All Creatures Great and Small returns to Channel 5 on Thursday 17 September 2026 at 9:00 in the evening, bringing Darrowby and the Yorkshire Dales back to our screens. If the series leaves you dreaming of visiting, you can explore Grassington, the village used as Darrowby in the current adaptation, on our Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales day tour from York, or discover more on a Private All Creatures Great & Small tour.
For us at Best of Britain – Yorkshire Day Tours, the connection is personal. Our family ties to Alf Wight, the real James Herriot, and his veterinary practice give the stories a special place in our lives.
We would love to share the places behind those stories, and the Yorkshire we call home.
Our family connections to James Herriot
Growing up reading James Herriot’s books and watching the original BBC series of All Creatures Great and Small, there was something special about seeing our own corner of the world brought to life. The familiar places, recognisable characters and stories rooted in the farming community were part of the life we knew. This was home.
Both Alf Wight, who wrote under the name James Herriot, and Donald Sinclair, the inspiration for Siegfried Farnon, were vets for my father’s family farm. Today, my brother still works on the farm alongside our father.
For my husband Alan, the connection also reaches back to childhood. As a little boy, he stayed in a flat at the real Skeldale House in Thirsk. His aunt was a veterinary surgeon’s assistant who worked with Alf Wight, Donald Sinclair and Peter Wright, whom many viewers now know from The Yorkshire Vet.
Those connections give familiar names and places a very personal meaning for us. There are family memories behind them too, but we save those stories for our tours!
Having grown up around farming, we recognise the hard work and uncertainty in Herriot’s stories as well as the warmth and laughter: neighbours helping one another, traditions passed between generations, and a sense of humour that can see you through a difficult day.
Where is Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small?
Darrowby is the fictional town in James Herriot’s stories. Thirsk is home to the real James Herriot story: it is where Alf Wight lived and worked, and where you can visit his former home and veterinary surgery at the World of James Herriot.
Grassington provides the setting for Darrowby in the current television series. Its stone buildings, market square and familiar shopfronts are transformed for filming, bringing the television town to life in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
If you remember the original BBC adaptation, you may also recognise Askrigg, which was used as Darrowby in that earlier series.
Our public Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales tour visits Grassington, while a visit to the World of James Herriot in Thirsk is an optional extra on our private All Creatures Great & Small tour.
Visit Grassington, the Darrowby of the current television series
There is something lovely about arriving somewhere you have watched from your sofa and beginning to recognise your surroundings. You find yourself looking more closely at doorways, shopfronts and corners of the square, joining up the place in front of you with scenes you remember.
Look out for The Devonshire, whose exterior becomes The Drovers Arms in the series. If you stop for lunch or a drink, you can also enjoy the filming photographs displayed in its All Creatures Snug.
Another tempting stop is the newly opened Darrowby Provisions, a village delicatessen with the feel of a traditional 1940s country shop. Its selection of cheeses, cured meats, pork pies, preserves and pantry favourites makes it a lovely place to choose something for a picnic or a treat to take home. Fresh sandwiches, baked potatoes and daily soup offer inviting lunch options, while hampers, artwork and country goods give you plenty to browse.
Behind the familiar television setting is a living Yorkshire community. Part of the pleasure of visiting is enjoying Grassington as it is today: browsing its independent shops, chatting to local people and finding somewhere welcoming to sit down over something good to eat. The village is dressed for filming, so it will not always look exactly as it does on screen.
A taste of Herriot on a small-group day tour from York
Our Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales day tour from York offers a taste of Herriot alongside a wider introduction to the Dales. It is a lovely choice if you would like to see Darrowby’s television setting as part of a varied day of Yorkshire villages and countryside.
The day takes you to the traditional market town of Masham before travelling through the countryside to Grassington, with free time to explore and enjoy lunch. You can take an optional walk to Linton Falls before continuing to Bolton Abbey and returning to York.
Your local Yorkshire driver-guide brings the journey to life, sharing knowledge of the places you travel through and the communities that have shaped them.
This public small-group tour does not visit the World of James Herriot. If visiting Alf Wight’s former home and veterinary surgery is a priority, choose our private tour with the optional visit in Thirsk.
View the itinerary and check availability for our Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales day tour from York.
A more personal experience on a private All Creatures Great & Small tour
For guests who would like to explore the Herriot story in greater depth, our Private All Creatures Great & Small tour gives your party its own vehicle and dedicated local Yorkshire driver-guide.
If you choose the optional World of James Herriot visit, this will be your first stop in Thirsk, where you can explore Alf Wight’s former home and veterinary surgery.
The journey then takes you into the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with scenic photo stops and filming locations from the current television series before arriving in Grassington for lunch and free time to explore its familiar streets. In the afternoon, you will discover further filming locations and more of the beautiful Dales countryside.
With family connections and local stories to share along the way, it is a personal way to discover both the real James Herriot’s Yorkshire and the places that bring his stories to our screens.
Explore our Private All Creatures Great & Small tour.
The Yorkshire beyond the camera
The filming locations may inspire your visit, but we hope the wider Yorkshire landscape and its stories will stay with you too.
Across Yorkshire, there are views we have known all our lives that still make us pause: dry stone walls following the contours of a hillside, a familiar village coming into sight, or the changing light catching the fields on the way home. These places hold memories of people, childhood days and journeys made countless times. However often we see them, they still mean something.
Look across the fields and you will see generations of work in the walls, barns and farms. Travel between villages and notice how the scenery changes, from sheltered valleys and riverside meadows to open stretches of countryside with views that make you reach for your camera.
Each season brings something different to the journey. A view framed by fresh spring leaves can feel quite different beneath autumn colours, while changing weather and light can transform a hillside within minutes. It is one of the reasons we never tire of showing people around our home county.
As summer gives way to autumn, bring an extra layer, enjoy a leisurely lunch and take time to appreciate the places between the familiar views.
You do not need to have watched every episode to enjoy a day here. A love of countryside, local stories and exploring somewhere new is plenty.
All Creatures Great and Small tours: common questions
Can I visit Grassington on a day tour from York?
Yes. Our Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales day tour from York visits Grassington, with free time to explore and enjoy lunch. The itinerary also includes Masham and Bolton Abbey, with an optional walk to Linton Falls.
Which tour should I choose for the World of James Herriot?
Choose our Private All Creatures Great & Small tour and add the optional World of James Herriot visit in Thirsk. This will be the first stop of your day. Our public Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales tour does not visit the attraction.
Does the private tour visit filming locations before and after lunch?
Yes. Our private tour includes filming locations and scenic stops in the morning before lunch and free time in Grassington, followed by further filming locations and Yorkshire Dales countryside in the afternoon.
Do both tours have local Yorkshire driver-guides?
Yes. Both experiences include a local Yorkshire driver-guide. The private tour gives your party its own vehicle and dedicated guide, while the public tour is a shared small-group day out.
Come and discover our Yorkshire
Perhaps you remember watching the original series with your family. Perhaps the books have been favourites on your shelves for years, or the current series has introduced you to James Herriot’s world for the first time.
However you found your way to these stories, we would love to welcome you to the Yorkshire behind them.
For us, the pleasure is in sharing somewhere we know and love: the views we still stop to admire, the places filled with memories and the farming communities that remain part of our family’s life.
As you settle down to enjoy the new series, we hope you will see a little of what makes this place so special to us. And when you are ready to visit, we would love to show you around.
Come and spend a day in the Yorkshire we call home.
Check availability for our Herriot & The Yorkshire Dales day tour from York or explore our Private All Creatures Great & Small tour.
Lucy