Life in Northern Towns

Haworth is nestled in the hills of West Yorkshire and is a gorgeous suburb of Keighley.   We’d been before but Neil hadn’t been that impressed.   He mustn’t have been feeling too well that day as I’d liked it. First thing first, Haworth is really awkward to get to from Manchester.   We’d been here before and had taken the M60, exited junction 23, drove through Hebden Bridge and picked up the road to Haworth.   It was a ball ache, although the road from Hebden Bridge to Haworth is absolutely lovely as the road hugs the hillside with beautiful views of the valley.   This time I had a ‘bright idea’ to take the M60, M66, A56, M65, A6068 and School Lane.   Firstly we got delayed where the M66 goes into the A56 as there was some road works going on.   Then we hit Colne.   I’d forgotten we had to go through Colne and I’ve never managed to get through Colne without some delay.   The problem is at the lights into Sainsbury’s as traffic always ...

I’ve been meaning to go to Kirkby Lonsdale for some time.   It’s in Cumbria and borders both Lancashire and North Yorkshire.   Handily it’s just a few miles from junction 36 on the M6.   I’ve been recommended this place by colleagues and since it was on our way home from our weekend in the Lakes I thought we should pop along. We parked on the edge of the town in a one hour parking zone, so our trip was going to be brief.   I really didn’t know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised.   It’s a picture postcard English town built from Lakeland Stone with tea rooms, gift shops, restaurants, pubs and an art gallery.   Kirkby Lonsdale is very much geared up for the tourist market.   The town was covered in hanging baskets and flags – both St George’s flags and the Union Jack.   If I was to give a guess there must be some military link to the town especially as they have an army surplus store called GR & RD Taylors . In the heart of ...

We’ve travelled to Keswick before as it’s a good place to go in the Lake District.   This is the main market town for the northern Lakes so you find lots of locals shopping for supplies as well as tourists.   We parked in the Pencil Museum car park as the usual car park was closed for a conference.   I did think the cost of parking was overpriced, but with the level of traffic you get in Keswick on a Saturday you have to take a parking spot where you find it. It was mad busy that day and the market was on too.   It was so difficult to pick our way through the crowds and the market stalls.   It was hard to tell whether the market was good or not with the throng.   Although standing above this melee was the Moot Hall, which is the home of the Tourist Information centre.   It’s also hired out over the year by a variety of people selling gifts and art works, so you never know what you will find there.   Keswick is a great place for that memb...

Having learnt our lesson to take in more towns on our journey, we made a detour on the way to Keswick from Whitehaven and ended up in in the delightful Cockermouth .   Parking in Cockermouth is a bit of a pain.   Although cars can park on the main street, you need a special residents pass to park.   So we ended up having to park in a nearby pay-and-display car park on the edge of the town. Cockermouth is absolute ly lovely and was a genuine surprise after Whitehaven.  It’s a well-to-do place with lots of nice independent shops and restaurants.  It looks as if there has been some regeneration work in the town with new pavements and street furniture.  This care and attention to the town really makes a difference and as a result gives the town an air of calmness which is soothing.  I have a real problem with visual clutter in towns, by which I mean where signs, street furniture and bollards are placed haphazardly in a town without thought to the vi...

Just to let you know I've entered the Barrel Hopping travel article competition.  My travel article is called The Cheshire Set and funnily enough it's about my travels in Cheshire.  If you could spare a moment and a couple of mouse clicks and vote, retweet, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest.  Here is the link to The Cheshire Set - http://barrelhopping.com/england-cheshire-northern-towns/ .  The voting button is a little gold star at the bottom of the article - please click. Thank you kindly for your help!