Tourism brand Visit York has appointed a Yorkshire terrier named ‘Yorkie’ to present its new travelogue series. The three-part short film series, hosted on You Tube, follows a Yorkshire Terrier on an unhurried adventure around York and North Yorkshire.
The series is designed to showcase the many adventures visitors to York and North Yorkshire can have.
Visit York, the tourism brand of Make It York, has followed the success of launching its world-first scratch-and- sniff travel guide (Smell York) by creating the innovative short film series, showcasing York as the original city adventure.
This world-first travelogue series hosted by a dog gives viewers the opportunity to embark on an adventure around England’s iconic historic city and its surrounding North Yorkshire countryside from the perspective of one Yorkshire’s most famous exports, the Yorkshire terrier, otherwise affectionately known as a ‘Yorkie’.
Dressed in a specially fitted adventurer’s outfit, complete with Visit York and Yorkshire Rose pin badges, throughout the series, Yorkie gives the likes of Michaels Palin and Portillo a run for their money.
Viewers can watch him strolling along the twisting, narrow lane of one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe, the Shambles, getting a ‘VIP guest’ dogs-eye view of the giant locomotives at the National Railway Museum, taking a scenic journey in the cosy compartments and wood panelled carriages of a steam train on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, meandering through the enchanting landscapes of the North York Moors National Park and roaming the ruins of Whitby Abbey perched high on the east cliff above Whitby.
The travelogue series has been launched in partnership with City of York Council, North Yorkshire County Council and Virgin Trains to celebrate Visit York’s ‘York – the Original City Adventure’ tourism campaign, aimed at encouraging visitors to plan their very own adventures in York and North Yorkshire.
Kate McMullen, Head of Tourism, Make It York, said of the travelogue’s launch: ‘We hope our visitors and York fans will enjoy seeing York through the eyes of ‘Yorkie’, our adorable Yorkshire terrier. He’ll be exploring some of York’s world-class attractions and bringing a fun flavour of the adventure that awaits here in beautiful York and North Yorkshire.’
Each episode features new attractions where viewers can experience the sights and sounds that the location has to offer. The full list of locations Yorkie visited throughout the filming of the series are as follows:
1. Walmgate Ale House: visits the wood-beamed snug and chic dining room of the charming 17th century building
2. Jorvik on Tour: gets up close to Vikings and meets Viking traders (in anticipation of JORVIK’s re-opening in 2017)
3. National Rail Museum: meets the stars of the national locomotive collection in giant halls full of steam and diesel engines
4. York Minster: Yorkie passes by and advises visitors not to leave without a visit to this world-renowned cathedral
5. Shambles: meanders the narrow medieval street, awarded the most picturesque street in Britain
6. Guy Fawkes Inn: relaxes in a setting befitting of the time of Guido Fawkes, lit by candlelight and gas lamps
7. Castle Howard: experiences the breathtaking views of the stately home’s tranquil gardens, lakes and fountains
8. Goathland Station: boards a train at the railway station that became the bewitching Hogsmeade station in the Harry Potter films
9. North Yorkshire Moors Railway: travels to Whitby on one of the world’s greatest heritage railway experiences
10. Whitby Abbey: enjoys the exhilarating views across Whitby’s harbour and town from the site of the 13th century gothic ruins of the abbey church
11. York Designer Outlet: shops at the outlet that is home to over 120 stores
12. The Yorkshire Terrier: stops by this York Brewery pub situated on historic Stonegate, an obvious choice for the Yorkie presenter – only Yorkshire water consumed of course!
The first episode of Yorkie’s travelogue series will be released in mid-August (release dates to be announced shortly), followed by two more episodes in September. In the meantime, for a flavour of what’s to come, you can watch the newly released preview trailer of Yorkie’s travelogue series at www.youtube.com/visityork, follow Visit York on Twitter and Instagram @visityork and at www.facebook.com/visityork and share images of your own York and North Yorkshire adventures with the hashtags #YorkAdventure and #Yorkie.
About the presenter
Yorkie’s real name is Sunny, he is 8 years old, lives in Coventry and likes long walks around the countryside and playing with his toys in the garden.
About Yorkshire terriers
Yorkshire terriers are commonly referred to today as the ‘Yorkie’.
The English breed is no more than 100 years old and was originally bred for the purpose of catching rats in mines. The ancestors of the Yorkshire terrier are the Waterside terrier, a small Scottish breed with a long blue-gray coat. The Waterside terrier was brought to Yorkshire, in the mid 19th century. The ‘Yorkie’ made its first appearance in England in 1861 during a bench show. At this time they were known as the ‘Broken-haired Scotch terrier’. The Yorkie kept this title for nine years until, during one show, a reporter commented that the breed should be known as Yorkshire terriers, because the breed had improved so much since their arrival in Yorkshire.
DOG FACTS:
1. Cinema’s first dog appeared in Edison Studio’s Athlete with Wand. The 30-second film was directed by William K. L. Dickson and features a gymnast assuming a number of positions while holding a wand with a dog lounging in the corner of the foreground.
2. Lassie Come Home is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor, Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a screenplay by Hugo Butler, based upon the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight. The film was the first in a series of seven MGM films starring ‘Lassie’.
3. The fact that more than half of Brits keep a minimum of one pet shows that they are pet lovers. To be more specific, British households in total host 6.6 million dogs and 7.7 million cats.
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