I grew up in Britain and studied half an hour away in Leeds, but until the recommendation of a New Yorker, I knew nothing of Hebden Bridge.
My friend Lauren suggested this village as a weekend destination in the peace of rural North England after she discovered it was the resting place of poet Sylvia Plath.
Hebden Bridge is one of six photogenic villages in Yorkshire’s Calder Valley. Its shops, walks, pubs, clubs, museums and monuments offer an opportunity to escape the camera-wielding crowds of London, Edinburgh, Oxford, or Bath, in a setting beloved of film crews.
Even better, Hebden Bridge is just 30 minutes by train from the major English cities of Manchester and Leeds, both of which have international airports, and is three hours from London. By car, it is an hour from Manchester or Leeds and four hours from London.
If you would like an insight into modern-day village life, here are ten things to do in Hebden Bridge.
1. Take the Scenic Route
At Leeds Station, pillars of metal and plates of glass hang over 18 concrete platforms. The wind blows cold smoke through a flurry of commuters. Hebden Bridge council discourages driving to avoid congestion, so here I am, regretting my decision.
But I shouldn’t have worried.
Minutes after boarding, I am chugging through birch and oak forests that sweep over valleys, around bluffs, cliffs and verges, across stone bridges and over canals, before arriving in the dell of a dale.
The station is as picturesque as the journey. Its black and white signage, potted pansies and picket fences make me think I’ve entered an Agatha Christie adaptation. I smell woodsmoke and moss.
2. Hike Up a hill
I am eager to explore the scenery I saw from the train. Heptonstall is a mile uphill from Hebden Bridge and is popular with weekenders who navigate one of two routes, both steep. I ignore the cobblestoned Buttresses for the Pennine Way, the UK’s first national trail.
Soon, beech trees give way to bushes, unveiling a panorama of wood, water, field and cloud. Hebden Bridge looks like a tiny Atlantis on the bottom of a mill pond. A symphony of blackbirds, robins and blue tits accompanies my ascent to Hell Hole Rocks.
As climbers take on toothy cliffs, I negotiate a narrow set of steps hewn into the rockface. I risk a backward glance only to see a sign warning “watch out for the drop!”
3. Pay Respect to Sylvia Plath
Close to the path head is Heptonstall Parish Church and the grave of Pulitzer Prize winner Sylvia Plath. Ted Hughes, her husband, came from the Calder Valley, and he buried Plath here after she took her own life at 30.
A broken circle of visitors surrounds the headstone, which feels too modest for a luminary, but mourners have left lilies and coloured rocks in tribute.
Other devotees, enraged by Hughes’ marital abuse, have scratched off his surname from the end of hers. It’s a chilly place, comfortless and poignant.
4. Visit a 13th-Century Abbey
Behind the church, children in bright anoraks whoop and giggle. Their aeroplane arms swerve between the crumbling arches of St Thomas A’ Becket Abbey, as little legs tamp furiously to keep up.
I follow them into the vaulted ruins and tip my head up to study its tower. The turret comprises a block of 800-year-old sandstone sandwiched between two much younger sections.
A large man in a purple hat approaches as I squint at the information board for answers. Instead of solving the mystery, he adds one. Pat has heard a rumour about a peculiar epitaph that reads “Born No-one. Died No-one. Was No-one.”
“You won’t find it,” he tells me. “I live here and never have. But look for heart-shaped engravings. They’re unique to Calder Valley.”
5. Learn About the Area’s Criminal Past
The graveyard’s second-most famous inhabitant, after Plath, is David Hartley who ran a counterfeit currency racket 250 years ago. His grave is helpfully marked with loose change.
I dig into his story at the village museum. Hartley’s gang, the Cragg Vale Coiners, clipped the edges of real coins and smelted the trimmings to print forgeries.
After years at large, Hartley was captured and hanged in 1770, but not before minting £3.5 million in fake coins.
June, a volunteer with a grey bob and blue sweater, points out the nearby Cross Inn, where the Coiners murdered an acquaintance by throwing him on the hearth. The fireplace where Abraham Ingram died is in the pub’s main sitting room.
6. Have a Cup of Tea
In this part of England, there’s no better drink than a cup of tea. Towngate Tearoom is voted the best café in Heptonstall. The tearoom serves lunchtime staples like baked potatoes and sandwiches, as well as cakes, traybakes and pastries.
I tried the roast cauliflower soup with cheese toastie. Yellow cheddar oozes from crisp slices of brown buttered bread. It pairs well with the earthy cauliflower and an obligatory cup of Yorkshire tea.
7. Pick Up a Few Souvenirs
Back in Hebden Bridge, the Yorkshire Soap Company is teeming with selfie-takers.
Its candy-striped interior displays spiralling arrangements of bath bombs and soap bars. Rubber ducks nest on cake stands. A pyramid of gingersoapmen teeters beside a photo of King Charles. I fancy the royal treatment and fork out for a bath truffle.
Along the road is witch-themed Crooked Books. It has, like many other businesses, a rainbow flag in its window and a reminder that intolerance won’t be tolerated.
Hebden Bridge has been a centre of queer culture since the 1970s, and many of its shops sell inclusive products. I resist their hand-sewn pumpkins and spell candles with difficulty.
8. Go To a Pub, Or two
The late afternoon sun shines down on the town. People are sipping beer on picnic benches outside pubs.
I sidle into Vocation, a craft brewery in a gothic building opposite the Rochdale Canal. Nadya, a tall woman with tattoos, pours me a cherry sour. The taste is intensely tangy, like tart cherry jam, and deserves its name – Death by Cherries.
I manage a half then sneak round the corner to The Albert for a limoncello spritz special. It comes in a fishbowl glass with a sugared rim and sprig of rosemary. What would Nadya think?
9. Party At the Trades
From the pub to the club, I go along to a gig. Founded in 1924 by local trade unions, the Trades Club is now a revered independent music venue. Patti Smith, the Buzzcocks and George Ezra have all played here.
While hippies and hikers have pints under fairy lights, I grab some grub.
Nin runs her Indonesian canteen, Dapur Nin, from a kitchen off the dance floor. When I ask for the chef’s favourite, tempeh rendang, Nin smiles.
Ten minutes later she brings a steaming plate stacked with cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, kidney beans, shredded carrot, cabbage, onion, chillies and pickles, topped with fried triangles of tofu and soaked in curry sauce. I return Nin’s grin.
Men and women, old and young, are nodding and swaying to indie folk band Tapir! But someone soon farts in the crowd, giving me the cue to leave.
10. Sweat It Out in the Sauna
After a packed weekend, I’m aching for Iglu. This log-fired sauna is halfway up the valley and tended by Heidi, a red-haired Finn.
I recline alongside seven others until the fragrant heat pushes me outside to chill in one of three ice baths. Another guest opts for a cold shower. A third lounges at the fire pit where Spanish music plays from an outdoor speaker.
Heidi ushers us in again with orange slices. I settle into a window seat above the Calder Valley. This place must have the best views in Britain.
If You Go:
- Hebden Bridge In West Yorkshire – Visitor Info
- Hebden Bridge & Heptonstall Tourist Information | Visit Calderdale
- Hebden Bridge – Find Businesses, Attractions & Things to Do (visithebdenbridge.com)
- Hebden Bridge Visitors Guide – Facts And History – All About Yorkshire
- Hidden Yorkshire: How To Walk To Heptonstall From Hebden Bridge
- Hebden Bridge – The Yorkshire Soap Company
- Vocation Brewery
- The Trades Club – Holme Street, Hebden Bridge, West Yorks, HX7 8EE
- Iglu Sauna
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Author Bio: Holly McKenzie is a travel writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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