Yorkshire: The First Place From Space!

What do The Great Wall of China, the Egyptian Pyramids and the geographical centre of Yorkshire all have in common?

Today we are joining these famous world by clearly marking out Yorkshire on a worldwide stage.

In a bold undertaking of celestial proportions, Yorkshire is set to star in a unique campaign which will make it the first region in the UK visible from space.  We  wanted to show the sheer scale of the region by putting it firmly on the map and now, using a 54,300 sq ft ground marking placed on the exact geographical centre of Yorkshire, we have quite literally done just that!

Click here to view a full size version of the image.

Tourism is worth an estimated £6.1 billion per year to Yorkshire's economy from more than 104 million UK and international travellers who visit the region annually. As fantastic as these results are, we are still looking to improve on these figures with our ‘Make Yorkshire yours’ marketing campaign which highlights our many attractions as well as the geographical diversity of the region, from the extremities in the north, south, east and west, to everything in-between.

However, with such a vast area to publicise, reflecting the region’s diversity –such as the exhilarating countryside and coast, bustling market towns, stately homes and castles, and vibrant cities with world class shopping and restaurants – it was hard to choose which precise spot to make visible from space. The absolute geographical heart of Yorkshire – which is undisputable – was chosen as the ideal place. 

Steve Carver, Senior Lecturer of geography at Leeds University, pinpointed the specific geographical centre point of Yorkshire: a field in Cattal, North Yorkshire (coordinates SE 44791 55160) owned by one of Europe’s largest nursery growers, Johnsons of Whixley.

Professor Carver gave us an insight into the methodology used by Leeds University: “It is based on boundary distances and finding the centre of gravity of ‘God’s own county’ based on its shape and area using the Government's boundary data and low water mark for the coast line sections. By finding the balancing point of a region, we can accurately pinpoint the centre - and that’s exactly what we did.”

The ground marking, a 233ft x 233ft glossy white square, was created on the spot with our website address ‘Yorkshire.com’ printed in huge letters – it is hoped that the marking, which because of its size and reflection qualities, can be seen by satellites passing in space, will drive international interest among potential visitors.

Our Marketing Director, Joanna Royle, has commented: “With such a large, rich and diverse region, it became clear that the only way we could put the whole of Yorkshire on the map was through, quite literally, a ‘big’ idea.

“So, we’re trying just that - we don’t know of any other city or region in the world which has gone to such lengths and made their place visible from space. We hope this fun stunt will raise our profile yet further and help drive visitors not just to the centre of our region, but to all points north, south, east and west.

“We have seen the area from the air and it’s quite a spectacle. It is more than 15 times wider than the Great Wall of China which can be seen from space, so you never know, we might just attract new visitors from out of this world!”

Graham Richardson, group managing director of Johnsons of Whixley, which employs 150 people producing over 10 million plants every year, said: “Horticulture, like tourism, is hugely important to Yorkshire life and the region’s economy. We were thrilled to find that Johnsons of Whixley, which was founded by a Yorkshireman, is at the very heart of Yorkshire itself. It’s great how we have helped our region leave its mark by making us visible from space.”

In the meantime, potential visitors from space and earthlings alike can find out all they need to know about planning and booking a short break in Yorkshire on this website so do take the time to explore.

For some ideas of where in the Region to visit, have a look at our destination guide, or search for accommodation.