T

hink you know your liquorice root from your humble midget gem? A quick sampling session with sweet aficionados, Keith and Gloria Tordoff, will soon give you a taste for finding out more.

As the owners of the Oldest Sweet Shop in England, these guys live and breathe aniseed balls, mint humbugs and other sugary treats, from their tiny shop in the West Yorkshire market town of Nidderdale.

Yorkshire’s answer to Willy Wonka (with none of the scariness), Keith will happily spend the day reminiscing about the sweets of your childhood.

There are no Mars Bars or Maltesers among the rainbow-coloured jars of his 183-year-old establishment (perish the thought). Instead you can order 100g of rhubarb and custard for the bargain price of £1, then watch them get weighed out on the store’s old-school, heavy-duty scales.

Ask nicely, and Keith will also introduce you to some more unusual stuff: ever tried a Sarsaparilla Drop? Their herbal flavour makes them an acquired taste. Or what about Tiger Nuts?

They’re chewy but much tamer than they sound. Whichever treat you choose, your day couldn’t get much sweeter.