Goathland:
Goathland is a village and civil parish
in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the
North York Moors national park situated due north of Pickering, off
the A169 to Whitby. It is surrounded by beautiful scenery, and has the
advantage of having a station on the steam-operated North Yorkshire
Moors Railway line. According to the 2001 UK census, Goathland parish
had a population of 407. Goathland, which may be familiar as
"Hogsmeade" station from the early
Harry Potter films. Wade`s Causeway, also
known as the 'Roman road', runs across nearby Wheeldale Moor. Long
considered Roman in date, this is now less certain -
it may date from
early medieval times or may even have been built by a certain Wade the
Giant
Goathland village sits 500 feet
above sea level and has a history extending back to Viking times. In
1109 King Henry I granted land to Osmund the priest and brethren of
the hermitage of Goathland (called Godelandia) for the soul of
his mother Queen Matilda, who had died in 1083. This is recorded in a
charter held at Whitby Abbey.
The village was a spa
town during the 19th century. It is still a very green area, with
many stone footpaths. There are many hotels and guest houses in the
village, the largest being the Mallyan Spout Hotel, named after the
nearby beautiful waterfall in the valley. There is also a caravan site, reached by
driving along the track which is the site of the older railway route,
1835 to 1860.
Much of the surrounding land is owned by the Duchy of
Lancaster. The Duchy's
black faced sheep have a common right to graze on the village
green and surrounding moorland that extends back for hundreds of
years. As a result they are used to the many visitors to Goathland and
will sometimes beg for food.
Some other regular settings in the series are located outside of
the village. The police house can be found about 70 miles away in the
small village of
Askwith near Ilkley
and the police station can be found in the town of Otley. This was a
real police station in past years. It was announced in New Year 2009
that filming of Heartbeat episodes would cease, with no date
given for starting again. A petition of protest is being compiled by
the owners of the local Post Office.
Goathland railway station is on the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It is a private charitable trust
with a number of paid staff but mostly operated by volunteers, running
nearly all the year including at Christmas. It carries upwards of
250,000 passengers a year and is the second-longest preserved line in
Britain. It links
Grosmont in the north with Pickering in the south. It follows the
route of the 19th century line that originally connected to Whitby. From spring
2007 some trains on the railway are timetabled to run all the way to
Whitby. Goathland railway station has also been used as the location for
Hogsmeade railway station in the
Harry Potter
films, and the line was filmed for Harry's journey.
Aidensfield Garage
The village of Goathland was the famous setting of the
fictional village named Aidensfield in the
Heartbeat television series set in the 1960s. Fans of
Heartbeat will not be disappointed by a visit to fictional
Aidensfield village, as many of the series landmarks are recognisable,
including the stores, garage/funeral directors, the public house and
the
railway station. In reality the pub is called the Goathland Hotel,
but in the series is the Aidensfield Arms. After filming for several
years in the real pub, a precise replica, complete to the Morris
dancers' "swords" on the wall, was built in the television
studio. It has often been possible to see the stars of the show filming for the series
throughout the Year here in the village and Whitby itself.
St Mary`s the Parish Church
of Goathland
St. Mary`s
Church, Goathland is one of five churches in the United Benefice of Middle
Esk Moor. The other churches in the Benefice are at Egton, Grosmont
Glaisdale and Lealholm. Combined services are held with the other churches
at the monthly Benefice Holy Communion and other special services.
