Surrounding Villages

Heptonstall

The ancient village of Heptonstall sits on top of a steep hill on the north side of the Calder Valley, overlooking Hebden Bridge.

Heptonstall once thrived on the woollen trade until the end of the 18th Century when water, and then steam, powered mills determined that the industry was located in the tributary valleys of the Calder. As a result, Hebden Bridge developed below, with the help of the Rochdale canal.

Heptonstall had it own Cloth Hall, and its own Grammar School, which is now a museum open to the public. Rebuilt in the 14th and 15th Centuries, the remains of the early Parish church are still a focal point in the town. Its roof was torn off by gale force winds in the mid nineteenth century, but the new Victorian Gothic church was built close to the original site, without disturbing its ruined predecessor.

Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall thrived during the Industrial Revolution when the mills and their familiar chimneys became the symbols of prosperity, specialising in the production of corduroy and worsted. Points of interest include

• The ruined church, founded between 1256 and 1260 with remains from the 15th Century.

• The Cloth Hall (1545 / 1558) where local handloom weavers brought their cloth for sale to dealers.

• The Methodist Church, built in 1764, which is the oldest surviving Methodist Church in the world that is in continuous use.

• ‘Weaver's Square’ - a fine example of different types of Yorkshire paving from cobbles to flagstones.

Local Website: www.heptonstall.org

Mytholmroyd

Mytholmroyd is a small village one mile from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. It is home to Calder High School, the largest Comprehensive School in the area, has excellent primary schools, friendly pubs and lovely churches - all set amongst beautiful picturesque hills. There is an active and innovative business community.

It was around Mytholmroyd that the notorious Cragg Vale Coiners, led by the so-called "King" David Hartley, supplemented their meagre incomes from cloth-making and farming by making new coins from "old". David Hartley was subsequently hanged for murder in 1770 and buried in Heptonstall churchyard. Their lives were laced with intrigue and murder and their legend lives on in the town to this day.

The Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, was born in Mytholmroyd. Although he lived most of his adult life outside of Mytholmroyd and the Calder Valley it remained a major source of inspiration for his poetry. He won numerous prizes and was awarded the Whitbread Book of the Year Award in 1997 and 1998 with Tales from Ovid and Birthday Letters.

Old Town

On the hillside above Hebden Bridge is the picturesque settlement of Old Town which has superb views over the valley below. Old Town is a thriving community and has its own Post Office, equestrian centre, bowling green, football club, cricket pitch, children's playground and the Mount Skip Golf Club.

Old Town and Pecket Well are served by Wadsworth Parish Council and benefit from a popular primary school.

Pecket Well

Pecket Well is a beautiful Pennine village on a sunny hillside less than 2 miles by road from Hebden Bridge. It borders the National Trust Woodlands of Hardcastle Crags and Crimsworth Dean and enjoys one of the most famous views in Calderdale over the hilltops to the ancient village of Heptonstall, the Stoodley Pike peace monument and beyond.

The village is surrounded by open countryside with superb walks over open moorland towards Haworth and Luddenden. Walks in the National Trust woodlands, the Gibson Mill visitor attraction and the tranquil setting of the waterfall at Lumb Falls are also on the doorstep. The route of the Calderdale Way runs through the village.

Pecket Well is a community in its own right thanks to amenities such as the 17th century Robin Hood Inn and the facilities of the adjoining village of Old Town.

The road through Pecket Well leads directly to Haworth which is just 5 miles away. Keen walkers may prefer to walk the old Haworth road over the open moor. Haworth is famous as the home to the Brontës and is also popular for the Keighley and Worth Valley Steam Railway which runs from Oxenhope to Keighley and was the setting for the film The Railway Children.