Tea with the Brontë’s
Well not quite but I thought it might grab the attention!!! In the middle of July we headed up’t north to the lovely CMC site called Hebden Bridge although longer term members might remember it being called Lower Clough Foot. The site has recently been refurbished including the addition of half a dozen serviced pitches and super new motorhome waste point. Should be mentioned that the site has no toilet block although this does not seem to stop people arriving thinking there is one according to the warden!
The site is actually nearer to Mytholmroyd than Hebden Bridge. Perhaps the Club took pity on us not having to get our tongues around the pronunciation of Mytholmroyd. Even a lady at a bus stop wasn’t that successful in getting me to say it correctly. One way might be to split the word up, My-tholm-royd? Or do as the locals do on the bus when asking they just say Royd!!! However you say it I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment, not least because the main road through the village is currently being dug up as they build flood defences.
A short bus ride away is Hebden Bridge which is an altogether more agreeable place. Decked out with flowers and the old Pack Horse Bridge you could imagine it being used for one of those historical dramas! There is a good selection of café’s and the one in the Town Hall is worth trying – and they have the best toilets. The whole town gives the impression of being solidly built. Something I can’t resist is a canal and Hebden Bridge has the Rochdale Canal running through it. The canal runs from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester a distance of 33 miles with 91 locks so not for the faint hearted if you decide on a boating holiday! It is a pleasant walk along the canal in the town passing by several of those 91 locks. At very vista there seems to be a tall chimney, no doubt originally belonging to some satanic mill!
One bus excursion we took was a bus trip across the Moors to Haworth on the appropriately named Brontë Bus. Being unfamiliar with Haworth we didn’t realise the bus dropped us off at the bottom of the hill which forms the main street. Half way up we took refuge in a café for some lunch. Refreshed we tackled the other half of the mountain. Haworth Church has a commanding positon at the top of the hill and the even more famous Parsonage is around the back of the church and is now a museum dedicated to the life and times of the Brontë children including the three writer sisters. I expect the museum is more of a pilgrimage for many rather than a place to learn about the sisters. Sadly they all died young but left such a legacy of literature behind.
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Thanks David, I've been to Haworth but not Hebden Bridge so would like to go there one day. It was good to hear there is a bus service so that really helps matters for future planning. I enjoyed looking at the photos, nice views of the places round there, glad to hear there are some good cafes! If you're ever in Penzance you can see where Maria Branwell, the Bronte's mother was born, what a change of location for her in those days, from one end of the country to the other and a short life too.
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We were at the site in mid September last year for 5 nights and, not unexpectedly, they were working on the flood defences then. I walked by the wardens office about 7pm on the Sunday as it was starting to go dark and a large coachbuilt motorhome had just arrived with a young couple. They didn't realise that there weren't any toilets. So they were not stopping and off to find another site.
With 15 mins of daylight, a hard standing available, and a one night stay I was surprised that they couldn't possibly use their own facilities.
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