In a world where there seems to be no end of plastic bunkbeds and shiny hotel rooms, it's fantastic to see that there's still plenty of unique staycations out there that are restoring parts of Yorkshire's heritage for new visitors to explore.
The Old Ticket Station is the perfect example.
Over in Allerston, where the local train station and railway track to Scarborough once stood is now home to short term rentals both inside the old ticket office and have even relayed tracks to place 1930s-style carriages.
Image: Host Unusual
Listed on Host Unusual, those looking for a proper first-class retreat will find that this rare opportunity to sleep inside a part of the Yorkshire town's heritage a true step back in time (in the best way possible).
Original features in the ticket office space have been painstakingly preserved whilst the cosy lounge and dining area still has the original fireplace from its humble beginnings the 1800s and 1900s.
The vintage details span across the walls with vintage posters and framed railway maps, and are complimented by modern appliances to give that old-world feel without having to compromise on convenience.
In addition to the communal areas, there's two bedrooms that can house either twin beds or a superking, depending on the visitor's preference. There's also two bathrooms fitted with a private garden area to the rear.
Images: The Old Station
Ebberston Station has been fitted to reminisce its 1930s appearance, but the holiday home was actually a functioning station from 1890 all the way up until 1953 when the track was lifted and both the station and surrounding areas became farmland.
Owners Mark and Carol Benson moved in around 1996 and made the decision to restore the space into the one-of-a-kind station staycation it is today.
The carriages were installed in 1998 and were painted and restored to look like the LNER period trains from the 1930s. By using a chocolate, green and cream colour scheme, the couple transformed three carriages to their former glory - with plenty of original features for visitors to peer at during their stay.
A quarter of a century on and all of the staycation homes are proving that character homes make the perfect home-away-from-home. Prices range from £394 for carriages and £560 for the station and are booked out on a three day or weekly basis.
For more information, including how to book either staycation, visit The Old Station website here.
The tiramisu hype lives on, and this time it's coming to Leeds.
It really does feel like the traditional Italian dessert has taken the world by storm as of late.
Everything from tiramisu cups and tiramisu coffees have been popping up all over our feed, and now tiramisu in drawer form is popping up in the city centre.
Misu Tiramisu is an independent business that began at Manchester's Christmas Markets and quickly became one of the most popular operators, all thanks to its miniature tiramisu ‘drawers’.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The individually portioned and colourfully packaged desserts quickly became one of town’s top puddings, and owners Aleem and Aishah went on to launch a stand inside the Manchester Arndale too.
And now they’re branching out again in Leeds inside Trinity shopping centre for a two month residency.
You’ll find all their delicious flavours of handmade tiramisu, including classic, pistachio, chocolate, Biscoff, mango, and lemon - they'll also have some gluten-free tiramisu on offer as well, so no one has to miss out.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Misu Tiramisu owners Aleem and Aishah spent a year refining the recipe for their tiramisus after a trip to Milan, first launching with their first market stall in Sale.
Misu Tiramisu is now open inside Trinity shopping centre opposite Boots Opticians and Pop Specs.
They're open every day of the week for you to get your tiramisu fix, from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on a Sunday.
And trust us Leeds, they're just as delicious as they are adorable.
Fossilised 320-million-year-old fish found in Leeds’ Roundhay Park
Clementine Hall
A prehistoric fish fossil has been unearthed at Roundhay Park in Leeds.
The fascinating prehistoric skull bone of a coelacanth fish was discovered by a geologist at Roundhay Park earlier this year.
It is thought the creature was frozen in time aeons ago, during an era when the park was submerged under a vast tropical lagoon.
The remarkable discovery has now been kindly donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries and added to the natural sciences collection at Leeds Discovery Centre.
Image: Leeds City Council
The Leeds fossil was found by Ru Smith of the Yorkshire Geological Society during a reconnaissance walk he was carrying out ahead of a planned field excursion in the north Leeds park.
Describing the moment he made the discovery, Ru said: “There’s a layer of rock in the park which dates from around 320 million years ago, from a time before the breakup of the continents, when what is now the park would have been situated close the Equator and under the warm waters of a tropical lagoon. West Central Africa would be a good place to find similar environments in the present.
“There’s a bed of freshwater mussels called Carbonicola at one level in the rock, and opening a piece of shale from this bed in my hands I saw something unusual – a distinctive skull bone of a large fish. I knew straight away this was something different and very rare."
The bone was verified byexperts as belonging to a coelacanth older than those found elsewhere in Yorkshire, making it the oldest fossil coelacanth discovered in the region.
Ru added: “Coelacanths are pretty amazing fish and it’s just very cool to think that at one time, you could have been standing in Leeds and watching them swim around above a bed of mussels in Roundhay Park.
“That’s really the wonder of geology, looking at the rock and time travelling in the imagination to what was a very different world.”
Sophie Smith -
25th September 2023 
