LIZ JONES: Why I fell in love with James Herriot country

I’m in a beautiful village called Arncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales watching a scene being shot for season seven of the channel 5 reboot of much-loved TV drama All Creatures Great And Small.As a teenager, I was addicted to watching Christopher Timothy as veterinarian James Herriot, and the late, great Robert Hardy as his recalcitrant boss, Siegfried Farnon. It aired from 1978 to 1990, and I was mesmerised by the shots of little 1930s cars trundling across moors purple with heather, past dry-stone walls and tumbledown farms, the hills and valleys peppered with sheep and cows, abandoned tin mines and mills, relics of the region’s industrial past. For me, growing up in flat, boring Essex, the setting was impossibly wild and romantic. The River Swale’s waterfalls: the North Yorkshire landscape was the famous backdrop for James Alfred Wight’s All Creatures Great And Small books.My addiction to the BBC series also ignited a passion for animals: I knew I had to move there one day with a gaggle of furry friends. In 2012, on my first visit to one of the northernmost Dales, Swale, to view a remote 18th-century farmhouse, I gasped at the waterfall in the grounds, remembering it vividly from the TV series. One of the many reasons, along with spotting a red squirrel and a kingfisher diving into the river at the end of the lawn, I offered the asking price on the spot. Today, driving across Wharfedale to the set of All Creatures, I drink in the scenery little changed from when the books were written by the real-life Herriot, James Alfred Wight. It’s easy, when you live in a National Park, to take its beauty for granted. Today, I fall in love all over again. Along with 14 million viewers (All Creatures is channel 5’s top drama), the allure of the series is its cosy reassurance in turbulent times. In season seven, the characters have survived the Second World War, though the show does not shy away from the harsh reality of horses taken to the front and the horror of shell-shock.To allow Arncliffe to be transported back to postwar England, the only change is the dismantling of modern street signs. This is where the rear of the veterinary surgery, Skeldale House, is filmed (the front, with its glorious cobbled square, is shot in nearby Grassington). Today, a toy dog is being twirled in the air by Callum Woodhouse, who plays Siegfried’s partying younger brother Tristan, with Samuel West (who plays Siegfried) barking orders, desperately trying to get the ‘dog’ to breathe. The real dog, Dot, is in the green room in the village hall; you’ll be relieved to hear she was not required to perform acrobatics. The cast of the new seriesI meet executive producer Sharon Moran, who presides over the logistics of filming animals, vintage cars, carriages and remote locations. For me, the stars of the show are the animals and my first question is: what happens once filming finishes? ‘We don’t eat our actors,’ she tells me reassuringly. In fact, the level of care given to the creatures is exemplary. In the original series, real farm animals and horses were used for the gory scenes; these days, prosthetic bovine rear ends and dismembered hooves stand in instead. All the animals – including heritage geese, ducks, donkeys, hens, goats, cows and sheep – will live out their natural lives on a nearby ‘holding farm’.I meet horse master Mark Atkinson, the man who taught Poldark to ride. A former dairy farmer, he has 50 horses at his Yorkshire home and has worked on everything from Rivals to Peaky Blinders. Liz with the new James Herriot, Nicholas RalphAt the holding farm, animal handler Jill Clark places a white rat called Vonolel in my hands. Here, too, are numerous, much-loved dogs (they all go to foster homes at the end of each day; there are no tails between legs on this show). The stars, of course, are golden retriever Jess – sofa-loving stalwart of the surgery, who in real life is a wriggly boy called Ernie – and cosseted Pekingese Tricki Woo, played by Dora. Clark is something of an animal whisperer and once had to teach a sheep to limp. A team of vets is on set at all times, including one who worked with the real-life Herriot.Next, we drive to the production office on an industrial estate, where a huge sound stage houses the set. Stepping inside is magical: it’s an exact replica of the original surgery at 23 Kirkgate in Thirsk (now the Herriot museum). There is the scrubbed kitchen table (a chef uses an attached modern kitchen to make the retro meals), medicine bottles and a larder piled high with Trex. A Christmas tree is being decorated (the festive special was filmed after my visit, during a heatwave!) and brocade sofas are covered in dog hair. I’m taken to the attic bedroom of James (played by Nicholas Ralph) and his wife Helen (played by Rachel Shenton). At the costume trailer I’m met by a sea of checked shirts, Harris tweed and floral tea dresses. ‘If only people still dressed like this!’ I exclaim, fingering the authentically darned socks. Most touching is a row of James’s Fair Isle tank tops: each has a name – Atlantic, Titanic, Jamieson, Waffle – as eagle-eyed viewers write in to complain if his top changes halfway through a scene. Original stars (from left) Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy and Peter DavisonThere is no need for me to be driven to nearby Broughton Hall, home of the redoubtable Mrs Pumphrey, played first by the late Diana Rigg and now by Patricia Hodge. It’s a magnificent stately home run as a sanctuary along holistic, sustainable lines. I stayed on a retreat there a couple of years ago and loved it (see below).I can’t believe how lucky I am to live in God’s Own Country, where the untamed scenery more than lives up to the romantic setting I first discovered when watching TV in the 70s. The only thing that’s changed is I no longer wear platforms and loons!All Creatures Great And Small returns this September; watch and stream on 5God’s Own Country: Liz’s top picksMy favourite place for lunch with a great view of Penhill (part of the Pennines) is The Saddle Room, just outside the horseracing town of Middleham. It has self-catering cottages, providing food and drinks in the bar if you’re feeling lazy. It’s also great for children: the Forbidden Corner, an amusement park with the weird and wonderful, is on site. Rooms from £80, thesaddleroom.co.uk.During filming of the new Wuthering Heights movie, the stars stayed at Simonstone Hall (below), where there is also a plaque commemorating the spot where Jeremy Clarkson punched a BBC colleague. Rooms from £100, simonstonehall.com.17th-century Simonstone Hall in WensleydaleA great day trip is to drive to Aysgarth Falls, once visited by Wordsworth; stop off at The Wensleydale Heifer in West Witton, a restaurant with accommodation. Rooms from £150, wensleydaleheifer.co.uk.My favourite walk is in Muker, where you can wander between protected wildflower meadows.You can’t travel far in the Dales without bumping into the ruins of an abbey. Near Ripon is Fountains Abbey (below) and Studley Royal Water Garden (nationaltrust.org.uk). Rievaulx Abbey is near Thirsk (english-heritage.org.uk); park in the idyllic village of Helmsley to walk among wildflowers to the abbey, which was shattered by Henry VIII. Fountains Abbey near Ripon was destroyed by Henry VIIIStay at Broughton Sanctuary and you can live like Mrs Pumphrey. Holiday cottages abound, as well as a restaurant for guests, a heated pool, gym and a meditation pod. The owners are super friendly, offering tours of the big house. From £200 for Ivy Cottage, which sleeps two, broughtonsanctuary.co.uk.The best B&B in North Yorkshire is Easby Hall, with rooms overlooking the ruins of the abbey once painted by Turner. St Agatha’s Church is alongside: her breasts were sliced off in punishment for wanting to remain a virgin. All produce at Easby Hall is from the kitchen garden, picked moments before. Claim a free bottle of wine or two cocktails when using the code YOUmag when booking. Rooms from £240, easbyhall.com.The River Swale is moments away; walk along the bank into the Georgian town of Richmond where Wilfred Deli & Pantry has the best carrot cake in the world. Visit Richmond Castle (below), where First World War conscientious objectors were imprisoned; you can still see their scribblings on the walls. Richmond Castle on the River Swale is one of the UK's best preserved Norman fortressesMy favourite spa stay and foodie escape is Middleton Lodge, just off Scotch Corner. The food in the casual Coach House and the Michelin-starred Forge is wonderful, even for fussy pants like me, and you can dine outside on the terrace. The spa has a swimming pool, hot tubs, treatments and yoga classes, while tours of the walled garden are on offer. Rooms from £250, middletonlodge.co.uk.From Richmond, drive to nearby Bedale, where Ruth Hansom (of Great British Menu fame) has a small fine-dining restaurant that has tasting menus and extraordinary Sunday lunches. It’s tiny, so it’s best to book ahead. The tasting menus are £89, drinks pairing is £59, hansomrestaurant.co.uk