All Creatures Great and Small Day Trip from York
If you watch All Creatures Great and Small and find yourself thinking, “I would love to see that place for myself,” you are not alone.
The good news is that Darrowby is not entirely fictional. The current television series uses the Yorkshire Dales village of Grassington as the main stand-in for Darrowby, with nearby villages and landscapes appearing throughout the series too.
That makes Grassington a brilliant starting point for a Yorkshire day trip from York. You can walk through the village square, recognise familiar buildings, explore the surrounding Dales and still have time to enjoy the countryside properly.
No rushing from one distant location to another. No faff with rural buses. Just a well-planned day out through some of the most characterful parts of Yorkshire.
Where is the real Darrowby?
For the recent Channel 5 adaptation, the real-life Darrowby is primarily Grassington, in Upper Wharfedale within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The village has exactly the sort of setting the production needed:
- A traditional cobbled square
- Weathered Yorkshire stone buildings
- Independent shops and cafés
- Narrow streets and old-fashioned frontages
- Green hills and Dales scenery close by
During filming, local shopfronts have been transformed into 1930s businesses. The Devonshire pub appears as the exterior of the Drovers Arms, while other familiar businesses have been dressed as shops from the fictional town.
The outside of Skeldale House, James Herriot’s home and veterinary surgery, is also in Grassington. It is a private residence, though, so you should view it respectfully from the public street rather than treating it like an attraction.
That is worth remembering. Grassington is a real village, not a film set built for visitors.
What can you see in Grassington?
Grassington is compact, which is helpful if you are visiting as part of a busy day. You can explore the main square and nearby streets on foot without needing to turn the visit into a serious hike.
Look out for:
- The market square used as the centre of Darrowby
- The Devonshire, standing in for the Drovers Arms exterior
- Shopfronts connected with the fictional Darrowby businesses
- Skeldale House from the outside
- Traditional stone cottages and village details
- Independent cafés, shops and places to stop for lunch
You will not find actors wandering around or every building looking exactly as it does on television. Filming uses dressing, camera angles and several different locations to create Darrowby.
But that is part of the fun. You start spotting the real places behind the finished scenes.
Honestly, even if you have never watched the programme, Grassington is still a proper Yorkshire village worth visiting.
What other All Creatures Great and Small locations are nearby?
Grassington is the main stop, but the wider Yorkshire Dales provide much of the atmosphere that makes the series so recognisable.
Depending on your interests, a tailor-made route could include:
Arncliffe
Arncliffe, in Littondale, appears in several scenes from the series. Its village green, stone buildings and surrounding countryside provide a quieter contrast to Grassington.
The village has a genuine rural feel, with the River Skirfare running through the landscape. It is the sort of place where you can understand why the production team wanted to film in the Dales rather than recreate everything in a studio.
Malhamdale
The countryside around Malham provides some of the wider rural scenery seen in the programme.
The area includes:
- Malham Cove
- Malham Lings
- Malham Tarn Crossroads
- Quiet roads above the dale
- Janet’s Foss waterfall
You may recognise Malham Lings from James Herriot’s arrival in Yorkshire. Janet’s Foss also appears in one of the programme’s memorable scenes.
Malham is popular for good reason, but it can become awkward to combine with too many other stops in one day. That is the problem with planning Yorkshire sightseeing from a map. Everything looks close until you are out on the roads.
Burnsall
Burnsall is another attractive Wharfedale village, set beside the River Wharfe. St Wilfrid’s Church featured in the first Christmas Special of the rebooted series.
It is a useful stop if you want riverside scenery, a short walk and somewhere with a slightly different feel from Grassington. You could also connect the two villages on foot if you are planning a longer walk, though that would change the balance of a driving sightseeing day.
The wider Dales roads
Some of the best All Creatures Great and Small scenery is not a single named attraction. It is the view from the road.
You get:
- Dry-stone walls
- Sheep in open fields
- Stone farmhouses
- Narrow lanes
- Limestone hills
- Valleys opening around a bend
They are out on the roads. That is where the Dales begin to feel like the Dales.
Can you visit Darrowby from York in one day?
Often, yes.
You cannot sensibly see every filming location in the Yorkshire Dales in one day. Grassington, Malham, Arncliffe, Hardraw and the other places associated with the series are spread across a sizeable area.
But you can create a very enjoyable Yorkshire day trip from York by choosing one part of the Dales and giving it enough time.
A sensible day might include:
- Collection from York
- A scenic drive west through Wharfedale
- Grassington and its Darrowby filming locations
- Time for lunch or a café stop
- A nearby village such as Burnsall or Arncliffe
- A landscape stop, perhaps around Malham or the River Wharfe
- A relaxed return to York
The exact route depends on what you want from the day.
Are you mainly interested in the television series? Do you want walking and waterfalls too? Would your children prefer villages and animals to a long visit at one location? Are you travelling with someone who would rather enjoy views from the vehicle than tackle uneven paths?
It is always worth saying what you actually want. We can then work around it where availability allows.
Why take a private tour from York?
You can hire a car and drive yourself. That can work well if you are comfortable with narrow lanes, unfamiliar roads and changing journey times.
But many visitors would reasonably prefer not to spend their only free day dealing with:
- Car hire paperwork
- Rural parking
- Sat-nav decisions
- Narrow Dales roads
- Finding somewhere to stop for lunch
- Working out which locations are public and which are private
- Watching the clock because you have added too many places
No coach timetable. No strangers joining your group. No fixed list of stops that only makes sense on paper.
With Highwayman Tours, your day is private to your group of up to four passengers. We provide the vehicle and local driving, while you enjoy the scenery and decide how much time to spend at each stop.
You are not just being delivered to Grassington and left to work it out. You have someone who knows the roads, understands the distances and can explain what you are looking at without turning every minute into a lecture.
That is the whole point.
Is this a dedicated television-location tour?
Not as a rigid, one-size-fits-all package.
Our private Yorkshire Dales tours from York can be adapted around your interests. If All Creatures Great and Small is the main reason you want to visit the Dales, tell us.
We can build the day around Grassington and nearby filming locations. We can also add:
- River and waterfall scenery
- Traditional villages
- Historic sites
- Short, manageable walks
- Local food stops
- Viewpoints and quiet back roads
- Other places you have seen in the series
If you would rather combine Darrowby with Bolton Abbey, Linton Falls, Pateley Bridge or Brimham Rocks, that may be possible too. It depends on the route, the season, your timings and how much time you want to spend out of the vehicle.
We cannot promise every date will be free, and we cannot make the whole Yorkshire Dales fit neatly into eight hours. But if we can make your preferred route work, we will.
Practical things to know before you go
Grassington is easy to explore, but sensible preparation helps.
Wear comfortable shoes, even if you are not planning a long walk. Village streets can be uneven, and many scenic stops involve grass, gravel or short slopes.
Bring a coat. Yorkshire weather can change quickly, and the views can be just as interesting under cloud as they are in sunshine.
Be considerate around filming locations. Some buildings are private homes or working businesses. Take photographs from public areas, avoid blocking doorways and remember that local residents are going about their day.
Finally, do not try to visit every location simply because you have found it online. Five places enjoyed properly will usually give you a better day than ten places seen through a windscreen.
Plan your All Creatures Great and Small day trip from York
A private Yorkshire sightseeing day centred on Darrowby gives you a simple combination:
- The real Grassington locations
- Nearby Yorkshire Dales villages
- Beautiful rural scenery
- Flexible timing
- No car-hire hassle
- A private group of up to four passengers
- A route shaped around your interests
For official location information, Visit North Yorkshire’s guide to All Creatures Great and Small filming locations is useful. You can also explore Discover Grassington’s Darrowby guide before your visit.
For more ideas, see our guides to one day in the Yorkshire Dales from York and how to visit the Yorkshire Dales from York.
Darrowby may be fictional, but the villages, old roads and Dales landscapes are very real.
If you would like to see them without the faff, send us a message and we can talk through your day.
( Kestrel, Highwayman Tours)
