Hebden Bridge

 Note: Originally published on  my "Around Preston" blog 31/Jul/24, but moved here as it is not around Preston.


Hebden Bridge is a delightful little town in the upper Calder valley, on the railway between Preston and Leeds. Indeed, the station itself is worth visiting, as it has been kept very much in a traditional style, both inside and out.


As you walk out of the station, you cross first the River Calder, then the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the Pennines, from Castlefield in Manchester, to Sowerby Bridge, a few miles east of Hebden Bridge, where it meets the Calder and Hebble Navigation, and was officially opened in 1804.

This is the view looking west along the canal from Station Road.


And looking back at the bridge, from the canal.


The canal looking west from the west end of the town.


The Calder is about as wide as the canal, but considerably more shallow.


The Hebden Beck flows from the north, into the Calder.


I think this is the eponymous bridge over Hebden Beck.


The older settlement was Heptonstall, on the hill above, and Hebden Bridge only came about when the trade route from Burnley to Halifax dropped into the valley, and the bridge was required.

The town is full of quirky buildings...



The bottom of the valley is pretty flat, but on the north side of the valley, they climb steeply up the side of the hill.

The building on the left, "Innovations", is a café and worth a look, as it has a working waterwheel inside it.

It is a lively place; a lot of visitors.



It has gained a reputation as an LGBT-friendly town, and is known as the lesbian capital of the UK. It happened to be pride week when I visited, and a free festival was in progress in the park.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Worcester

Image
It was early February I visited Worcester, but the weather was surprisingly good; no rain, not too cold and even blue skies for some of the time. Only a few weeks earlier it had experiences bad flooding! The focal point of the city is undoubtedly the cathedral. Founded in 680, it was completely rebuilt in 1084. This is the view from the east, where the A44 passes it. The interior is impressive, but if I am honest, pretty much like most other cathedrals... It is, however, notable that King John is buried here, as is Arthur, older brother of Henry VIII. Looking to the right of the cathedral, is an old hexagonal pillar box, with fine buildings beyond. Heading north along the A44 in that direction, we find St Andrew's Spire. Also known as Glover's Needle, this is all that remains of  St Andrews Church. The rest was demolished in 1949, as it had fallen into disuse. Wikipedia claims stones were lifted by kite flying during construction. Can that be true? Further along the A44 is All
Read more

Deansgate, Manchester

Image
I was in Manchester for just a few hours, so only really scratched the surface; it is a big city! I arrived at Deansgate Station, from Preston. The line was built in 1849, and crosses a number of impressive bridges over roads and canal just before the station. Note the Atlas Bar and Dom's, between the bridges. Both extend beneath the railway, through the arches. The area west of Deansgate is Castlefield, so named because of the Roman fort, the remains of which can be seen from the train. I did not walk that way, but this view is looking along the canal towards Castlefield. The image above is taken from the re-purposes remains of a warehouse, shown below. You can see where barges would be admitted into the building in the image below. The ground-floor window frames are still there but everything higher has been removed. Deansgate Station was originally called Knott Mill and Deansgate, but everyone just called in Knott Mill, so when the station was rebuilt in 1896, it was renamed Kno
Read more

Inverness

Image
Inverness is the capital of the Scottish highlands. It was made a city in 2000 - beating Preston by two years! It is at the northeast end of the Caledonian Canal, which follows the the Great Glen. Loch Ness empties into the Beauly Forth via the River Ness, which flows through the city. The river is less than seven miles long, but has one of the highest flows in the country at 300 m 3 /s. It gives its name to the city - Inverness means mouth of the River Ness. The River So let us start at the river mouth! This is the Kessock Bridge, which spans the Beauly Firth, and was built in 1982, taking the A9 into the Highlands beyond Inverness. On the far side is the Black Isle, which is neither black nor an island. To the right is the Moray Firth, while Inverness is behind us. The bridge is notable as the only one in Britain that is proofed against earthquake. Inverness experiences an earthquake about every three years, mostly unnoticed, as the Black Isle, and indeed northwest Scotland, heads sl
Read more