Where does All Creatures Great and Small take place? Setting of the PBS dramedy explored

All Creatures Great and Small ( Image via YouTube / MASTERPIECE PBS )
All Creatures Great and Small ( Image via YouTube / MASTERPIECE PBS )

The series All Creatures Great and Small right away envelops the viewers in a landscape of hills, olden days streets, and animals so cute that one can hardly resist!

The very first episode shows you the life of the countryside in England, where the vet's adventures, life in the village, and the super amazing creations of Mother Nature all combine to form a never-ending attraction. Why, it is so natural taking you with to the picturesque allure and the nature of the characters, but there is an incredible reality that mingles with gazing at the fictional village of Darrowby.

But, where did the shooting of All Creatures Great and Small occur? The solution to this is the fictional village of Darrowby, which was inspired by an actual location in the Yorkshire Dales. The shooting sites also include a lot of landscapes, villages, and past places that are not functioning, yet still remain visible. The entire production, stone houses, and verdant meadows have been chosen so artfully that it is a real image of rural England.

The setting of All Creatures Great and Small is much more than just a background. It plays a significant part in the action that makes the entire series seem real and very close to the ground.


The fictional village of Darrowby and Grassington in All Creatures Great and Small

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Darrowby is a beautiful village as depicted in All Creatures Great and Small. It is the primary location of the series; however, in fact, it is not real. It is a perfect depiction of a real-world place. Its main filming spot was the historic market town of Grassington in North Yorkshire, which was used as the visual stand-in for the village.

Grassington, with its paved streets, traditional stone cottages, and a bunch of little shops, is where you would like to live, as James Herriot, the author of the tales, believes. Going for a stroll in Grassington, you will discover why it was the place: it possesses as much old town and country as is just sufficient to permit Darrowby to be properly represented on the screen.

Grassington, on the other hand, is not just about buildings. Grassington is situated in the countryside of the location, and the entire environment around Grassington is composed of hills and meadows. That is why there were beautiful and natural locations that were captured in the series that seem to have been undisturbed through the years.


Groundbreaking locations in the Yorkshire Dales in All Creatures Great and Small

It mainly features Grassington, but the shooting also occurred in other villages and scenic spots throughout the Yorkshire Dales. The most notable spots are:

The Devonshire Inn in Grassington, where the Drovers Arms pub story continued.

Stripey Badger Bookshop & Café, the Darrowby equivalent in their area.

Malham Cove and Gordale Scar are two well-known sites with karst landscapes that provide a great natural setting.

Hubberholme and Yockenthwaite were tiny hamlets that featured the church and the weddings. Kettlewell, where some of the filming took place outdoors.

The joining of all these locations in the series gives a sense of how Darrowby is both cohesive and diverse in its landscape views. The choice of each of these villages and landscape views is meant to highlight the charm of the Dales, but remain realistic in their accuracy of history.


The real-life inspiration: Thirsk and James Herriot

Darrowby is an imaginary town, though it is modelled after Thirsk, the hometown of James Herriot (Alf Wight). The World of James Herriot museum holds the house of Herriot and his old veterinary practice, where displays and replicas of his original surgery are to be seen.

The museum enables one to travel back in time and observe the veterinary practice as it was during the 1930s and 1940s, therefore, offering an individual a chance to know what All Creatures Great and Small was based on in real life. It is necessary to note that the series was not recorded at Thirsk, but the town became the source of inspiration and the museum site.

Instead, Grassington and some of the villages surrounding the town were used as a background to film the scenes. This distinction is very beneficial to the viewers since it must merge the actual villages and intimacy of the film narrative.


Skeldale house in All Creatures Great and Small: Fiction vs. reality

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Skeldale House, the veterinarian's office where Herriot is employed, is a fundamental part of Darrowby. The production has filmed the exteriors at various properties in the Yorkshire Dales and created the interior scenes on studio sets.

The places in the series are not real but come very close to the original architectural style and atmosphere of Herriot's real-life practice in Thirsk. This meticulousness wins over the audience who would like the series to be realistic, and at the same time, the storytelling is not confined by the imagination.


Landscapes' part in storytelling in All Creatures Great and Small

The Yorkshire dales in All Creatures Great and Small are not only beautiful but also play an important role in the plot. The countryside is a setting of rolling hills, stone-built walls, and open pastures, all of which form the background of the life of a veterinarian.

This is a life that is portrayed with all the hardships and happiness of working with animals in the wild. The seasonal changes, spring, with its green fields, autumn, with its golden color, and winter, with its snow-white hills, are also involved in the narration of the story as they demonstrate the passing time and contribute to the reality of the adventures of Herriot.


Village life and reality

The shooting in the existing villages is a factor that contributes to the credibility of the production's culture and community portrayal in All Creatures Great and Small. 1930s and 1940s rural England would have been characterized, among other things, by a pub, farm, narrow street, market square, and so on.

Talking among villagers, church services, or land working are all done on location, which makes the series very realistic and gives it a lived-in feel that would not have been possible through a few studio sets alone.


Visiting the filming places of All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small fans can see the spots now. London is a five-hour trip, while Edinburgh is approximately four hours to Grassington. Malham, Hubberholme, and Kettlewell are other Dales areas that are further away with trails, viewpoints, and the charm of historic villages.

The fans’ visit to these places will bring them the very landscapes and village life that had inspired the series, following the same path as the characters.

The World of James Herriot museum, located in Thirsk, is closely connected to Herriot’s life since visitors can examine the veterinary instruments, original documents, and charts of his practice.

The mixing of the on-screen places and the real-life locations offers a total view of the whole world of All Creatures Great and Small.


To sum up, though All Creatures Great and Small was originally placed in the fictitious village of Darrowby, it gained the most from Thirsk but was mainly represented through the nearby Yorkshire Highlands and Grassington for the purpose of the film's visual portrayal.

The combination of Skeldale House, village paths, drinking establishments, and picturesque natural settings gives the audience not only a genuine place but also one that is very attractive and classic in a visual sense. Once the viewers are informed regarding the actual source of inspiration as well as the location for shooting, they will be able to recognize the production of the series better.

The museum in Thirsk, which is still maintained, along with the cobbled streets of Grassington, and the universe of All Creatures Great and Small, is a blend of fiction and reality, which causes the tales of James Herriot to become so vividly alive.

Also read: All Creatures Great & Small Season 7 & 8 greenlit by PBS Masterpiece - Here's all about the latest updates

Edited by Zainab Shaikh