Inside the quaint English village that inspired one of UK’s top TV soaps, with an identical high street and replica pub
THE rural village of Esholt, just outside of Bradford, is an unlikely hotspot for soap fans.
Despite no actors or camera crew setting foot in it for almost 30 years, it regularly attracts crowds of telly addicts because the stone cottages, shops and local farms were used to film exterior scenes in Emmerdale until the nineties.
Esholt, on the outskirts of Shipley in West Yorkshire, was the backdrop for what was then called Emmerdale Farm between the 1970s to the 1990s.
Producers first chose to film Emmerdale in the village because of the classic North Yorkshire village look, and it being a half hour drive from the Leeds studios.
The local pub found on Main Street was originally called The Commercial, but it was later renamed The Woolpack, after the owner got sick of changing the signs back and forth.
The pub is still called The Woolpack to this day, despite production leaving the village in 1996.
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If you decide to pop in, The Woolpack is dog-friendly, has plenty of pub grub and inside are signed photos of Emmerdale cast and crew.
Wayne Green, one of the former landlords told ITV that over the years they've welcomed tourists "all the way from Glasgow, Cardiff, Finland, New Zealand".
Home Farm, the house currently owned by the Tates, was based on the real Home Farm on the Esholt Estate, which dates back to 1691.
The row of six cottages on Bunkers Hill was used for filming Demdyke Row. Emmerdale stopped using the plot in 1993 when there was a fictional plane crash that demolished the houses.
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After Demdyke Row was left in ruins, the crew had to be careful not to catch Bunkers Hill in the background of other scenes.
During an interview with , Kate Whitham, who lived in Esholt in the 90s when they filmed the crash, she said: "They brought the power lines down in the village, and there was rubble everywhere, like a disaster movie. The windows of our house were blown out – it was so dramatic."
Esholt also has a railway viaduct which was used in a few scenes, most memorably, for Archie Brooks' death during the 1993 plane crash.
Another location in the village used to film the exterior was Lindley Farm, found a few miles from Esholt.
This was once the location of the original Emmerdale farmhouse, which had to be written out.
The real-life owner of Lindley Farm didn't want anymore filming on their land after getting annoyed with tourists trespassing on the farm.
As the ratings increased, so did the fans. There were constant coaches up to Esholt so that viewers could watch filming - but this spelled problems for the cast.
Emmerdale's Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle, explained: "We couldn't film because of the noise, it would be like 'and action.... waaahhh' a babies crying, so I think after a while they realised that the only thing we could do would be to build our own village."
In 1997, the soap left Esholt for the Harewood set, which is a replica of the village, apart from a few minor alterations.
While there's not too much to do in the village of Esholt apart from grab a pint in the pub and go on a country walk, it's very close to two very busy cities.
Esholt is a 30 minute drive away from Leeds and under half an hour away from Bradford.
The village is also a 20-minute drive from Shipley, where you'll find the Saltaire World a UNESCO heritage site and according to Which?, one of the best villages in the UK.
There are lots of places to explore, including the Salt Mills, bookshops, jewellery shops and antique stalls along with coffee bars and a diner.
Also found in Shipley is the Glen Cable Tramway, for a scenic trip on the oldest working cable tramway which dates all the way back to 1895, for just £2.50.
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We also went and explored the purpose-built Emmerdale set on the Harewood Estate.
And took a trip to the stunning Yorkshire village of Knaresborough.
