Announcing the 2025 History of England Podcast Tour

Hello, gentlemen, and this is a public service announcement, not an ordinary run of the mill episode. This is instead the welcome news that the annual History of England tour is now available for booking. And in September 2025, this takes us to see God's Own County, or Yorkshire as it is otherwise known. The dates for your diary are September the 8th to September the 17th 2025,

of course. Now look in eight days we can't go everywhere and we'll focus on West Yorkshire, but it does mean that every day is what my daughter would, I believe, describe as a banger. This is our fourth tour, everyone, and I have to tell you that I've loved all the other three, because everyone has always been utterly of the same mind. We've all managed to get a house on fire,

and the companionship and endless history chats have been as much fun as the sights themselves. Having said all that, don't get me wrong, the sights are magnificent. On the way up to Yorkshire we'll pause in Derbyshire which I can reveal to you is my favourite English county, Apropos of Nothing.

Derbyshire was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and we're going to go to a Cromford Valley and the Mills there, the place where the factory system was born and it's both fascinating and actually surprisingly beautiful. We'll stay in Harrogate about half the time in Yorkshire, a very grand spa town

And the history of spas is a great story in itself actually, very much part of the upper and middle class bit of the social revolution that went along with the industrial revolution. From Hadagut, we explore the Yorkshire Dales. Now look, if you've not been to the Dales then you are really in for a treat.

They are absolutely beautiful. Green, green river valleys, hillsides dotted with sheep, dark limestone dry stone walls snaking up the hills towards the bleak moors. Fantastic stuff. And the villages and towns can be an absolute delight. Square, sturdy limestone etched into the hills and valleys. But come on enough of all that emotional stuff. Though

look I went loads and loads of times when I was young and I absolutely love it and I bet you will too. But you're not interested in that? You're interested in the history. And as normal we will see the full range though specialising in medieval and early modern. The glorious unforgettable Cistercian Fountain Zabby which has inspired poets and artists

for centuries. Mighty castles like Richard the Third's Home of Middlem and Bolton Castle in Wensleydale. Gentry houses like the fortified and moted manor house at Markenfield and the very quirky Shibbden Hall, a real collection of styles that, home to the remarkable Anne Lester.

Then we'll see vernacular architecture and villages, Hawes is a marvel, with over 50 listed buildings for all purposes in a very small place. We'll stop for lunch at Howarth, home of the Brontes and at Massam. Massam is as solid a Georgian Yorkshire town as you could wish for, market square for sheep, big square

Georgian County Inn, elegant townhouses and two broories, Thickstones and Blacksheep. Also where my granny went to primary school by the by. And we've got big stately homes to boot, of course. Harward House, absolutely stunning 18th century pile, designed inside by Robert Adam, but with

a dark past. And then on the way south it's my absolute favourite bar none, Haddon Hall. A glorious collection of styles from medieval hall to Jacobian long gallery.

That's in Derbyshire too, as it happens. But, but, but, but, what I haven't told you about, the Yorkshire pudding of the whole tour, or maybe the fat rascal of the Yorkshire tour,

the capital of the north itself, York. York stands alone in my mind, stands alone of all English cities, dominated by its cathedral, York Minster,

which is a massive masterpiece and has wonderful stained glass and a lovely cathedral choir of course which hopefully we'll get to hear. One of the best things is that despite having a share of industrial history, mainly in the form of chocolate, terrors and round trees,

it still all retains its historical character with Georgian townhouses and the best preserved medieval street in Europe, the shambles. Once a mecca for butchers, carcasses and entrails, Now of course, famed for its lovely architecture and tremendous shopping.

You're going to love it. There's loads of other stuff in York too, tremendous museums like Yorvik, Clifford's Tower, the Treasure House and the National Railway Museum too, if you like big engineering. Anyway, we're going to spend two days in York and plan to have a music and folk

evening there to boot because it's not all work and no play on the history of England tour. I hope you're excited at the thought of a week or so in James Harriet Country, Yorkshire. I certainly am and I hope you will come and join me.

If you want to find out more about the tour and see the detail, just go to thehistoryofengland.co.uk and you will see it all there. Plus, a link to the Albion Journeys website too, which is much more business-like and where you can put your name down for the tour.

OK? So in summary, the place is Yorkshire, the date is September 2025, the date is Days are the eighth to the seventeenth. The business is fun, laughter and history, not necessarily in that order. And to find out more, go to thehistoryofengland.co.uk. I

shall hope to see you all there. Hello, hello, hello. It's Gretel the matri here and I would be honoured if you would join me for my near daily unscripted advert free cost free podcast. It's called Gretel the matri ponders beauty with bead and other guests. And it does exactly that. We look

for the beauty in life, we look for the beauty in art, nature all around us, poetry, literature and it's unscripted and advert free and it's very relaxed and it's about looking at life one day at a time and looking at the positives and I would be so grateful if you would consider joining me. Thank you for listening and hope to see you on my podcast very soon.