Last week the latest Michelin Guide 2026 was published and I am pleased to report that this number has now risen into double figures to 10. This is great news for Yorkshire’s thriving fine dining scene, but this news is also backed up by the fact that there are also so many Michelin Plate restaurants featuring in the guide.  

The lecture covered the basics of geology, showed geological maps of the wider area particularly along the Dent fault and then went into more detail about what was happening along the Dent fault. It was a fascinating insight into the area and how the underlying geology had affected the landscape.

If you are in Leeds and have a spare hour – I would encourage you to head over to the Museum which has a fascinating exhibition celebrating 60 years of Leeds Music History.

There was some great news for Yorkshire and particularly West Yorkshire recently, when on 7th January the global luxury travel magazine Conde Nest Traveller listed Bradford’s Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve in its annual list of new wonders of the world. Each year Conde Nest list “Seven NEW wonders of the world” and this year the UK and Bradford was on the list along with other locations in places as far away as Algeria, El Salvador and Canada.  

The Barologist is on Parliament Street, just down from the famous Betty’s tearoom and based in the former Harrogate Arms pub. It has now been open for 9 months and it is already proving a popular place with the Harrogate locals.

The Piece Hall - The building is Grade 1 listed and an incredible piece of architecture, but in the 1970’s there were plans to demolish it. So, I thought I would do a short blog about The Piece Hall’s past as it now plays such a large part in attracting visitors to Halifax

Prashad is based in the small town of Drighlington and is a family based restaurant serving Gujarati and North Western Indian dishes. It has also been awarded a prestigious Bib Gourmand status in the Michelin Guide for the past few years.

the West Yorkshire city of Bradford being honoured with the title of City of Culture 2025. After an eclectic year of cultural and artistic events, the city was rewarded by becoming host of The Turner Prize – the UK’s best known visual arts award.

It is unlike any other cemetery I have been to, with the opulence and grandeur of the special memorials towering along pathways, with many showing the grime of the industrial revolution when mills and factories billowed out smoke from the city to the outlying areas.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a soft launch of the new winter light trail on the Swinton Park Estate.   This mile long illuminated trail within the hotel grounds opens to the general public on 6th November and runs through until 22nd February 2026

This is a great 8.5 mile walk heading off from the National Parks Centre car park in Grassington, which includes a stretch of riverside walk, a bit of industrial heritage, walking through old lead mines and some great moorland views.

The 5 images which were sold at auction were taken between 1917 and 1920 by two young Yorkshire lasses in the village of Cottingley, a suburb of Bradford between Bingley and Shipley. The girls, 16 year old Elsie Wright and her 9 year old cousin Frances Griffiths and it is amazing that these children were able to create such realistic fake photographs, that many people at the time were convinced they were real.  

One of the places I had read about but never really visited as I felt without being in a helicopter there would be nothing to see was Thornborough Henges between Ripon and Masham. This unique Neolithic (new stone age) site sitting on a plateau above the River Ure consists of three massive circular henges built about 4,500 years ago over an even earlier monument.

Whilst on a short break on the Yorkshire Coast, my wife and I decided to take an afternoon hike and spotted a walk in the latest copy of the North York Moors Association newsletter which sounded interesting as it included a visit to St.Gregory’s Minster and was close to Kirkdale Cave.

Walking near Kirkdale, just outside Kirkby Moorside recently, I had to go and find the famous Kirkdale Cave from which bones found back in the early 1800’s led to huge advancements in understanding Britain’s geological past.

Littondale is a lovely little Dale which can be accessed from Wharfedale near Kilnsey Crag or from the high road over Malham Moor. The start point of the walk was the small village of Arncliffe with the quirkly little pub The Falcon Inn sitting on the village green. I often make a stop here on my All Creatures Great & Small Tours as Arncliffe actually plays part of Darrowby in the new TV series and the back of Skeldale House.

Goldsborough Hall – the first family home of HRH Princess Mary and the perfect place for a stately stay (now with its own pub – The Tiger Inn)

The now Grade 1 listed Leeds Kirkgate Market has an interesting history, there has been an outdoor market on the Kirkgate site since 1826 after the original market in Briggate was no longer big enough to hold all the stall holders for the growing city.

Fish and Forest restaurant in York has received the prestigious Michelin plate award for the last 4 years and has also been acknowledged in the Michelin guide for their sustainable gastronomy.

Hull’s Beverley Gate’s - the history behind the site is fascinating, because the location played a crucial part in how the English Civil War in the 1600’s unfolded.