The A-Z of Yorkshire: Letters P-T in our roundup of the best of Yorkshire

In this list, we run down from P-T in the alphabet:

Pubs

Leeds is home to the oldest surviving pub in the UK The Bingley Arms.

The Shibden Mill Inn, West Yorkshire, has been crowned the Best Pub for Food in the Great British Pub Awards.

The Fat Badger, Harrogate and The Woodman, South Yorkshire were also They include the Goodmanham Arms in East Yorkshire, which is owned and run by Vito and Abbie Loggozi.

Other pubs of note in North Yorkshire is Black Swan which is a Helmsley Institution, Knaresborough Inn – A grade II listed building in Bond End and Northallerton Inn – by The Inn Collection Group from the town’s closed Police Station.

Pubs are also the perfect place for us to get involved in the local pub quiz but for ‘q’ we are looking at Quarries and pits as Yorkshire has a long history of mining.

Some of the disused quarries in Yorkshire have been transformed over the years and several even into pubs such as the remains of the quarry at Quarry Hill in Horbury, West Yorkshire.

Horburyhistory.org says: “The Quarry Inn (pub) is built at the eastern end and has a small rock face in the car park which shows some interesting structures.”

Many quarries became informal places to play when they closed but have since been converted including The Old Quarry Playground in Knottingley aka ‘The Addy’ which has been supporting local children for over 40 years.

​The Addy was originally known as Warwick Adventure Playground and was set up in 1972. At this time, many miners moved to the area and their children would venture down to the quarry to play. The playground was set up to provide local children with a safe space to explore and play.

Many communities now rely on quarries for recreational purposes and there is work to transform many of these such as Wrose Quarry Wetlands in Bradford. The site will soon become an ‘accessible oasis of nature for people to enjoy,’ at the Carr Lane site.

The project at the 2.5 acres site of the former brickworks, is being funded by £70,000 from the Shipley Towns Fund.

The transformation will include an improved network of paths and the excavation of new ponds and wetlands, so that the space can be enjoyed all year round.

Another adventure playground has helped to revive the site of former iron ore and sandstone quarries.

Pitsmoor which gets its name from the ‘ore pits’ with a history in mining is home to Pitsmoor Adventure Playground. Both playgrounds have helped revive the now deprived communities which had relied on the mining industry.

The region has 180 years of history when it comes to coal mining which is celebrated at the National Coal Mining Museum in Overton, West Yorkshire.

The last deep coal mine in the region, Kellingley Colliery, closed in December 2015, marking an end to deep mining in the UK.

While ruins may not look as impressive as some well-kept castle or Abbeys, many sites have an even more fascinating heritage such as Scarborough Castle, Sheffield Manor Castle and Whitby Abbey.

Welcome to Sheffield says: “Sheffield Manor Lodge is a unique heritage attraction with Tudor Turret House and grounds, meadows, 1940s cottages and café. From Mediaeval deer park to a Tudor powerhouse. Explore the ruins that once held Mary, Queen of Scots prisoner.”

Another modest site of ruins can be found in Wakefield. The city has an interesting history where it is rumoured nursery rhymes such as The Grand Old Duke of York originated.

It is at Sandal Castle ruins (The Normans are thought to have completed building the motte-and-bailey castle around 1130) where the Duke of York is said to have marched up.

The castle is known for the role it played in the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 during the Wars of the Roses in which Richard, Duke of York was killed.

Near the Castle is a snicket leading to Wakefield’s first council estate - Portobello -built in 1921.

“Portobello is home to Manygates Park which has furrows from the time of the Battle of Wakefield,'' explains Sarah Cutts, manager of Portobello Community Centre.

Also in the district’s five towns is Pontefract where you can find the stunning ruins of Pontefract Castle and its dungeons.

In Leeds, it’s hard to miss the eye-catching site of Kirkstall Abbey which was founded in 1152 by a community of Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey.

As Historic England says: ‘It gained its wealth from keeping sheep for the wool trade. Monastic life for the 31 monks came to an end in November 1540 when the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries.’

English Heritage maintains the ruins of Whitby Abbey, one of the most famous abandoned buildings in the UK.

As Alan Boswell Landlord Building Insurance says: “The iconic 199 steps up to the abbey travelled by Dracula in the form of a black dog is also noted in the novel. In the 2020 Dracula series, there are several shots of the Abbey which has certainly increased its bucket list status for lovers of spooky sites, bringing more than 4.4 Million views on TikTok and over 111k Instagram hashtags.”

Another Abbey which was part of the dissolution of the monasteries was Fountain’s Abbey which is now the property of the National Trust.

Originally, the estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust then bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.

Staycations at the seaside

In recent years,staycations have gained in popularity with “staycations” reaching over five billion views on TikTok. According to Aqua who analysed the average monthly Google search volume for hotels in 50 UK towns and villages, Whitby and Scarborough were rated as the UK's top 10 towns for a staycation.

The Yorkshire coast is an incredible place for a staycation with Staithes being a great place for a holiday with your dog and for a bit of foraging, explains Chantal Nogbou of Dragonfly Acupuncture

Chantal - who leads women’s wellbeing retreats as well as foraging experiences - says that you can find places to forage for powerful herbs and plants to consume either to eat or drink as tea, with the right guidance.

The mother-of-four forages for wild medicine and says that even in grassy areas near her home on the edge of urban Leeds, there are a lot of plants to be found.

T for Tea

While coffee may have replaced tea as the UK’s favourite drink, in Yorkshire we’d argue that tea is still our favourite drink. So much so, how to make a good cuppa is spoken about more than the weather and the technique is debated more than any daily news.

While Yorkshire Tea is ours and Sir Patrick Stewart who hails from Huddersfield’s favourite staple, there are some more refined blends that are worth noting such as Botham’s Resolution Blend.

Anita Botham who is part of the family behind Whitby Botham Lemon Buns said their tea is named after Captain Cook's famous ship, perfect to accompany the buns.

She said: “We ship this blend to our customers all over the world.”

Yorkshire is also home to a range of independent tea houses such as Birdhouse Tea rooms in Sheffield, Marmalade Tea Rooms in Wakefield or you can even grab Bubble Tea at The Ridings Shopping Centre in Wakefield or at Trinity Leeds.

If you’re after a more Yorkshire based blend, there’s of course Betty’s tea rooms in North Yorkshire or the Twisted Teapot and Miller’s Tea Rooms in Barnsley.

Or you can try a quirky afternoon tea experience at Ivy Asia in Leeds or at The Wizard’s Tearoom at The Steel Cauldron in Sheffield

Yorkshire is full of unusual places to find some incredible things to do and experience the weird and wonderful of God’s Own County.