Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has long been on the list of places to visit so, back in May, off we went. It's a (just over) two hour drive from here and, with the Boy navigating, I managed to get us there without mishap.
Home for a long weekend was a beautiful mill house, right on the Rochdale canal, complete with heron on the roof and just a short walk along the towpath to the town centre.
At the back of the house was a pottery (sadly closed whilst we were there) and stunning garden (a previous owner had been a landscape gardener) with the river at the bottom. Inside, there was space aplenty for the six of us and Boo, an Aga in the kitchen to wrestle with (in our defence, the operating instructions from the owner were wrong) and boxes of toys, games and dress-up clothes to keep the littlest happy.
Hebden was everything I'd hoped for and more. As we wandered the town, with its array of independent shops (no big chains here), restaurants, cafes, vegan bakeries, micro breweries, an art deco picture house, bare feet, dreadlocks, notices everywhere for yoga, tai chi and meditation classes, the Boy said to me, 'You'd love to live here, wouldn't you?'. Yup, sure would.
A day trip to Haworth by bus landed us slap bang in the 1940s. This was a complete surprise. I'd anticipated a slow stroll up the cobbled main street to the Bronte parsonage, but the village was teeming with folk and the dog was barking his head off so we didn't get close.
With over 25 miles of footpaths (we didn't walk them all), the National Trust's Hardcastle Crags is a wooded valley with streams, waterfalls and a working mill situated just a couple of miles north of Hebden Bridge. Yes, one of us did fall in the water and no, it wasn't the littlest. Cue lots of squelching as we made our way back to the car park.
All too soon, it was time to pack the bags, load the cars and hand back the door keys.
Hebden Bridge?
We can't wait to return.
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