Ryedale in North Yorkshire
Ryedale’s market towns of Pickering, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside and Malton are set in wonderful countryside and there are lots of arts events and things to do! Ryedale is a great place to cycle, walk, or just expolore by car or bus. There are abbeys, castles and museums and you can get lost on the North Yorkshire moors or wolds. The coast At Scarborough, Whitby and Filey only a short drive away. There are many hotels and bed and breakfast establishments, holiday cottages and campsites and a few are within walking distance of The Shed – Yorkshire’s famous music and poetry venue.
GUARDIAN – TRAVEL 20.3.10
The insiders guide to the world’s best small music venues.
Musicians, DJs and authors reveal their favourite hangouts.
“The Shed was the inspiration for my tour of village halls around Britain, which I am currently writing up as a book. And, after 235 villages, The Shed is still the loony best.” Hank Wangford, Guardian. Read the whole article:
From Pickering you can travel through the spectacular scenery of the North Yorkshire Moors by steam train (one of the film locations for Harry Potter) all the way to Goathland (Aidensfield in Heartbeat) and Grosmont.
Castle Howard - view across the Great Lake to the house.
Castle Howard is one of Britain’s finest stately homes, located in the beautiful Howardian Hills only fifteen miles northeast of York. The house was built in 1699 by the architect Sir John Vanbrugh and was the location for the filming of the TV series Brideshead Revisited.
From castle to shed, the fame has spread…
During the summer months in Ryedale there are traditional agricultural shows held in Rosedale, Farndale, Thornton Le Dale, Malton, Ryedale (Welburn) and Boon Hill. There is a major traction engine (steam) rally at Pickering and the world famous Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race ® (below). Ryedale Festival of classical music is held in late July / early August.
The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race ®
BBC Radio 4 records programmes at The Shed and people travel from across the UK and Europe to see international artists performing contemporary jazz, folk, blues, world music and poetry in this intimate and friendly space. One of the smallest and probably the most famous micro-venue in Yorkshire, The Shed plays host to artists as diverse as Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys, Snake Davis, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Katia Labeque, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Ian McMillan, Billy Jenkins and more..“The Shed is the best venue in England” David Thomas.
The North Yorkshire Elvis Bus Tour
The North Yorkshire Elvis Bus Tour meanders through magnificent Ryedale countryside with poet and Radio 3 presenter Ian McMillan as tour guide. The tour celebrates the publication of All Shook Up! by Ian McMillan and will soon form part of a new BBC Radio 4 drama (see below). This is a surreal and totally improvised commentary on the places of special relevance to the King’s past life in the market town of Pickering. Sponsored by Sirdar. Learn about the famous knitted Elvis wigs!
Hovingham Hall is located directly opposite The Shed in the picturesque village of Hovingham. This historic 18th Century house was the childhood home of The Duchess of Kent and is open to the public from 4th June to 7th July 2007 (closed Sundays). For over 400 years Hovingham has been the home of the Worsley family. The Palladian house was built between 1750 and 1770 by Thomas Worsley to his own design and is unique being entered through The Riding School.
Nunnington Hall. The sheltered walled garden on the bank of the River Rye, with its delightful mixed borders, orchards of traditional fruit varieties and spring-flowering meadows, complements this mellow 17th-century manor house. From the magnificent oak-panelled hall, follow three staircases to discover family rooms, the nursery, the haunted room and the attics, with their fascinating Carlisle collection of fully furnished miniature period rooms.
Eden Camp is an original Prisoner of War camp built in 1942. Reconstructed scenes, using movement, lighting, sound, smells (even smoke machines) will transport you back in time and make you feel that you are taking part in the history of wartime Britain. Eden Camp is an excellent day out for visitors of all ages, with assault courses to keep the younger visitors amused, and won the English Tourism Council’s England for Excellence Award for Visitor Attraction of the Year in 1998.
Pickering station – North Yorkshire Moors Railway 2003 Photo: Simon Thackray
North Yorkshire Moors Railway – Pickering’s famous steam railway – travelling to Goathland and Grosmont from Pickering.
Ryedale Tourist Information – buy tickets for The Shed in Malton and Pickering.
Malton Museum is currently showing a special exhibition about the 25 years of archaeological research on the sands and gravels of Heslerton. Also permanent display of the Roman artifacts from the Roman Fort at Malton.
Ryedale Folk Museum. Step back to the 18th Century! The museum has collections dating from pre-history to the 20th century and includes a thatched cruck cottage, an Elizabethan manor house and the oldest daylight photographic studio in the country.
Beck Isle Museum at Pickering comprises 24 rooms packed with displays which describe social, domestic and working life in the 18th century. The museum includes a collection of local photographs by Sidney Smith and William Marshall planned England’s first Agricultural Institute here in the early 1800′s.
