Ailsa Henderson
Ailsa Henderson was born in Sunderland, but settled in Yorkshire as a youngster. She now works for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and lives with her partner Chris in Bramham, near Leeds.
What’s your first Yorkshire memory?
The first thing to admit is that I am not Yorkshire born and bred. I was actually born in Sunderland, and that’s where I spent the first six months of my life. My dad is a doctor and we moved with him to Scotland and Wales before settling in Bramham when I was about seven. One of the first things I remember with such clarity is our primary school, on the outskirts of the village, which had an L-shaped playing field, lined with trees. Dad is a keen bird-watcher, and I think interest his interest in nature must have rubbed off on me when I started to think about which career path to follow.
What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?
Around where I grew up, I think. It’s just north east of Leeds, and it’s got lots of memories for me – there were foxes, badgers and wonderful countryside. But it also has the advantage of being not too far from a city with so many and varied attractions. You can have the tranquillity of the great outdoors, or a quick hop into town for a few drinks and a good restaurant.
What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?
Being with my partner Chris (he’s in the printing industry) and taking our two dogs for a walk around where we live. It invariably ends up in a pub, with a good dinner. We have a black labrador and a springer spaniel, and both of them have boundless energy, so we need to sit down at the end of the walk to recharge our human batteries.
Do you have a favourite walk – or view?
Our home is just down the road from Bramham Park, and there’s a bridle path that we know that takes you around the estate and through magnificent woodland. You can follow the beck for some of the way, and what Chris and I love is that it always looks different.
Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?
I’m not really a sporting person at all, but what I do admire is the way that women in sports have made such incredible breakthroughs in the past few years. The exemplar of all of that is the marvellous Jessica Ennis Hill. Plus she seems to be a thoroughly nice person.
Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?
Who else but the actress Dame Judi Dench? I don’t think she has ever turned in a performance that wasn’t 100 per cent pure gold. And I’m told that she has a brilliant sense of humour as well.
What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
Its many, many facets. Take the landscape. What other British county has places like the Wolds, the Dales, the coast, the cities, the woods and forests and the open farmlands, within its boundaries? And then mix in the people. It’s like one great community, and I am so very proud to work here and be part of it all.
If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be?
This is the tricky one, but I’m going to go for the Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, which is run and administered by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and which is – bizarrely – ringed in by the East Coast main line, a motorway and a major arterial road. But only a few yards into it, and you are in a place that is teeming with wildlife, and which is a haven of peace and quiet.
Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?
We both love the Tiger Inn at Coneythorpe, near Knaresborough. The food is amazing and the welcome is always warm. If we are feeling a little more energetic, we love the walk to the Rockingham Arms in Towton, which is also a really good traditional “local”.
Do you have a favourite food shop?
It would take a lot to beat the Market Place Delicatessen in Wetherby. I highly recommend their homemade pies and cakes, and the rest of their stock is always so tempting.
How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?
Sadly, the cities and urban areas seem to have sprawled into the countryside, but people in general have, I think, become a lot more green – look how much recycling we do. It’s great that Yorkshire Wildlife Trust membership has soared, so people are more aware of the countryside and the habitats and animals and birds around them – I think that the more a community gets educated (in the nicest possible way) the better we become.
If you had to change one thing in, or about Yorkshire, what would that be?
One word. Litter. If you drop it, pick it up. It’s one of my pet hates. One of the places where I’m working at the moment is down by the old Barnsley Canal, which is a beautiful little stretch – but the amount of stuff that people leave behind is horrifying.
Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?
William Wilberforce, a doughty fighter, a man who refused to let go of his principles, and who faced up squarely to massive opposition to his determination to end the slave trade. What a legacy he left for us all.
Has Yorkshire influenced your work?
Just ever so slightly. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked all over the world and in the UK, but Yorkshire has a draw (and for a good many others) that pulls me back every time.
Name your favourite Yorkshire book/ author/artist/CD/performer.
Take a bow, Arctic Monkeys. I love their music, and it’s nearly always on when I’m driving somewhere. I also recommend having them on when you are in the gym. It makes the time fly.
If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?
May I send them off on a road trip? It would mean that they could get to see Aysgarth Falls, Malham Tarn, Brimham Rocks and… so much beautiful countryside in between. Their jaws would just drop when they saw all the amazing natural places that this county can boast.