Yorkshire
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If you’re new to Yorkshire see what it has to offer on our Introduction page. We have now added more than 1,000 places to our A to Y Gazetteer of Yorkshire. We've listed the cities and towns and now many of the villages, with links to pages providing more information or to pinpoint villages on our unique Yorkshire map. The Home button links you to many other parts of Yorkshire.guide And look below for our frequently updated page with some of our newest items about Yorkshire issues and events in more detail .......
Reform UK wipe out Labour seats across region
Votes have been counted after polling took place on Thursday in local elections in many parts of the country including some of the councils in Yorkshire.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough, half of which is historically Yorkshire but now in Greater Manchester, remains with no overall control after gains were made by Reform UK at the expense of Labour, whose domination had already declined at the previous election.
In Calderdale, Reform UK have taken control of the council with 34 of the slightly increased number of 54 seats after a boundary review. Labour have 8 seats, the Green Party 7, Independents 3 and Liberal Democrats 2.
It took until Saturday evening to complete the count of Thursday's votes for Bradford Council. The result is no overall control, but Reform UK are by far the largest party with 29 seats, Conservatives are in second place with 18 and Labour have 17 seats. Your Bradford Independent Group 9 have nine seats, Green Party 9, Independents 4, and Liberal Democrats 1. Only 87 seats were involved in Thursday's election as the three seats of the Idle and Thackley ward were deferred to a by-election in June after the death of one of the candidates.
In Leeds, Labour has lost overall control, but with only a third of seats up for election took less of an impact from an increase in Reform UK seats than in other West Yorkshire authorities.
In Wakefield in West Yorkshire, Reform UK have an even bigger landslide majority with 58 seats on the 63-seat council. Liberal Democrats have 2 seats, Green Party 1, Conservatives 1 and Labour 1.
Here are the results:
Metropolitan districts
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
Barnsley Details in the Local government section of our Barnsley page.
Sheffield Details in the Local government section of our Sheffield page.
No election in
Doncaster and 
Rotherham districts.WEST YORKSHIRE
Bradford Details in the Local government section of our Bradford or Keighley page.
Calderdale Details in the Local government section of our Halifax or Todmorden page.
Kirklees Details in the Local government section of our Huddersfield or Dewsbury page.
Leeds Details in the Local government section of our Leeds page.
Wakefield Details in the Local government section of our Wakefield or Castleford page.
GREATER MANCHESTER
Oldham Details in the Local government section of our Uppermill page.
Unitary Authority
Hull Details in the Local government section of our
District Authority
Pendle Details in the Local government section of our Barnoldswick page.
Trains disrupted on weekdays and weekends
Passengers are urged to check journey planners for the best route to travel, which may involve trains diverting on longer routes, some trains with curtailed routes, more changes than usual, or bus replacements for all or part of the journey.
On Saturday and Sunday (May 9-10 and also subsequent weekends) Huddersfield station will be closed as on the past few weekends with only replacement buses. A reduced Trans-Pennine Express service will operate on a longer diversion route via the Calder Valley with stops at Brighouse instead of Huddersfield with a replacement bus between the two towns. Saturday will not have through services to Manchester Airport and Northern services normally operating from Leeds to Wigan are cancelled requiring a change from other services at Manchester Victoria. A train will run between Manchester Piccadilly and Marsden with a bus via Slaithwaite to Huddersfield. Direct buses to Huddersfield are also operating from Manchester Piccadilly and there are also some buses from Stalybridge. Buses from Huddersfield will run via Deighton and Mirfield to Wakefield Kirkgate where trains to York via Castleford will resume. Northern trains from Sheffield towards Huddersfield will terminate at Lockwood with a replacement bus into Huddersfield.
Monday to Friday disruption is limiting services at Huddersfield . This continues until May 26 after the Spring Bank Holiday Monday but with more work planned in June. On weekdays no trains will be leaving the north end of the station — the direction of Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford. The only trains from Huddersfield will be TransPennine Express services towards Manchester Piccadilly and Northern trains via Penistone and Barnsley to Sheffield . Journeys between Huddersfield and Leeds will need to be partly by replacement bus, usually a direct service between Huddersfield and Brighouse to connect with a limited service of TransPennine Express trains diverting via the longer Calder Valley route. Buses will also operate from Huddersfield via Deighton and Mirfield to join trains at Wakefield Kirkgate. Trains will not be operating from Yorkshire directly to Manchester Airport on these weekdays. A journey there may require transit from Manchester Victoria to reach airport trains at Piccadilly or the use of replacement bus running from Brighouse via Stockport to Manchester Airport.
Work will be continuing until early next year on major internal alterations to the Grade I listed Huddersfield station which will increase the number of through platforms to four when complete. Work is also taking place on renewing the main internal station roof, extending the subway, installing a new footbridge and completing bridge renewal and alterations on to Huddersfield Viaduct. During the May closure work is also due to take place on track renewal at Bradley junction, about two miles from Huddersfield, where a line towards Brighouse branches from the tracks of the TransPennine Route Upgrade.
The A62 Leeds Road at Deighton near Huddersfield is closed to traffic between 8pm this Friday (May 8) until 5am on Monday (May 11) and also between the same times the following weekend for railway bridge works.Please visit operators websites for more information and timetables.
Check details of your journey at the 
National Rail
National Rail For more information about work on this line see the TransPennine Route Upgrade website.
TransPennine Route Upgrade Leeds Marathon this Sunday
Large crowds are expected along the 26.2-mile route where there will be various temporary road closures from the start at the Headingley rugby stadium with the run heading via Woodhouse Moor, Adel, Lawnswood, Bramhope ,
The Leeds Half Marathon is also taking place on Sunday, using much of the same route. Around 12,000 participants are taking part in the two events which are organised by Jane Tomlinson's Run For All.
Also taking place this weekend is the MND Mile, which is at the Leeds Beckett University Headingley campus on Saturday (May 9).
More information at the Jane Tomlinson Run For All website: Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon , Leeds Half Marathon and MND Mile
Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon Leeds Half Marathon MND Mile Leeds Otley
When British and American navies clashed off the Yorkshire coast
The US Navy was originally formed as the Continental Navy, around nine months before that independence declaration on July 4, 1776. The aim was to support war efforts by raiding British merchant ships, overseas territories and, indeed, Great Britain itself.
It was on September 23 in 1779 that the war of independence from Britain reached the coast off Flamborough Head in the East Riding of Yorkshire where two Royal Navy vessels, one hired, were guarding a convoy of around 40 merchant ships which had crossed from Baltic ports via the Norwegian coast.
The two British naval vessels encountered the four ships under the command of Scottish-born American naval officer John Paul Jones, whose ships were seeking to wreak havoc around the British coast after setting sail from France.
The result of a battle lasting around four hours off Flamborough Head was seen by the Americans as a resounding victory after the eventual capture and surrender of the damaged British ships, HMS Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, but it was not without result for the British as the convoy had been successfully defended despite the military vessels being outnumbered and Jones’ flagship, the Bonhomme Richard, sank from the battle damage it sustained.
Flamborough
Tour de France Grand Départ in Yorkshire in 2027
The prestigious event boosted a massive interest in cycling in Yorkshire when the men's race Grand Départ was held in Yorkshire in 2014.
The Tour returns with the first two days of the women's race next year while the men's Scotland to Wales Grand Départ also reaches into historic Yorkshire.
The first day for the Tour de France Femmes will start at The Headrow in Leeds on Friday July 30, 2027, to head via Birstall , Heckmondwike , Mirfield and a hill climb to Kirkheaton before reaching Huddersfield .
The following day the race will head back from Manchester through the
The third day of the women's race will be in London before the cyclists head off to France.
The Yorkshire section begins with the descent into the Trough of Bowland from the second of five mountain stages on the Tour de France ride through England on Day 2.
It also includes the highest point of the day, the third King of the Mountains climb up the "Côte de Waddington Fell" to 347 metres at around the mid-point of the race. After Waddington, cyclists cross the River Ribble to the Lancashire town of Clitheroe.
Day 1 of the men's race heads from Scotland to England with a stage from Edinburgh to Carlisle. The short stretch of historic Yorkshire is on the Keswick to Liverpool stage on Day 2. The third day is in Wales with a stage from Welshpool to Cardiff.
Britain's first National Park reaches 75
One of the three National Parks in Yorkshire, it offers plenty of outdoor opportunities in some isolated and sometimes challenging moorland landscapes.
Find out more about the Yorkshire part of the Peak District National Park on our
Wuthering Heights reaches different parts
However, some of the gritty and peaty moors of the West Yorkshire Pennines, where the Brontë sisters were based as the daughters of the curate of Haworth , have been switched for the greener fields and moors in the
The film crew was based around Reeth as they shot scenes in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.
Reeth Haworth
Sunny days ahead at the Yorkshire seaside
A dozen Yorkshire beaches gained Seaside Awards in 2025 and three Yorkshire beaches can fly their international Blue Flag awards. The 2026 awards have yet to be revealed and are usually announced in May.
The awards each year are made by the environment charity Keep Britain Tidy — the international Blue Flags on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education.
Beaches with Seaside Awards in 2025 are Redcar (Lifeboat Station beach),
Find out more about Yorkshire's characterful traditional town resorts and charming villages beside the beach on our Seaside page.
Seaside
Yorkshire.guide/seaside
Discover Yorkshire castles
The castles are rich in their history as homes in times of peace and strongholds in times of civil war. Some still dominate the landscape while in some locations there is now little evidence of their darkest days.
Our Castles page tells you more about their history, which castles have open access and those with an admissions policy. You can follow our links to the castle managers' own websites to check which sites are open in winter, admission prices and if you need to book before your visit.
Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire (featured in our picture) is one of the finest and most complete Norman castles in Britain, around which the town of Richmond developed. Its vast square keep, 100ft (30 metres) high, is a dominant feature of the town with magnificent views.
Castles
Yorkshire.guide/castles
Yorkshire mixture
Here are links to a few of the most popular pages at Yorkshire.guide:
Cities Largest towns and cities Population Gazetteer Abbeys Castles Film locations Forest of Bowland Heritage Coast Heritage railways Highest mountains Historic Houses Howardian Hills Museums Nidderdale North Pennines North York Moors Peak District Racecourses Seaside York Yorkshire Dales Yorkshire football Railway stations On Ilkla Moor Baht ’at
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