Yorkshire, the largest county in Great Britain, is a county with large areas of outstanding unspoilt natural beauty contrasting with towns and cities built upon the Industrial Revolution but now modernising and reinventing themselves.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is home to some of Yorkshire’s most iconic scenery and attractions. With spectacular limestone valleys, picture postcard villages and historic castles owned and run by The National Trust.
The North York Moors comprises over 1.400 miles of natural beauty with the rugged heather moorlands accessible via the wonderful North York Moors Railway running from Pickering to the coastal town of Whitby. Providing the majestic backdrop to Brideshead Revisited, the 18th-century Castle Howard lies at the heart of the neighbouring Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
In 2014 Yorkshire hosted the Grand Depart of the Tour De France. Over 2 days the tour travelled through the towns and countryside of Yorkshire from Harrogate to Leeds on day 1 and York to Sheffield on day 2.
The Industrial Revolution brought change to many parts of Yorkshire leading to the growth of large towns in West Yorkshire arising out of the textile industry and throughout South Yorkshire with the mining and steel and glass industries.
As these industries have declined the towns and cities have re-invented themselves with investment into new industries and Universities and Research Institutes.
Yorkshire has the highest concentration of universities and research institutes outside of London.
Universities of Yorkshire include three Russell Group Universities of University of Leeds , University of Sheffield and University of York with other highly respected universities including: Leeds Beckett University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Hull, University of Bradford and University of Huddersfield.
Yorkshire is well known for its strong sense of regional identity and in 2014, two former members of the Campaign for Yorkshire founded what became the Yorkshire Party, campaigning for the creation of a Yorkshire parliament by 2050.
