West yorkshire adventures

Hebden bridge is a small market town situated in the upper Calder Valley of West Yorkshire, England. For anyone on a visit to Leeds, Bradford or Manchester this is a perfect place to visit nearby.

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A pleasant surprise

This was a place I actually visited unintentionally. I was on my way to a place in Bradford and had to get off the train here to catch a bus when I noticed how beautiful it was. To put it one way, It was enough to turn my head and make me want to explore it on my way back which was exactly what I did.

Here are a few interesting about Hebden Bridge:

Named one of the prettiest towns in Europe

This little town often makes all kinds of lists everywhere, here are just a few to mention. This year it has been named one of “the most beautiful places in the UK” by Daffodil Hotel. “One of the worlds funkiest towns” by British Airways Magazines and Culture trip calls it “The Greatest Town in Europe”.

It is one of the best places to go shopping in independent shops

You’ll rarely see a chain store here. Instead, you’ll find an array of independent shops that will meet everthing you require. Its actually a nice change from the usual chain stores that sell all the same things.

It is known for its welcoming atmosphere, quirkiness and creativity

In the 1970s a large number of people moved here. A fair proportion of them were hippies who migrated here due to the cheap housing at that time bringing their creativity and quirkiness with them. Since then this little town has been thriving and attracting thousands of visitors.

Its close to the countryside

you’ll see glimpses of nature everywhere

Its right next to the countryside and whatever direction you take your sure to end up in the beautiful surrounding nature. One of the most popular destinations to go for a hike is hardcastle crags which I didnt, but definitely plan to next time.

Used to be known as “Trouser Town”

Once upon a time it was known as “The trouser town” of the UK, this was due to it becoming the centre of garment-making, but mostly popular for working mens trousers.

The lesbian capital of the UK

It has been claimed by the stats that more lesbian people per head live here more than anywhere else in the UK.

Honestly, I dont think my pictures do this place much justice. Not only is it a pretty quirky place, but I found it to be much more bohemian than other market towns. I’d love to go back and photograph it probably and spend more time there. As I mentioned earlier, I visited on my way back from somewhere else therefore did not have much time here.

Recommendation

I has lunch at a place called Aya Sophia, a lovely family-run restaurant right in the centre of the town. The serves a Greek and Mediterranean cruisine with authentic dishes. I would highly recommend this place, not only a beautiful place, but offers a fantastic menu with a great service and atmosphere.

What do you think of Hebden Bridge?

Thank you for visiting my blog today, I hope you have enjoyed the post.

Stay blessed and have a pleasant day

Natalie ❤x

I honestly can not remember for the life of me how I come across this beautiful little town. I remember wanting to visit and looking at pictures of this place for quite some time, but being a little hesitant about visiting. Sometimes I tend to get a little anxious when traveling somewhere new, well, all the time but, especially when I have to take multiple methods of transport to get to a single place. Anyway, I decided I would take the trip spontaneously the night before. I’m so glad I’m did! And luckily my mum accompanied me on this one, this was a nice change as I’m usually solo traveling.

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Holmfirth sits in the Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, in the Holme Valley.

A bit about the history

In the 1770s the first spinning cotton machine known as the spinning jenny was brought onto Holmfirth. By the 1850s textile mills began to pop up, the population started to rise and the town had become a trading centre for the textile industry.

The town is best known for being the filming location of a popular British TV Programme series The Last Of The Summer Wine.

The town is made up of independent shops, cobbled streets, mill cottages, beautiful valleys, sloping woodlands that join on to the Peak District and the River Ribble running through the town.

Last of the summer wine filming locations we visited

Nora Batty’s Cottage

On our arrival the first thing we wanted to do was visit the Nora Batty Cottage one of the filming locations. Nora Batty was one of the characters in the show who became popular due to her wrinkled stockings, hair rollers and her funny personality. The cottage is now a self catering accommodation that can be rented.

The Wrinkled Stocking Tearoom is not connected to the show, but is a place we wanted to experience and its right next door to the cottage. It is a cute little place that offers a range of local foods and has great reviews on TripAdvisor. Although, unfortunately for us, we did not get to go inside as it was closed due to Covid so I just had to make do with a photo instead 😏.

Sid’s Cafe

Sid’s Cafe another filming location of the TV show. We didn’t get to go inside here either as this again was closed too due to the pandemic.

As we were around this area, we spotted a little tour bus that was offering tours around more of the shows filming locations. We decided to hop on board and join the tour. So glad we did because we would have never have got to see half as much by ourselves.

The Last Of The Summer Wine Tour

The tour is a 45 minute journey around all the filming locations which also incorporates the beautiful scenery of the Yorkshire Pennines and residential areas. There is also a full commentary on the history of Holmfirth. The tour is £9 per person and picks up and starts outside Sid’s Cafe every hour although, they only run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The tour is run by Colin, a man who owned the famous Sids cafe for twenty years and featured in many of the episodes of the show.

Here are just a few pictures from the tour, but there is plenty more to see on this tour.