Next Trips

Blake Dean. Hebden Bridge. Calderdale

Tradition has it that Julian does his utmost to be the last person to arrive at our weekend gatherings. Yvonne competes very favourably, but then she has more extenuating circumstances. Knowing how to build things heavier than a balloon that can fly through the air is a mere morsel for our Julia, but when it comes to the complexities and minutiae of domestic chores then the poor lad struggles. Despite having Friday afternoons off from work deciding on how many of those wonderful M&S ginger biscuits he generously buys for us, collecting his washing from Ma Sealey, putting the cat out, finishing the Telegraph crossword etc leaving Rochdale at a reasonable time is a daunting challenge. Making a lead balloon fly would be much easier.

Julian lives nearest to the bunk barn, so the question for the weekend is just how late will he be? Sat Navs best attempt at locating Blake Dean is Widdop, a general name given to a sparsely populated moorland area centered on Widdop Reservoir north-west of Hebden Bridge. Assuming that Julian departs from Rochdale in his brand new set of wheels the 19.4 miles should only take him 49 minutes. However, he will probably squeeze in a session of bell ringing at St. Mary’s to please the masochistic inhabitants of Todmorden. This starts at 8 pm and finishes at 9. 15 pm. The distance has now become only 8.9 miles which should take him just 21 minutes. So which side of 10 pm will Julian arrive at?

We have been spoilt with some rather luxurious and expensive accommodation in 2009 so this recession busting bunk barn will demand less from wallets and purses alike. Blake Dean Scout Hostel has simple and adequate facilities and can sleep a maximum of 24 (2 x 10 beds, 2 x 2 beds). Sleeping bags are essential. Unlike other places where we have stayed Blake Dean also has its own graveyard! This has some spare capacity so any misbehaving Shotlets he warned. Truth be said, one or two people at Steve’s Bulgarian wedding didn’t look particularly healthy after a heavy introduction to the local homemade rocket fuel.

The South Pennines 1:25,000 Outdoor Leisure Map is a must have item. Blake Dean Hostel (GR 957314) is situated on a minor moorland going to Nelson and Burnley approx 4 miles north west of Hebden Bridge. The famous Pack Horse pub (GR 9523 1 7) is just a few minutes’ walk away. The hostel is located inside a tight hairpin bend just after the road crosses the bridge over Graining Water. Very limited parking within the grounds itself is available, but roadside parking is adequate as the road is quite broad here.

However, getting on the right approach to the road from Hebden Bridge is not as simple as it looks. People driving up through Calderdale on the A646 from Halifax go through the centre of Hebden Bridge passing the Tourist Information Centre and Cinema on the left and then crossing a river bridge. After a Co-Op on the left the road goes uphill, bending right to reach a set of traffic lights and the Fox and Goose (best real ale pub in town) after 300 yards. No right turn here, (very sharp junction), so continue downhill for 250 yards (not 100 yards as the traffic sign says!!) to a turning circle on the left. Use this to double back to the Fox and Goose and turn left, uphill at the traffic lights, signposted for Heptonstall, Slack and Colden. This road loops around below Heptonstall (avoid left road going uphill through Heptonstall) to a sharp right hand bend beyond Heptonstall at Slack. The road has now leveled off as it proceeds along a ridge for 300 yards before it bears right. This road contours above the valley to the right, dips in and out of a small side valley and eventually descends to the Graining Water Bridge and Blake Dean Hostel immediately on the right. Anybody driving in the other direction from Todmorden where Julian is ding-donging will just have to watch out for the Fox and Goose on the left hand side as Hebden Bridge is reached. Calderdale is a fascinating part of the South Pennines. The valley is deeply incised, through which river, road, canal and railway jostle for space. Steep wooded flanks on this and the side valleys lead up to level land at mid-height before the open moorland is reached. The whole area is rich in history particularly during the Industrial Revolution in the 17th and 18th Centuries, and as a result has one of the greatest concentrations of packhorse and footpath routes anywhere in the country. Indeed, one grid square at Chiserley (GR 0028) is reported to have the greatest length of footpaths at 11 .2 km. The Pennine Way passes very close to our bunk barn, as does the Calderdale Way (still one of the best long distance routes). One word of warning, at this time of year some of the open moorland can be especially rough and wet. Just some of the possible attractions (in no particular order) are :-
GR 989300-‘Blue Pig’ Midgehole Working Man’s Club (cheapest beer in the area)
GR 968282- Packhorse Bridge, Colden Clough
GR 992314- Lumb Bridge Waterfall (best one in area)
GR 936242- St. Mary’s Church, Todmorden (tickets available from J. Sealey Esq)
GR 031372- Apothecary (Olde Worlde Shoppe, Haworth Hugh St)
GR 986280- Heptonstall ruined church and graveyard
GR 973242- Stoodley Pike Monument (omitted from French tourist itinerary)
GR 981353- Top Within’s (alleged inspiration for ‘Wuthering Heights’)
GR 032353- Oxenhope Station and Museum (terminus of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway)
GR 952317- Pack Horse Pub (excellent beer, whiskies, food, fire - not open all day)
GR 943353-The Sod
GR 981335-White Swamp
GR 946300-Egypt
GR 029372- Parsonage Museum (everything you ever wanted to know about the Bronte Sisters)
GR 039366- Brow Moor Edge Windmill (one of the earliest, blot on the landscape, dubious worth)
GR 898283- Coal dough Wind Farm (some more of the buggers)
GR 958277- Blackshaw Head Shop (veritable Alladin’s cave of a supermarket inside a large shed)
GR 963282- Jack Bridge Pub (closed at 2pm)
GR 958275- Blackshaw Head Pub (closed all the time)
GR 992273- Sweet Shop (tucked away in courtyard - Julian always succumbs to temptation)

Please send the usual £ 5 deposit to Gustav to secure a bed or two.

Helwith Bridge, Yorkshire Dales

Back in 1964 three young Yorkshire men in Pontefract decided to form a society to further their passions - and it was nothing to do with using liquorice in breakfast cereal, as an alternative fuel or even rat pellets. After much deliberation they came up with an appropriate name which reflected their interests and called themselves ‘The Undertakers Society’. However, this was not well received by some elements of their community. Whether pressure came from the Men in Black, their clients and customers, or even the Men of the Cloth they were forced to rename themselves very quickly and came up with something less inflammatory, but more subversive as ‘The Yorkshire Subterranean Society’. Of course, this now conjures up images of a secret organisation aiding and abetting King Arthur Scargill. The South Yorkshire coalfield was his heartland after all. More prosaically the YSS is a club for cavers and potholers. The old village school in Helwith Bridge has been converted by the YSS into a bunkhouse/headquarters. As befits the time when village schools were proper schools this is a substantial building with alot of internal space. It has a dining room, kitchen, lounge, drying room and 4 bedrooms (2x8, 1x10 and 1x12). The number of bunk beds totals 35, but as will be seen on arrival, some have intriguing expectations so the number of bed spaces is really 32. Make sure you bring a sleeping bag. There is also a gear store in the cellar for ropes, battery charging, racks, whips, wet suits, tackle and other bondage equipment of an S&M kind. I am not sure if the cellar has been soundproofed! All this for another recession busting weekend for anxious folk. The bunkhouse key is available from the landlord at the Helwith Bridge Inn.

The Keighley and Craven CAMRA branch have awarded this pub their ‘Pub of the Season’ Award several times over the years. It lays cheek by jowl directly above the River Ribble adjacent to its erstwhile bridge. Ramshackle in appearance to some it does provide hearty food and a selection of 8 beers. Consideration for people like Curly Chris has been made by fixing the beer menu to the bar room ceiling and having a clock that reads backwards. It also has probably the World’s smallest bunkhouse, a 4 bedded shed in the centre of the forecourt which may now have had its windows curtained. This could provide the perfect location for those people of a snoring disposition, a desire to eat all meals in the pub or the inability to walk to and from the bunkhouse. Alternatively, at least 8 Shotlets could be squeezed in if necessary. Use www.helwithbridge.com for further information.

Walking opportunities abound in all directions. The Ribble Way goes past the front door. The Three Peaks Walk starts from just up the road at Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Pen-y-Ghent, Fountains Fell, Malham Tarn, Ingleborough, Whernside, Gaping GhylI, Hunt Pot, Ribblehead Viaduct, Stainforth Force, Attermire Scar, and Malham Cove are just a few of the nearby attractions.

Helwith Bridge is very easy to find. It is situated just over 3 miles north of Settle just off the B6479, halfway to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Helwith Bridge Inn is clearly signposted one mile past Stainforth at a junction where the B6479 does a sharp right hand turn. Continue on the minor road ahead to cross the Settle to Carlisle railway and River Ribble in quick succession with the pub on the immediate right. The bunkhouse lies beyond just past the next right hand turn and is the obvious village school building surrounded by a metal fence. Please send the usual £5 deposit to Gustav to secure a bed or two.

Please send the usual £ 5 deposit to Gustav to secure a bed or two.

Donna for more details.

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