White Rose land art celebrates Yorkshire Day

The giant White Rose features picnic pods two metres apart

Yorkshire Day is being celebrated with a giant piece of land art.

A white rose has been created in the grounds of Cannon Hall Museum gardens near Barnsley.

The art work features socially distanced "mini picnic pods" that allow visitors to keep two metres apart.

Other events marking the annual celebration includes the reopening of York Castle and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway after they closed during the Coronavirus lockdown.

James Brunt, one of the artists behind the work, said he hoped it would allow visitors to celebrate Yorkshire Day in a "safe and responsible way".

"It is wonderful to be creating artwork once again after a difficult few months and even more so on such a brilliant project," he said.

"Cannon Hall is such a special place and a real jewel in the Yorkshire landscape, so it is the ideal location to celebrate our magnificent county."

Civic celebrations which were to take place in Rotherham will now be streamed online. The virtual Yorkshire Day will feature storytellers, poets and music.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway will reopen after a five month shutdown

The first Yorkshire Day was held in 1975.

The 1 August was chosen to commemorate The Battle of Minden in 1759 which took place during the Seven Years War.

The battle saw German and British troops led by the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry defeat the French forces.

Soldiers from the Yorkshire regiment are said to have picked white roses from nearby fields and placed them in their hats before the battle.

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