Ever fancied taking a tour around the iconic Emmerdale village, retracing the footsteps of characters past and present, and having your picture taken outside The Woolpack pub?
Well, you can!
Yes, that’s right – the Emmerdale Village Tours gives lucky fans the opportunity to visit the show’s outside set which is featured in nearly every episode of the ITV soap.
The famous village is home to its cast and crew during the week. But when the cameras stop rolling it’s open to visitors who’d like a sneak peek behind the scenes.
This popular experience has been running for a number of years and makes the perfect gift for any soap lover.
But where are the tours held? How often do they run? And how can you get your hands on a ticket to join in the fun?
Here’s all you need to know about the Emmerdale Tour…
Where is Emmerdale filmed?
The recognisable village of Emmerdale is actually a purpose-built set, located on the Harewood House Estate in West Yorkshire. It’s situated a short drive away from the centre of Leeds and Harrogate.
When Emmerdale debuted in 1972, filming took place in the village of Arncliffe. It then relocated to Esholt in West Yorkshire.
By 1998 the residents of Esholt decided they wanted the cameras out and their village back. So a replica set was built deep in the grounds of Harewood House.
The majority of the interior filming – character’s homes, businesses, and of course, The Woolpack is all done at the ITV studios in Leeds.
Occasionally the villagers will venture out into the fictional town of Hotten. This is actually the real-life town of nearby Otley.
How to visit the Emmerdale set
On select weekends and bank holidays, Emmerdale’s exterior set turns into a tourist attraction, giving visitors exclusive access.
Your ticket on The Emmerdale Village Tour enables fans to see the exterior locations of landmarks such as The Woolpack, the café, the local shop and many more.
The Emmerdale Village Tour has two different experiences on offer – The Standard and Tour and The Star Tour.
But what do each of these entail?
The Standard Emmerdale Tour
On selected weekends, Emmerdale welcomes visitors for an unmissable guided tour of Yorkshire’s most famous village.
You will be collected from a designated meeting point (either Harewood House or Weetwood Hall Hotel depending on the day) and taken via a coach transfer to the village film set.
Over 90 minutes, an expert guide will take you on a full tour of the exterior set. This will allow a sneak peek behind-the-scenes and share tales and soap trivia along the way.
There’s plenty of opportunity to take snaps of landmarks from David’s Shop to the Grange B&B – and posing next to the Emmerdale sign is an absolute must.
There is also a small unit on site, which serves hot and cold drinks as well as snacks and light bites.
And you can round things off by purchasing a piece of Emmerdale merchandise from the gift shop as a keepsake of your day out.
The Emmerdale Star Tours
Expect the same wonderful experience as you get on the Standard Tour. However, this one has the added bonus of being able to meet one of Emmerdale’s cast members.
The actor will greet you on the set, and the cast line-up for The Star Tour is kept strictly under wraps so you get the surprise of who it is on the day.
Since the launch of these exclusive events, fans have enjoyed appearances from fan favourites. These have included Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle), Roxy Shahidi (Leyla Harding), Lisa Riley (Mandy Dingle) James Hooton (Sam Dingle) and Natalie J Robb (Moira Dingle).
So if you fancy getting a selfie with one of Emmerdale’s stars make sure to nab yourself a ticket because they go fast!
How can I book an Emmerdale Tour?
Tickets for the Tours must be pre-booked and can be done via The Emmerdale Tour site here.
Popular dates do sell fast so book early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets for both the Standard Tour and 2024 Summer Star Tour are currently on sale and will be until 1st September.
Unfortunately walk up bookings are not accepted.
How much are the Tours?
Prices do vary depending on the tour. The Standard Emmerdale Tour is from £35 per person. Meanwhile the Emmerdale Village Star Tours start at £55 per person.
If you have someone in your life that loves Emmerdale, there is the option to purchase a gift voucher and these are from £38 per person.
This flexible gift option means the vouchers can be redeemed within 12 months of purchase and used to make a booking during on or off-peak times.
Booking can be easily made online via the website.
What other experiences are available?
Recently Emmerdale branched out and held their first An Audience With… Lucky fans were treated to a Q&A with Claire King, hosted by This Morning soap queen Sharon Marshall.
The event was held at Weetwood Hall Hotel. Claire talked about her lifetime of Emmerdale memories with excited fans. As well as Sharon asking the questions, there was also an audience Q&A.
After the evening Claire spoke about how much she had enjoyed the experience. She revealed: “It has been an extraordinary evening looking back over all these years and watching all those scenes whilst sitting with such a huge group of people who probably know more about Kim Tate than I do!
“Evenings like this are rare and it was an absolute joy to step away from the studios and spend this time with the show’s fans. Let’s face it, without them none of us would be able to do what we love, bringing our characters into their living rooms every single week. It was a night to remember for a very long time. ”
Emmerdale is planning to do more of these events in the future, with details set to be released on their socials.
Read more: When and where you can watch Emmerdale
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.