We were up bright and early for our road trip to scenic Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. The area is famous for the cheese to which it gives its name but for lots of other interesting things too as we were soon to discover.
Our first stop was to the village of Masham (pronounced massham) to take a tour of the Black Sheep Brewery, Masham is located 9 miles from Ripon and 8 miles from the A1.
This well known brewery was founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston who broke away from the famous Theakston family brewery also based in Masham to create his own company.
The name Black Sheep was the idea of his wife which is fitting as Paul was obviously thought of as the black sheep of the family for going it alone. The brewery has now become a household name having developed a distinctive range of craft beers.
One hour ‘shepherded’ guided tours take place several times each day, standard price £10.95 to include complimentary drinks afterwards. Our tour guide was Alan who was clearly passionate and knowledgeable having worked in the brewery himself for many years before becoming a guide. The tour started with a brief talk followed by a short video on the history of the brewery.
We learnt that the four key ingredients for brewing are malted barley, water, hops and yeast. Samples of barley and hops were then shown around the group and Alan explained that particular barleys were used to obtain distinctive colour and flavours.
We were then taken around the brewery viewing the entire process from mashing, boiling, fermenting and conditioning through to filling casks. From overhead balconies we had excellent views of the process taking place and at each point Alan explained the techniques involved using the high tech equipment.
At the end of the tour we were invited into the bar as our tickets included either a flight of three Black Sheep beers or a pint of our choice. Drivers are welcome to select a bottle of beer from the Black Sheep range to take home and enjoy later. The bar serves a range of home cooked classic pub meals and there’s also a shop with a range of gifts, beers and gins.
My husband came away with two boxes of ‘The Flock’ each containing six varieties from their range. Taking the tour was very interesting whether you are a beer drinker or not, good value and a great start to our short break in Wensleydale.
On leaving the brewery we turned our attention from beer to ice cream as just a ten minute drive away lies the Brymor Dairy.
It was a warm day and perfect weather for sampling some of their delicious flavours home made on their farm at High Jervaulx just outside Masham. Brymor was established by Brian Moore in 1984 and after outgrowing its original site in Harrogate, moved to Jervaulx in 1992.
Paul, the production manager kindly offered to show us around the dairy after covering up with white coats, hair nets and overshoes. We were then taken through the process from the pasteurisation of local milk and cream all the way to stepping inside the huge freezer to view the vast numbers of tubs of ice cream ready for distribution.
We’d toured a cheese making dairy before but it was the first time I’d been around an ice cream making one so we both found this very interesting. Following the tour we were taken into the ice cream parlour which is open daily between 10.00-17.00. It’s a lovely cafe with candy coloured chairs and large windows. In addition to Brymor’s 25 varieties of ice cream, light meals including sandwiches, pizzas, cakes and scones can also be enjoyed there or outside on the large terrace.
We sampled a selection of their award winning ice creams including their Riggwelter raisin ripple containing Black Sheep beer and Wensleydale and ginger cheesecake made with the famous Wensleydale cheese produced locally in Hawes.
If I had to choose though, my favourites would be their sea salted caramel, coffee mochaccino and the Amarena Black Cherry Whim Wham which has just won three stars at the 2022 Great Taste awards. This flavour was so delicious that we couldn’t resist sitting in the parlour with a large cone each, every lick leaving me in ice cream heaven.
To walk off our sweet treats we took a stroll through their maize maze cut from a large field of living maize plants, eventually managing to find our way out. On site there’s also a children’s play area and an adventure playground offering something for young and old. I’ll definitely be stopping by next time I’m in the area and looking out for Brymor ice cream stockists on my travels as believe me, it’s delicious!
Continuing on our way, our next destination was neither food nor drink related and instead was a visit to The Forbidden Corner on the Tupgill Park Estate in Coverham, close to where we would be staying in Middleham. Its name sounds intriguing and the entire place is just that as it’s a unique labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, follies and other surprises in its four acre garden. Standard adult admission £14.50. Entrance is by pre-booked time slots only to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the site without it becoming overcrowded.
The Forbidden Corner was originally built as a private folly for the exclusive enjoyment of friends and family but was later opened up to the public by popular demand.
On picking up our tickets we were handed a leaflet indicating numerous sculptures and other interesting characters such as a giant woodsman and a floating griffin. The idea is to work your way along winding paths, navigating through dark tunnels some leading into deep caverns and others just to dead ends to try and find as many of these items as you can.
As there are many more sculptures to be seen than those identified on the list, it’s quite tricky as it’s very easy to get lost and confused but entertaining for young and old alike. We managed to locate more than half the items on the list but it took quite awhile as we kept finding ourselves at doors that didn’t lead anywhere. Riddles etched into stone provide some clues but hazards await such as hidden water jets which we got sprayed with several times.
The Forbidden Corner isn’t a maze in the true sense of the word but sort of feels like one. Although the attraction is mainly geared towards families with young children it’s actually good fun for everyone as it’s so unusual and with a cafe and restaurant on site, it makes for a pleasant outing.
On leaving the Forbidden Corner behind, history beckoned as the ruins of Middleham Castle came into view. The castle is open from 10.00-17.00 with standard admission £7 and free for members of English Heritage. The castle is famous as it was the childhood home of King Richard III.
Although roofless, extensive remains of the fortified castle survive to this day. Middleham has the largest castle keep in the north of England and from the viewing platform at the top of its tower we enjoyed excellent views of the village below and of the surrounding area. There’s also a small museum at one end of the gift shop but no other facilities are available.
Back in the car, our accommodation for the next two nights was just down the road overlooking the market place. After parking on the cobbles we removed our luggage from the boot and wandered across to the gorgeous Grade II listed Wensleydale Hotel.
The hotel was once an inn with a neighbouring hotel and provisions store which has been combined to create a charming boutique hotel. We were greeted by the owner Fiona Merchie who along with her family took over the hotel in 2019, completely renovating it during lockdown.
We were shown to our superior double room on the first floor which had views of the marketplace and castle. The room was decorated in country inspired tones with traditional soft furnishings.
Before dinner we enjoyed a wander around the small town which is elegantly arranged around two market squares surrounded by Georgian buildings, interesting small shops, galleries and cafes.
We’d arranged to have dinner in the hotel’s Tack Room restaurant with its race horse theme reflecting Middleham’s horse racing heritage. Fifteen of the UK’s top thoroughbred racing yards are based in or close to the town producing some of the finest race horses in the world today.
Menus have a distinctly continental influence blended beautifully with the best of locally sourced produce. Monty, the owner’s son looked after us for the evening and my dishes of grilled tiger prawns, lamb rump and dark chocolate mousse were all splendid and a credit to their Portuguese chef Rui.
The Tack Room’s well thought out wine list includes a good range of wines and artisan spirits from local vintners and our Pinot Grigio was light and refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to dinner on a warm summer’s evening. After sipping coffee we retired to our lovely room for the night and were sound asleep in no time at all, nestled between the fine Egyptian bed linen.
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A lovely part of the world and a good blog post.
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Thank you!
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Thanks for sharing this. Definitely another one to add to my bucket list. I love the English countryside and these quaint little towns, not to mention that ice cream!!!!
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Thank you so much for your kind words. I do hope you have an opportunity to visit Wensleydale at some time.
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Always great when a tour starts with a visit to a brewery ☺️ … and even better when it’s followed up with ice-cream! Yummy looking ice-creams … I bet it was a winner on a warm day! The Forbidden Corner sounds like an interesting and fun place to visit – love the views on your walkways. And, as always, your food at the end of an exciting day, really looks delicious (and so well presented).
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Beer, ice cream, a maze and beautiful scenery all contributed to a lovely day. Thanks Corna for your kind words.
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Amazing
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Thank you
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Cool place. The wooden statue is phenomenal.
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Thank you, it was a great day especially visiting The Forbidden Corner and seeing those statues.
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What a great day to get to sample some local beer and icecream! Corn mazes are really popular where I am from, especially this time of year, and I’ve seen some really intricately created mazes based on people or movies or things like that. So taking a walk through the corn with ice cream in hand sounds like a perfect activity 🙂 I really loved the Forbidden Corner- so fun to feel like you’ve stepped into a story book.
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Stepping into a story book us definitely the perfect way to describe the Forbidden Corner. It was such a fascinating day from beer to castles, hidden corners and ice cream.
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How about a trip to Morocco in New Year? Good or bad Idea ?
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Possibly, not visited there so far.
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it’s amazing actually but not so sure about New Year tho, but there is a company that organizes these trips, group of young guys I did it with them this last summer it went fantastic I can refer you to them if you’d like
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Thanks 🙏
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Another interesting post. You looked very professional there all ready for production. 🙂
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Thank you! It was fascinating to tour the ice cream dairy.
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The Wensley and ginger cheesecake icecream sounds about perfect to me, Marion. I’ve never done the brewery tour at Masham but I love Middleham and the Forbidden Corneris good fun.
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I adore anything with ginger in it too Jo. Middleham and the Forbidden Corner were both lovely and we’d not visited before. Thanks for commenting and hope the week ahead goes well.
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🤗💗
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First I heard of Wenslydale was Monty Python’s Cheese Shop sketch. Now you’ve made it real, Marion. Beer and ice cream besides the cheese. What’s not to like?
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Exactly, coupled with lovely scenery, it was blissful Shane. Thought Black Sheep was a brilliant name for the brewery too!
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Wensleydale- so much more than cheese! Love the story behind the brewery name, seems like the gamble of branching out paid off. A great glimpse into a part of England I’m not familiar with.
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Wensleydale is gorgeous Helen and we were so lucky with the weather. Hope you are enjoying a nice weekend.
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How lovely! From the brewery tour to ice cream to the Forbidden Corner, there’s so much to check out in Wensleydale than one might’ve expected. Glad you had a wonderful time there, Marion. 🙂
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It was a brilliant day Rebecca and the sun shone for us all the time as well.
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I love a good factory tour. The brewery would have been up my alley and the ice cream tour looks fabulous. The brewery name is perfect. This area looks well worth exploring for sure Marion. Thanks for your post. Allan
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It was a great day out Allan, just loved everything about it and the accommodation.
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Beer, cheese and ice cream sounds like my dream break! We stayed in Masham last year for our first post-lockdown trip last year and went to the Black Sheep Brewery but their tours were still paused – I keep saying we need to go back! Next time you’re in the area, I’d recommend a visit to the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park.
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Thanks so much for your interest and comments. Wensleydale is absolutely lovely and we were so lucky with the weather. I recommend the brewery tour when you are back there. My husband is still enjoying the selection of beers he bought to take home. Didn’t know about the Himalayan Garden so thanks for letting me know. Will get there next time! Have a good weekend.
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We did visit the Black Sheep brewery and worked our way across the bar to try them all! I did the Theakston tour a few years ago (before I was 18 though!) so we definitely want to go back and do both tours.
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Yes, be nice to do the Theakston one next time too! More reasons to return.
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Like many, I couldn’t have professed much knowledge about Wensleydale beyond the cheese. I love the exterior of the brewery, a really terrific building. Touring a dairy is something I’d definitely put on my list, plus who wouldn’t want to go and visit a place called The Forbidden Corner? So much to see and do here, making Wensleydale a great base for exploring.
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Thanks for your interest in this post on Wensleydale Leighton. We couldn’t have wanted for better weather and with such wonderful scenery and food, it was a memorable day. I’ve now researched somewhere locally where I can buy Brymor ice cream so I’ll be filling up my freezer in due course with the cherry whim wham! Have a good weekend. M.
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Wow beer, ice cream, beautiful weather, castles, and some delicious food! What more can you ask for?
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I know Lyssy, we hit the jackpot didn’t we! An absolutely gorgeous day. Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend.
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good place
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Thank you ,it’s very nice.
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Wow I’d love to visit, and look at those icecreams!! I can’t wait to see all the cheese 🙂
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It’s a gorgeous part of the country Hannah and everything about our day was lovely
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The Black Sheep Brewery looks so good! It sounds like they give a very in depth tour as well. The dairy also sounds like a very fun adventure and the ice cream looks delicious.
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Both the Brewery tour and visiting the ice cream parlour were both interesting and very tasty. Thanks so much for commenting.
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Black Sheep looks like it was well worth the visit, nice.
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The Black Sheep brewery was such an interesting place to visit. Thanks for commenting.
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Yet another of your fabulously informative posts!
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Thanks s much for your compliments Sheree. We enjoyed touring Wensleydale very much.
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Another lovely hotel! We haven’t ever done a brewery tour (with cheese and ice cream!), just a vineyard. That looks very interesting and the town is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing.
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Touring the brewery and the ice cream parlour were both lively and staying at the Wensleydale Hotel in Middleham was gorgeous. Thank you for your good wishes.
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The food and scenery is all a feast for the eyes. My mouth is watering from all this talk about cheese, beer and ice cream. Good thing there are also a lot of interesting sights to see and burn off the calories by exploring. Thanks for sharing. Linda
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Yes, definitely a good job we had lots of steps to climb and walking to do otherwise we could have easily piled on the pounds with all those nice things to eat! Hope you have a good weekend. Marion
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I never knew that Wensleydale has so many wonders worth visiting, Marion! I love cheese and I also love ice cream, so it would be a perfect long weekend destination for myself and my family. I am glad to see you had a great time and sunny weather for exploring it. Have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Yes, beer, cheese and ice cream – what a combination Aiva! We were so lucky with the weather and enjoyed a lovely day exploring the area. I’m certain your daughter would love finding all those things at The Forbidden Corner too! Have a lovely weekend. Marion xx
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