15 Things Only People Who Grew Up In Leyburn Understand
Leyburn is the gateway town of the Yorkshire Dales, with spectacular views, an array of independent local shops and cafes, traditional pubs, a weekly market and various annual events. Life in Leyburn offers a stark contrast to city living and provides its residents with a ‘proper’ childhood, less noise and pollution, a warm sense of community, plenty of open space and the safety and calmness of the countryside. However, unless you’re a local, there are things you may not know about my rural hometown. Here are 15 things only people who grew up in Leyburn will understand.
1.Leyburn is a town – not a village!
This is a common mistake made by tourists and outsiders trying to fathom where you’re from. Although Leyburn is small, rural and rather quaint, it is in fact a market town not a village. With a market every Friday and well over two thousand residents, Leyburn is actually the biggest town in Wensleydale. People who grew up in Leyburn should surely remember this!
2.Being able to name everyone in your year at school
Like others from small towns, people who grew up in Leyburn will likely be able to name everyone in their year at school by both first name and surname. While this is the norm for us locals, it may seem quite astonishing or incomprehensible to those from large towns and cities. This will give people who grew up in Leyburn major nostalgia.
3.What a snicket is
Often heard by Leyburners in sentences like: “Let’s take a shortcut through t’ snicket,” this is a word that non-locals may not understand. Part of the Yorkshire dialect, a snicket is essentially an alleyway or a path between fences, walls or gardens. It is known as a ‘cut’ in other parts of northern England.
4.It’s okay if there’s a tank driving towards you
Don’t panic! Although an unexpected sight for most visitors, a tank passing you whilst you’re driving out of town, is a fairly regularly occurrence for Leyburners. It’s just a reminder you’re not far from Catterick Garrison – the UK’s largest garrison of the British Army. If you don’t blink when you pass one of these, you probably grew up here!
5.Tractors are a necessary pest
If you’re from Leyburn, you will likely have experienced the frustration of getting stuck behind a tractor when you’re driving around the local area. However, you’ll also understand that they are a necessary annoyance, as you’ll often see farmers out working in the fields in them or clearing snowy roads in them in winter!
6.Mischief Night is the 4th November
Mischief Night is a tradition in which teens engage in pranks and minor vandalism such as egg-throwing, treacle-smearing and toilet-papering. Some local shops even stop selling egg and flour to young people on the day. Unlike in the US, it takes place in Yorkshire on November 4th and residents of Leyburn know to expect some mess the next morning!
7.Lightwater Valley was the best day out
Whether as a school trip or venture out on the bus in the summer holidays, Lightwater Valley was always the best day out for kids who grew up in Leyburn. Others may not understand the draw of this small theme park, but it offered thrills like no other for locals year on year!
8.Strange phrases like: “Neither use nor ornament”
Like the rest of Yorkshire, Leyburn has some strange phrases that will confuse non-locals. One that no-one from outside of my hometown ever understands, is “neither use nor ornament”. This is essentially a long way of saying that something is useless, if it serves no purpose and is not pretty to look at. Pretty self-explanatory really!
9.Being able to drive is a must
If you grew up in Leyburn, when you turned 17, you almost certainly learned to drive. Being from the countryside, you’ll understand the struggle of limited public transport and will have realised the need for your own car early on. If you’re from Leyburn, you’ll be used to travelling for everything. The nearest Tesco is 8 miles away and if you want to shop in Primark, it’s a 50-mile round trip! Take a look at these things for people who grew up in Leyburn to remember!
10.The pronunciation of Coverdale and Masham
These are often mispronounced by those from outside of the area and is a huge giveaway that you’re not from Leyburn! Coverdale isn’t pronounced in the way it is spelt and is said more like ‘Covverdale’. Masham is also a tough one for those who don’t know, as you don’t say the ‘sh’ sound and instead pronounce it as ‘Mas’ ‘ham’.
11.The legend behind Leyburn Shawl
Leyburn Shawl is an escarpment with panoramic views of Wensleydale and as such, is a popular walking spot for both locals and tourists. However, few know that in local folklore, its name supposedly originates in the tale of Mary Queen of Scots’ escape. According to legend, when she tried to escape Bolton Castle, Mary lost her shawl on a briar as she ran along this route, which helped her captors track her down before she reached Leyburn!
12.Everyone knows everything!
If you’re from Leyburn, you’ll understand that nothing stays a secret for long here. With residents living and working in close proximity, everyone seems to know everything that’s going on around town and the locals all know each other on a first name basis. Word of mouth is the best marketing technique here!
13.You’ll be transported back in time at the end of July
Once a year, Leyburn takes a step back in time and is transformed into a town from the 1940s at the end of July. Shop windows are taped and sandbags are out, spam is served in local cafes, vintage vehicles fill the marketplace and dressing in retro clothing is mandatory, whether you’re a local or a visitor! Believe it or not, it’s a really popular community event!
14.Super Teams was the best day of the year at Leyburn Primary School
If you went to Leyburn Primary School, then you’ll know that Super Teams was the best day of the year! Surpassing sports day in the fun stakes, this event involved members of each year group forming teams across the whole school to compete against each other. Activities included obstacle courses with a rainbow parachute, climbing apparatus challenges and even tractor pulling on the playground! Feeling nostalgic (or old) yet??
15.The Wensleydale Show is the event of the year
Wensleydale Agricultural Show is a traditional dales show, located on the edge of Leyburn, which has been running for over 100 years! The show features competitive livestock events, horticultural and handicraft classes, vintage vehicles and an array of stalls. If you grew up here, you’ll have attended it at least once in your lifetime or you may even be an annual attendee! These are just 15 of the things that only people who grew up in Leyburn will understand. An addition to this, would be that those of us from Leyburn would not have wanted to grow up anywhere else! Before I moved away from the area, I thought many of the things on this list were a given and never considered that others may not even be able to name the people they went to school with! If Leyburn is your hometown, can you relate to these things or think of any others that only us locals will understand?
Which of these things do you recognize if you and your friends are the people who grew up in Leyburn? Let us know in the comments.
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