The A-Z of Yorkshire: Letters K-O in our roundup of the best of Yorkshire

In this list, we run down from K-O in the alphabet:

Kitchens

From serving up michelin-starred cuisine to some of the best home-made cooking, Yorkshire’s kitchens are unique due to the recipe of some of the best ingredients sourced from local produce, combined with our hearty heritage and a chef’s own background.

Cooking enthusiasts can try campfire cooking after a day’s foraging in the Yorkshire countryside to open kitchens in some of Yorkshire’s best restaurants. From Rudy’s Neapolitan pizza to Bulgogi Korean grill in Leeds where you barbeque your own food at the table.

There are also a range of ‘secret kitchens’ such as The Crow’s Rest Bakehouse in Wakefield serving up freshly baked goods and The Secret Italian in Barnsley which is an intimate restaurant.

There are many socially conscious kitchens too which are helping to change lives across the region such as ‘The Welcome Restaurant’- Yahala Mataam which pops-up each month serving a range of Afghan, Syrian and middle eastern cuisine carefully prepared by refugees and asylum seekers who are living in York.

Soup kitchens too are vitally important such as The Bradford Soup Run, Wakefield Street Kitchen and Leeds Homeless Street Angels who deliver food to those on the streets.

The Seafood Social Café is a social enterprise based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, by Whitby Seafoods. Working in partnership with the Rainbow Centre, a Scarborough-based initiative that aims to tackle homelessness and the issues that can lead to homelessness.

Other socially conscious kitchens pop up too around the region such as Blend Kitchen in Sheffield and Surplus to Purpose in Leeds.

Lakes

While the Lake District is not too far away, we still have an array of splendid lakes in our own region such as Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales which is England's highest lime-rich lake, “home to a unique variety of rare plants and animals,” according to English Heritage.

Damflask Reservoir in Loxley, Sheffield is a great place for a stroll around.

BBC Countryfile and former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton loves getting outdoors with her children.

As she previously told the Yorkshire Post:

“We spend a lot of time in the Dales, Bolton Abbey, Swinsty Reservoir, anywhere the kids can get out and around to be honest,” said Helen.

Whether you want a gentle stroll on the path or exploring the woods, you can find Swinsty Reservoir adjacent to Fewston Reservoir, running 10 miles north of Otley and west of Harrogate.

There’s also Angram Reservoir in North Yorkshire which is the first of three reservoirs on the River Nidd in Upper Nidderdale.

But don’t be confused with the Barnsley term ‘Lekin’ which has nothing to do with lakes. “Tha’ Lekin?” means “are you playing?”

M is for motors, as us Yorkshire folk do love life on the fastlane from incredible supercar showrooms, vintage cars and movie fan favourites to off roading and go karting experiences as well as a whole fleet of Yorkshire folk now enjoying holidays in a motorhome.

The Motorist, is an automotive venue in Sherburn in Elmet, which has a car garage, cafe, shop and is an ideal place for legal car meets.

There’s also a lot of motorbike cafes too, one of the popular ones is close to The Motorist called Squires Cafe Bar, Newthorpe Lane.

Some cult movie superfans have even built, refurbished and bought vehicles from their favourite films such as Ghostbusters Ecto 1 car or the batmobile.

Living life or going on staycations in a motorhome is also proving popular as over 10,000 people attended The Great Holiday Home Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground recently.

One way to secure free parking regardless of your vehicle at some of the region’s most impressive sites is to join the National Trust.

The National Trust could almost do its own A-Z guide of the region from Brimham Rocks – over 340 million years old, this place was created during the last Ice Age long before dinosaurs first walked the earth. The rock formations make for a natural

playground to scramble and climb over with fantastical names including Castle Rock, the Dancing Bear, the Turtle, Smartie Tube and Druid’s Writing Desk.

Many Yorkshire houses were patrons of Thomas Chippendale, including Harewood House and Nostell in west Yorkshire. Born in Otley, Thomas Chippendale started out as a cabinet maker in Yorkshire, Thomas Chippendale went on to become one of the 18th century’s most fashionable furniture designers. Nearly 250 years after his death, the Chippendale name remains a byword for quality, with the brand’s superbly made pieces continuing to grace luxury homes around the world.

This brings us to Chippendale’s birth town of O for Otley - an overlooked market town on the edge of Leeds. There’s been a market in the town since 1227 with shoppers scurrying down the cobblestone streets for a taste of tradition. There is however a throng of ‘trendy’ independent shops too amongst the many charity shops and bargain stores.

One of the bargain shops however has gone viral online - the 20p shop where people can grab bric-a-brac and everything is actually 20p.

Otley is set near the stunning countryside, but it is probably most famous for The Otley Run which has nothing to do with sport but it’s a pub crawl made famous by farmers on ‘market day who took a tractor and drove into Leeds, stopping at all the pubs on the way,’ according to Visit Otley.

You’ll now see many students in fancy dress stagger down Otley Road and through Headingley on the infamous Otley Run.