Yorkshire Day was yesterday, and the celebrations are still going. The main day fell on Saturday 1 August, but the wider programme runs from 30 July right through to 2 August, so there is still plenty to catch before the weekend is out.
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If you are in York, the most obvious place to start is the Yorkshire Day Market on Parliament Street, which is on for the day. Around it, the Seaside Fun Zone has taken over St Sampson's Square and Parliament Street with fairground rides, a pop-up giant sandpit and a seagull trail over at Shambles Market, and that runs until 2 August, so it is worth a wander with younger ones in tow. The more ceremonial side of things happens at the city's bars: the Yorkshire Ridings Society reads its Declaration of Integrity four times, once for each Riding and once for the City of York, at Micklegate Bar, Bootham Bar, Monk Bar and Walmgate Bar. It is read in Old Norse, Old English, Latin and Modern English, with the timings tied to the years since the Ridings were first recorded in 876.
Beyond York, the rest of the county has been busy. Skipton's Canal Basin put on a full day of bushcraft, hat-throwing, Morris dancing and a flat-cap band, with a Yorkshire market and free activities like crazy golf, rodeo sheep rides, giant games, face painting and candle-making. Keighley held its own civic event, and over in Leeds, the Yorkshire Day Run in Roundhay Park gave people the choice of a 5k, a 10k or a half marathon. Ripon had St Wilfrid's Procession, Carlton Towers hosted its Yorkshire Day Festival, the Emley Show ran in West Yorkshire, Rudding Park put on Gimme Golfest, Hull had the Humber Street Sesh, the Aston Carnival filled South Yorkshire and Bridlington held a celebration gala at the station. And for something truly Yorkshire, the Darfield Museum staged a Yorkshire Pudding Flinging.
If you are still looking for something to do, Oakwell Hall in Birstall is worth a trip on 2 August. The Grade I listed Elizabethan manor, built by John Batt in 1583 and set within 110 acres of country park, is hosting a Yorkshire Day gathering with heritage activities, outdoor fun and community stalls. It is a good way to round off the weekend.
A bit of background helps explain why all this goes to so much effort. Yorkshire Day is not an official public holiday, but a cultural one organised by councils, civic societies and the Yorkshire Ridings Society, which was set up in the mid-1970s to protest the Local Government Act that redrew the county's boundaries. The date itself comes from the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759, when Yorkshire soldiers picked white roses from the battlefield, which is how the white rose became the county's symbol. It also marks the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, championed by the Yorkshire MP William Wilberforce, which came into force on 1 August 1834.
So, if you have not yet had a proper Yorkshire Day, there is still time to grab a Yorkshire pudding, some Wensleydale cheese and a pint of Timothy Taylor's or Black Sheep and make the most of it before the celebrations wind down.
Published Date
3 August 2026
