Wuthering Heights is the nations favourite love story

audience. Among locations chosen for shooting were Oakwell Hall at Birstall, Bramham Park, Arncliffe and Halton Gill in the Dales. The literary heritage of the county, coupled with the diverse range of locations often steeped in historical significance, makes Yorkshire an incredibly seductive setting, according to Rachel McWatt of Screen Yorkshire, an organisation which works with production crews filming in the region. And its a setting which continues to inspire and delight screenwriters, film makers and audiences from all over theworld, she added. Rachel cites a long list of stories with strong romantic elements recently filmed in Yorkshire and points out that although Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 released last year is far from a romance, the scene filmed against the spectacular backdrop of Malham Cove was in fact depicting the deepening of the relationship between Harry and Hermione.
Opposite page: Charlotte Riley as Cathy and Tom Hardy as Heathcliff in ITVs Wuthering Heights (Mammoth Screen) This page: Top, left: Haworth, home of the Bront sisters ( Simon Warner) Top, right: Malham Coves curious limestone pavement shown in the latest Harry Potter film ( Simon Warner) Left: Jemima Rooper as Amanda Price at Bramham Park in Lost in Austen (Mammoth Screen)

The Heights of

With Valentines Day coming up this month, Christina Surdhar asks how romantic is Yorkshire? Perhaps more than you thought

Passion
O
ur celebrated blunt and often down-toearth character here in Yorkshire might not be one youd readily associate with hearts and flowers, but according to a recent poll, we are in fact the home of the nations favourite love story. Wuthering Heights came top, beating all of Jane Austens works and even Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bront and first published in 1847 under her pseudonym Ellis Bell, is a story of

the passionate, obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Significantly, the windswept moors of the West Riding feature so prominently in the story that the setting is sometimes described as a character in its own right. Screenwriter Peter Bowker who adapted the story for a two-part drama, shown on ITV in August 2009, insisted that filming should be done in the county. There was talk of going to Romania or Ireland, I was adamant it had to be Yorkshire. Theres no way of imitating its landscape, youd be cheating the www.yorkshireridingsmagazine.com

10

YORKSHIRE RIDINGS MAGAZINE

www.yorkshireridingsmagazine.com

YORKSHIRE RIDINGS MAGAZINE

11

Top: Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder, Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte, Ben Whishaw as Sebastien Flyte at Castle Howard in Brideshead Revisited (Ecosse Films) Above: Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder on the platform of Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in Brideshead Revisited (Ecosse Films) Left: The romantic setting of Castle Howard ( Simon Warner)

Yet another romantic Yorkshire location, Castle Howard, features in the 2008 feature film adaptation of Evelyn Waughs Brideshead Revisited, which tells the story of Charles Ryders infatuation with the Marchmain family. We were very aware that it had been linked to Brideshead Revisited before as the setting for the TV adaptation, said producer Kevin Loader. In fact, some people think it is Brideshead. It is an unbelievable place and has an immediate impact on screen. In the end, it was just too good not to go back to Castle Howard. Another Yorkshire love story is the award winning playwright Kay Mellors A Passionate Woman, based on the true story of her own mothers affair, before Mellor was born. Set in Leeds, and starring Billie Piper in the leading role, the TV adaptation of the play aired last year and was filmed at locations across Leeds and Bradford including Roundhay Park and Leeds City Markets. So it seems that for filmmakers at least, Yorkshire and romance go passionately hand in hand and seemingly for authors too. The York based writer Jessica Hart, has just finished novel number 57 for the iconic publishers of romantic fiction, Mills and Boon. I met her in the light, airy cafe of Yorks City screen cinema with its huge windows looking out over the River Ouse. Its here that Jessica almost always comes up with her plots, looking out over the river and www.yorkshireridingsmagazine.com

Above: Author Jessica Hart plots her romantic novels in the cafe of Yorks City Screen Cinema, looking out over the River Ouse Left: Billie Piper as a young Betty and Theo James as her charismatic Polish neighbour, Alex Crazenovski in the BBC drama A Passionate Affair (Rollem Productions)

at York, or sometimes walking up to the Millennium Bridge and back, talking plot ideas over with her friends. York obviously inspires her, but I have noticed however that only one of her books, Business Arrangement Bride, is set in the city. One of the things about romance, Jessica explains, is that its slightly out of reach. Its somewhere different, somewhere you cant really belong. So the places I find the most romantic are the Scottish Highlands, or the Australian Outback, but Yorks part of my daily life. York really works for historical novels, but for romance, it almost needs that extra distance to have a level of fantasy involved. Jessica has set several books in fictional Yorkshire towns, usually loosely based on Pickering with its location on the edge of the moors. For another she imagined the Howardian Hills as a setting, and in yet another, her fictional town had elements of Harrogate. I think the North York Moors are really romantic, she said. Its the notion of that space and wildness. Theres something elemental about them. It can be a challenging location too, www.yorkshireridingsmagazine.com

especially if one of the characters is a real metropolitan type. How do they manage when theyre on the moors? I dont know what its like, Ive never lived up there, but my sense is that its a no-nonsense place with quite hard conditions and the austerity appeals to me. I like my heroes to be austere, too. I dont like the suave playboy types, my heroes arent like that. Jessica was born in West Africa and has lived and worked all over the world. She came to York to take a PhD in medieval studies and has been here ever since. She clearly loves Yorkshire, but does she think its a romantic place? Yes, because its got such a strong identity, she says. Everybodys got an idea about Yorkshire. Its not like, say, Staffordshire or Buckinghamshire. Its a place that you have a very clear idea about even if youve never been there. And when you get there, its like that, and thats romantic. I think its absolutely the best county. Its funny when you think how we are so used to associating places such as Paris, or Italy with romantic love, and not our own beautiful county. Perhaps its because, as Jessica says, romance has to be removed from the reality of daily life. But lets face it, Yorkshire is so varied that there are places you can go for a complete change of scenery, even if you live here. Yorkshire certainly has my vote as top romantic location this Valentines Day. * To find out more about Jessica Hart and her work, visit her website at www.jessicahart.co.uk * Screen Yorkshire works to attract production teams to the region and supports them whilst filming through their production liaison services. http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/made-in-yorkshire n YORKSHIRE RIDINGS MAGAZINE 13

12

YORKSHIRE RIDINGS MAGAZINE