HEPTONSTALL – Pennine View ©Helen Bushe

We recently spent a couple of hours wandering around this ancient yet still fully-functioning village. What a delight it was to see a place like this whose character hasn’t been changed by tourism (Though this did mean that the pub wasn’t open for lunch on the day we visited, and the public toilets were closed for the season. These two conditions curtailed our visit somewhat. Note to self : Check pub opening days for next trip. Pub has good food AND toilets)

We saw most of the points of interest on the map, though didn’t manage to photograph all of them.

HEPTONSTALL Walking Trail

“Old ruined Church, Victorian Church, Sylvia Plath’s grave, Hexagonal shaped Wesleyan church were John Wesley preached; old school house. Quaint typically old Yorkshire streets with magnificent architecture. Historic old village pubs. So much too see and hardly any tourists.”

“The lack of crowds makes it one of Yorkshire’s best kept secrets”

“A woder ful village which seems as if nothing has changed for hundreds of years.”

Tripadvisor Reviews

The first mention of Heptonstall can be found in 1087 in the Domesday Book in , the first survey of life in England which was commissioned by William the Conqueror. Centuries later it was the site of a battle in 1643 during the English Civil War. The oldest house in the village is Stag Cottage which dates back to 1580 (Note to self: Photograph this next time!)

From the 1800’s the village was a centre for hand-loom weaving; the cottages and terraced houses have large first floor windows to maximise the light for weaving, a reminder of the days when weavers worked from home.

Today the village is home to around 1400 people.

Here are just a few of the sights we saw on our stroll around the village:

HEPTONSTALL: PostBox ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Communications ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Entrance to Chapel ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Methodist Chapel ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Chapel Plaque ©HelenBushe

HEPTONSTALL: Main Street ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Chantry House ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Ruins of 13th Century Church ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Lane from ruins ©HelenBushe
HEPTONSTALL: Community Shop ©HelenBushe

The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that all the images in this post are square. (Well, HAD you already noticed?????)

After a break from regular blogging, I was inspired to put this post together by Becky B whose SQUARES CHALLENGE for November is #WalkingSquares. The criteria for this being, unsurprisingly, all pictures have to be in square format and also have something to do with walking.

Thank you Becky for your encouragement to this of us in the Blogging Community who sometimes need a “kick up the proverbial” to get going.


16 Comments

Toonsarah · 3 December 2022 at 11:36

Found my way here from Becky’s round-up and I’m so glad I did. We visit Yorkshire quite often but have never been here. I love that it appears to be car-free so the old buildings really get a chance to shine! Thanks for sharing it 🙂

    Helen Bushe · 3 December 2022 at 13:13

    I hope you get to Heptonstall sometime. It’s not totally car free, and there’s even an occasional little local bus which just fits between the buildings. Thanks for your interest.

Joyce · 1 December 2022 at 00:57

This is quite a magical little town. Lovely photos too!

    Helen Bushe · 1 December 2022 at 07:15

    Thank you. It’s so rare to find places like this.

Lesley · 22 November 2022 at 12:50

Fabulous photographs! It’s a beautiful part of the country. I live not too far away in County Durham.

    Helen Bushe · 22 November 2022 at 15:11

    Thank you. It’s good to find new places to visit locally.

BeckyB · 20 November 2022 at 09:28

oh this is so wonderful, and I am so glad to see you back here walking with fellow squarers. Beautiful walking squares 🙂

    Helen Bushe · 21 November 2022 at 17:10

    Thank you Becky. And thanks to you for presenting this challenge.

helenlewis53 · 19 November 2022 at 16:51

It looks like an amazing place to visit. I’ll put it on my bucket list ….

Hugh W. Roberts · 19 November 2022 at 12:46

Looks like a wonderful place to visit (when the pub is open, though) but reminds me a little of the scenery in the BBC show ‘Last Of The Summer Wine.’
Fantastic photography, Helen

    Helen Bushe · 19 November 2022 at 17:00

    Thanks Hugh. I’ve read that a few TV shows have had sequences filmed here. I see what you mean about “Summer Wine”

lisaonthebeach · 18 November 2022 at 23:27

How beautiful! What a fun place to explore!

    Helen Bushe · 19 November 2022 at 07:12

    It is. And so quiet!. Thanks for commenting,

Mitchell Webster · 18 November 2022 at 21:40

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL AS ALWAYS HELEN!! I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE OUT & ABOUT DOING PHOTOGRAPHY AGAIN!! I HAVE MISSED YOU 🙂

    Helen Bushe · 18 November 2022 at 21:41

    Hello Mitch. Thank you. You always encourage me!

I'm always pleased to read comments.....

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