns, and your money really does go further!

Research found that when you shop locally, for every £10 you spend, about £50 is generated in the local economy through the multiplier effect. You spend £10 in the grocers, and then they go and buy a paper from the newsagents, who pays a local window-cleaner for their services, who can then afford dance lessons for their children in the village hall, and so it goes on...

08/02/2025

Snape castle near Masham I never know how much historical significance it had to the Pilgrimage of Grace also ; thanks to Yorkshire Treasures see below ⬇️

31/01/2025

Todays tour takes us to what was the border between France 🇫🇷 & Italy 🇮🇹 fought over in 1940 and one of the ruined mountain ⛰️ forts we see today

The Redoute Ruinée (or Fort de la Traversette) is an old fortification from 1894, reinforced in 1940, perched at 2383 meters south of the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, on the Col de la Traversette. It was intended to prevent military vehicles from entering this pass with the support of French artillery and to harass troops on foot entering French soil.

In June 1940, it was occupied by a section of 40 Alpine soldiers from the 70th Alpine Fortress Battalion (BAF) commanded by Lieutenant Desserteaux and 2 artillery observers. They were equipped only with infantry weapons: rifles, and machine guns .

On June 21, the garrison was attacked by Italian infantry supported by artillery and aircraft. It would resist until the 24th, the date of the armistice, and would not surrender, on the orders of the French command, until July 3 with the honors of war. Its action prevented the Italian light armor from advancing on the road to the Petit Saint-Bernard pass and contributed to the failure of the Italian attack towards Séez.

This resistance was made possible by the power and precision of the artillery fire delivered from the fortifications located around Bourg-Saint-Maurice and by the inability of the Italian gunners and the Italian air force to hit and destroy this fortification located on a narrow ridge 20 meters wide.

At the start of the war, on 11 June 1940, Italy massed a large force of 52,000 men along its border with France in order to break out into the Isère Valley before later seizing Chambéry. It launched the offensive on 21 June, only to stop it on 24 June due to the signing of the armistice, without having achieved its objectives.

31/01/2025

Another little golden nugget thanks to Real Yorkshire Tours to visit when in the Leeds area 👍

28/01/2025

Todays “ extended “ tour 😉 to the top of Mont Blanc at 15,000 ft ; always use a qualified professional mountain guide to reach the parts other tours simply never reach with YorTours 🏔️🇧🇪& 🇫🇷

22/01/2025

A most useful summary below on the various colour & number markers on our sheep and what they distinguish? Thanks Yorkshire Treasures

Noticed colourful 'graffiti' on sheep? Why? For many years (and in some places still) sheep were grazed on common land, which belonged to the whole community so different flocks mixed together. Farmers used paint marks to differentiate their sheep from others. It was originally a combination of pigment and grease so the colour stayed on. Chemical sprays are now more commonly used.

Each farmer would devise their own shape or combination of stripes. ​Eventually local manuals of smit marks were published, showing which farmer used which marks.

In addition to these ownership marks, you may see other ones. After scanning, farmers may mark ewes to show how many lambs each one expects, or mark new born lambs so it’s easy to know which is their mother.

In the Autumn/Winter you’ll see colour on the backsides of ewes. Tups (rams) are fitted with a raddle on their chest which contains colour. Each time they tup (mate with) a ewe, some of the colour comes off so the farmer knows which sheep are likely to have lambs.

21/01/2025

Ripley Castle; a warm favourite with the locals ( & visitors from around the 🌎), and mine too ( my daughter’s wedding ) and our graduation venue as a British Guild of Tourist Guides . Said to be the most expensive property to purchase in take a peek below ⬇️ a brief summary thanks to Yorkshire Treasures .

Fancy owning a gorgeous castle on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales? You can! After being in the same family for 26 generations, Ripley Castle is now for sale - just £21million for the whole estate. Want to go halves?

The castle dates back to the 14th century, but most of the village or Ripley was rebuilt in the 1800s by the eccentric Sir William Amcotts Ingilby. Inspired by his travels to Alsace he modelled it on a French town complete with a Hotel de Ville, cobbled square and Gothic-styled buildings.

Ripley Castle has an incredible history. King James l stayed at the castle in 1603. 2 years later and the Ingilbys (who still own the estate) helped mastermind the Gunpower Plot.

One of the famous and fearless Ingilbys was ‘Trooper’ Jane, the sister of Sir William who held Oliver Cromwell prisoner by guarding him, holding two pistols, in the castle’s library after he had won the Battle of Marston Moor in the English Civil War.

The Ingilbys were royalists and ‘Trooper’ was safeguarding her brother who had fought against Cromwell on the battlefield before hiding in the Priest Hole in the Castle.

18/01/2025

Stunning secluded Yockenthwaite ; made famous by the series All Creatures Great & Small; yet it has so much to offer - see ⬇️ thanks to Yorkshire Treasures British Guild of Tourist Guides #

You may recognise this place? It's a tiny hamlet packed with interest, right in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. Perhaps you've seen it on TV, or walked through it?

It's Yockenthwaite, which features as Helen Alderson's family home in the TV series of James Herriot's All Creatures Great & Small. It's by the river Wharfe in lovely Langstrothdale.

There are some beautiful walks through Yockenthwaite, including the Dales Way, and other shorter routes towards Cray or onwards to the historic and very lovely The George Inn at Hubberholmewhere you can also visit the church of St. Michaels and All Angels which features in All Creatures Great & Small, and spot many mice carved by the 'Mouseman', Robert Thompson.

Nature thrives here - it's home to black grouse, curlews, oystercatchers and many other species and is close to a recognised red squirrel reserve. There are two observation bird hides at nearby Nethergill Farm where David and Helen Thomas are doing all they can to increase biodiversity.

Apart from this much-photographed drunken post-box, Yockenthwaite is known for Yockenthwaite Farm where the Hird family have farmed the area since 1842. They're best known for their delicious Yockenthwaite Farm Granola, lovingly hand made from a blend of whole grains, nuts and seeds, drizzled with honey and then slowly baked into crunchy clusters. It's so much better than other commercial granolas!

17/01/2025

Todays tour included 1 of the main 🎥 locations of Spectre 007 ; a dramatic location surrounded by snow covered 🏔️⛷️

13/01/2025

Every day really is a school day & today no exception- ever wondered where the word Caravan originated? ( as in a mobile sleep van) Developed by Max Reisch from the Tyrol Austria 🇦🇹 take a peek 👀 at his global journeys and record breaking 🌎🏆. Based on an Opel car 🚗, converted by him into yep a CAR A VAN as in foto badge in 1949/50. A freelance designer & inventor; he became internationally famous as leader of the 1935/36 Round -the-World expedition & 1st crossing of Southeast Asia. He won the Austrian 🇵🇪Rallye title at his 1st attempt ! Later obtained a doctorate in World Trade . He reached the age of 72 but before his passing he said “ I’m content as I’ve reached 102, the years I spent in the deserts count as double “ ! An active mountaineer & skier and 1st long distance drive ? Across the Sahara in 1932.

13/01/2025

Todays tour starting at 3082 metres a balmy -21C and views impossible to put into words , yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery but Today is a GIFT

08/01/2025

No dates for implementation yet ; however concise summary below both to enter UK ; and for UK citizens visiting Europe thanks to our partners watch for updates Celebrated Experiences