 Barry Took , who had produced a series of ultimately unsuccessful documentaries for the BBC about working men 's clubs , was partially responsible for the choice of location for the exterior shots . The programme which drew the highest ratings of the series focused on <unk> Working Men 's Club , a club in the small West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and Took saw Holmfirth 's potential as the backdrop of a television show . Took 's idea was passed to James Gilbert and Roy Clarke via Duncan Wood , who was at that time filming Comedy Playhouse . Gilbert and Clarke then travelled to Holmfirth and decided to use it as the setting for the pilot of Last of the Summer Wine . 
