“Remote communities, isolated farms, lush green valleys and limestone pavements – this landscape challenges the people who live and work here – there’s nowhere else like it in Britain. But it’s the warm Yorkshire spirit of the people who live here that keeps the heart of the Dales beating” Adrian Edmondson

In a new, 12-part series for ITV1, Adrian Edmondson returns to the county of his birth, Yorkshire, to bring us the stories behind a summer in the life of the Yorkshire Dales. The Dales started tonight at 8pm on ITV1.

Spectacularly beautiful they may be – but the Dales are also a challenging environment for the people who live there in some of its remote communities.

Adrian used to spend many of his childhood summers in the Yorkshire Dales with his family, but in this series he meets a number of characters who live all year round there amidst the stunning scenery of landmarks like Bolton Abbey and Aysgarth Falls.

They include 16 year-old Philip Mellin who has just left school and is taking on the running of the family farm, alongside his mum Carol, after the death of his dad last year. There’s also shepherdess Amanda Owen who balances’ running a 900-strong sheep farm with husband Clive, while bringing up five young children – the youngest is only four weeks old.

From the Wensleydale Railway to Leyburn Brass Band and a real life Vicar of Dibley, The Dales provides a unique insight into one of England’s most iconic locations through the eyes of the people who live there...