Visit Yorkshire Places

Welcome to Visit Yorkshire Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Yorkshire

  

Yorkshire Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Yorkshire

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Yorkshire history

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Ancient–500: Hen Ogledd

Early inhabitants of what is now Yorkshire were Hen Ogledd Brythonic Celts (old north British Celts) The Brigantes controlled territory which later became all of Northern England. The Parisi, who controlled the area that would become the East Riding of Yorkshire, might have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul.

500s–1000s: Germanic landings

Northumbria stretched from the Irish Sea to the North Sea and from Edinburgh down to Hallamshire in the south. Jórvík was the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain. The area was invaded and conquered for short periods by England between 927 and 954 before being annexed into England in 954.

1000s–1400s: Normans

The people of the North rebelled against the Normans in September 1069 AD, enlisting Sweyn II of Denmark. They tried to take back York, but they burnt it before they could. From York to Durham, crops, domestic animals, and farming tools were scorched. Many villages between towns were burnt and locals were murdered.

1400s–1600s: Royal revolts

The House of York and the House of Lancaster fought for the throne of England in the Wars of the Roses. Some of the battles took place in Yorkshire, such as those at Wakefield and Towton, the latter of which is known as the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. During the English Civil War, Yorkshire had divided loyalties, with the North Riding of Yorkshire strongly royalist.

1500s–1900s: Industry

Yorkshire grew in the 16th and 17th centuries, with Leeds and Huddersfield growing. Coal mining first came into prominence in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Yorkshire was important base for RAF Bomber Command during World War Two.

1950s–present: Divided

The County Borough of Teesside was created in 1968, drafted by the North Eastern General Review Area from 1962 to 1963 and executed under the Local Government Act 1958. In 1996, the ‘East Riding of Yorkshire’ was created from Yorkshire parts of abolished Humberside. In 2018, eighteen of the twenty-two local councils in the Yorkshire and Humber region voted to elect a mayor to represent the county.

Yorkshire culture & places

The culture of Yorkshire is an accumulated product of a number of different civilisations who have influenced its history. The people of Yorkshire are immensely proud of their county and local culture. Yorkshire people have their own Yorkshire dialects and accents and are, or rather were, known as Broad Yorkshire or Tykes, with its roots in Old English and Old Norse.

Architecture

Throughout Yorkshire many castles were built during the Norman-Breton period, particularly after the Harrying of the North. The remains of these castles, some being English Heritage sites, are popular tourist destinations. There are several stately homes in Yorkshire which carry the name “castle” in their title.

Literature and art

The Brontë sisters are famous for their novels, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Bram Stoker authored Dracula while living in Whitby and it includes elements of local folklore including the beaching of the Russian ship Dmitri.

Cuisine

The traditional cuisine of Yorkshire is known for using rich-tasting ingredients. Yorkshire pudding, a savoury batter dish, is by far the best known of Yorkshire foods. The beverage ginger beer, flavoured with ginger, came from Yorkshire and existed since the mid-18th century.

Beer and brewing

Yorkshire has a number of breweries including Black Sheep, Copper Dragon, Cropton Brewery, John Smith’s, Sam Smith’s and Kelham Island Brewery. Brewing has taken place on a large scale since at least the 12th century. Most current Yorkshire breweries date from the Industrial Revolution.

Music

Yorkshire has a flourishing folk music culture, with over forty folk clubs and thirty annual folk music festivals. Famous folk performers from the county include the Watersons from Hull, Heather Wood (born 1945) of the Young Tradition; the short-lived electric folk group Mr Fox (1970–72), The Deighton Family; Julie Matthews; Kathryn Roberts; and Kate Rusby. The 1982 Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Harrogate International Centre.

Film and television productions

Several noted films are set in Yorkshire, including Kes, This Sporting Life, Room at the Top, Brassed Off, Mischief Night, Rita, Sue and Bob Too, The Damned United, Four Lions, God’s Own Country and Calendar Girls. Yorkshire has remained a popular location for filming in more recent times.

Yorkshire economy & business

South and West

The City of Leeds is Yorkshire’s largest city and the leading centre of trade and commerce. Bradford, Halifax, Keighley and Huddersfield once had heavy industries, such as coal mining and the steel industry. Tourism is also significant and a growing sector in the city.

East Riding and North

Tourism is a huge part of the economy of York with a value of over £765 million to the city and supporting 24,000 jobs in 2019. Kingston upon Hull is Yorkshire’s largest port and has a large manufacturing base. Harrogate draws numerous visitors because of its conference facilities.

Yorkshire toponymy

Geology

Yorkshire is bordered by several historic counties: Durham, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Westmorland. Historically, the northern boundary of Yorkshire was the River Tees. The eastern boundary was the North Sea coast and the southern boundary was Humber Estuary and Rivers Don and Sheaf. In Yorkshire there is a very close relationship between the major topographical areas and the geological period in which they were formed.

Geography

The countryside of Yorkshire has acquired the common nickname of “God’s Own County” Yorkshire includes the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, and part of the Peak District National Park. The highest mountains in Yorkshire all lie in the Pennines, with millstone grit and limestone forming the underlying geology and producing distinctive layered hills.

Cities

York has historically been recognised as a city “by ancient prescriptive right”, having been the seat of a bishop for many centuries, rather than through specific charters or declarations. The smallest city in Yorkshire is Ripon which associated its city status with the establishment of Church of England dioceses. Bradford, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds and Sheffield became cities in the 1890s.

Yorkshire etymology

Yorkshire or the County of York was so named as it is the shire (administrative area or county) of the city of York or York’s Shire. “York” comes from the Viking name for the city, Jórvík. The word “Shire” is either from the Old Norse word skyr or from Old English scir meaning share, care or official charge.

You can visit Yorkshire places with Walkfo Yorkshire to hear history at Yorkshire’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Yorkshire has 11 places to visit in our interactive Yorkshire map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Yorkshire, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Yorkshire places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Yorkshire & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 11 audio facts unique to Yorkshire places in an interactive Yorkshire map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Yorkshire Places Map
11 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Yorkshire historic spots	Yorkshire tourist destinations	Yorkshire plaques	Yorkshire geographic features
Walkfo Yorkshire tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Yorkshire

  

Best Yorkshire places to visit

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Yorkshire has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Yorkshire’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Yorkshire’s information audio spots:

Visit Yorkshire plaques