Today is #YorkshireDay and as the resident Midas Northerner, I’ve hijacked the blog to introduce you to what I think is the greatest place in the whole world.
I’ve spent most of my life in God’s Own Country and moved back here after five years in the big city just before the pandemic hit. While lockdowns meant my cultural renaissance was put on hold for a year, I, and so many others, are taking full advantage of everything the region has to offer.
On such an important day, I wanted to go through all the reasons why Yorkshire is one of the best places to get your cultural fix!
A hotspot for any culture vulture
Our wonderful clients at the Booksellers Association and Bookshop.org are all about championing amazing bookshops across the country and it was astounding to see how many of them are based here. From the gorgeous The Little Ripon Bookshop to the Comma Press in York, to The Bookish Type in Leeds and The Bookcase Hebden Bridge, there is a bookshop for every taste and each one is led by incredible, enthusiastic booksellers.
The art galleries and museums. We are blessed to have so many beautiful museums and art galleries right on our doorstep. From Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Salts Mill and the Hepworth Wakefield to Fountains Abbey and Beningbrough Hall, there will be something to tickle your cultural taste buds no matter your interests.
Home to the UK’s biggest festivals
We’re also very lucky to be the home of so many festivals – not only are our clients Theakston Old Peculier Crime Festival and Bradford Literature Festival here, but there’s the likes of Ilkley Book Festival, Books by the Beach in Scarborough, Harrogate Literature Festival, Off the Shelf Festival in Sheffield and the newcomer Leeds Lit Fest. You could almost spend every weekend at a festival (and that sounds like heaven to me!)
Stunning scenery
They don’t call it God’s Own Country for nothing! The Yorkshire Dales (home to James Heriot and the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen) and the North York Moors are two beautiful viewpoints and Haworth is the birthplace of famous literary family, the Brontës – it’s also the perfect place to live out any Wuthering Heights/Kate Bush fantasies. Heading out for a weekend ramble across the countryside is one of my favourite things to do to relax and take a moment from the hectic life of PR.
We have our own ‘West End’
London may be the home of the West End but there’s plenty to offer any theatre fans up North too. The Grand Opera House in York, Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre, The Crucible in Sheffield, Scarborough’s Open-Air Theatre and the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond are just to name a few. If you’re a fan of tense theatre productions, lover of musicals or just after a laugh with comedy’s finest – you can find it here!
Good ol’ Northern hospitality
When they say Yorkshire folk are among the nicest people in the UK, they’re not joking. The warm welcome you receive when you enter a local indie or get on a bus will make you never want to leave. Yorkshire people will chat about anything and everything and it’s a stereotype we’re proud to be.
Hannah Bright at Theakston Old Perculier Crime Festival 2022
I hope this has inspired you to take a visit up north sometime soon to take in all that we have to offer – Happy Yorkshire Day to all who celebrate!
You can get to know more about Hannah Bright in our #MidasMeets interview here.
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