Two Days in Yorkshire, Almost One in Lancashire, One in Shropshire and a Book

H and I loved last year‘s Airbnb so much we booked it again for our annual visit to our lovely friend M. Not going to pretend I hadn’t hoped for a repeat of supper on the sun warmed terrace looking out over the beautiful Holme valley, but it seemed increasingly unlikely. We did get to Holmfirth with only a few drops of rain, stopping in the pretty Derbyshire market town of Ashbourne before driving through wooded valleys into Yorkshire.

Last year, most of Holmfirth was disrupted by roadworks, but this time we were able to enjoy a morning walk around town on Tuesday plus a flat white before picking up M and heading for The Hepworth at Wakefield. Lots of catching up to do but we did fit in a few exhibits, my favourite of which was Jennifer Lee‘s elegant ceramics, plus a sunny walk around the lovely garden which has matured beautifully since our first visit in 2019 when it looked like an artist’s impression.

We spent Wednesday morning walking the towpath of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Marsden to the Handmade Bakery on the edge of Slaithwaite, not pronounced the way you might think. Well worth a visit should you be passing: their almond croissants are delicious, and the walk is a delight. No sitting out in M’s garden to say our goodbyes in the sunshine this time. Maybe next year.

Across the Pennines, our friends N and E were keen for us to see Stockport’s meticulously restored Plaza cinema but thanks to a movie showing on Thursday morning we had to content ourselves with a coffee after marvelling at the fabulous art deco foyer.

We managed to fit in a quick whizz round Hat Works museum with its colourful displays, housed in the old factory which provided much of Stockport’s employment in the nineteenth century. Workers handled several noxious substances, including mercury, with no protection at all with awful effects, hence the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’.

Our last stop was Shrewsbury where we’d booked into Darwin’s Townhouse bed and breakfast, once the childhood home of Charles Darwin, referenced throughout by art, ornaments, wallpaper, even salt and pepper shakers. Lots to explore in this pretty medieval market town whose lovely riverside path, lined with lime trees, we walked along on both evenings.

We spent Friday ambling around the town surprised by how much we’d missed on previous day trips, not least the town’s museum with its geological exhibits including a particularly delicate fern fossil. Fittingly, there’s a statue of Darwin in front of the library looking both relaxed and imposing.

Home before lunch on Saturday after driving through the leafy Shropshire and Herefordshire landscape, slightly daunted by a couple of weeks of home renovations coinciding with a heatwave which seems to be peaking today or tomorrow.

And the book? I wasn’t far into Kirsty Capes’s door stopping Girls which, despite lots of socialising and sightseeing, I managed to finish on our last day away. It explores the fallout of fame and artistic legacy through two sisters, daughters of an absentee, negligent father and a mother so caught up in her own creativity she barely registered their existence. Highly recommend this one, particularly to readers who love an art theme.

Back to books on Friday…