FROM THE WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY TO THE OIL CAN

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

Copyright image by David Swanbury

Photos copyright of David Swanbury

An old friend and a new one recently passed by here on their way home to the land of maple syrup and Sasquatch.  In the couple of days before returning to that land of temperatures that can go below -30C, pot bellied stoves glowing in log cabins, birch bark canoes, grizzlies and Canada Geese, most of which seem to have taken up permanent residence here, I wanted to find something to remind them of civilisation.  Actually despite enjoying their Bear Grylls survival lifestyle they were pretty sensitive to our clement 10C May weather and I had to make the pips squeak on the central heating to keep them comfortably warm.

The culture park that is the West Riding of Yorkshire, as this area was formerly and fondly known, offers many interesting diversions for foreign visitors and locals alike and I majored on two specific attractions.  One was the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for one day and for the next, The Oil Can in the Carding Shed at Hepworth.

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway 
- which featured in the old film classic The Railway Children - http://kwvr.co.uk/ 

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway failed us, or more correctly I failed my friends. We survived the long tortuous speed camera infested route to Ingrow Station near Keighley only to find that the railway was still in winter shutdown mode and trains were not running.  The fact that it was the Friday of a Bank Holiday Monday weekend at the beginning of May was obviously insufficient for getting up steam on that day.  I never thought to check!  Now what?  Well a couple of small railway museums there were open and they were interesting.   My friend loves trains and his model railway, which he plays with on the long dark cold Canadian winter evenings in the basement of his log cabin, so there was some compensation.

First Class compartment in a Great Northern Railway Lavatory Brake Composite Carriage No 2856

The fine lavatory for the First Class compartment

The drop down wash basin

Not First Class.

Guard's compartment

The beautifully finished exterior and insignia

Culture being the name of the game I then took them to Haworth, famous for the Bronte sisters, to go for a photo shoot outside the parsonage front door.   http://www.bronte.org.uk/haworth-and-the-brontes/haworth

Most of the tourist part of Haworth, and there is not a lot, is mounted on the top end of a very steep cobbled street.  We visited a café I had been to once before, forgetting I had decided not to go there again.  Fortunately my Canadian companions found the rough local fare acceptable consisting of a cheese and pickle sandwich, a bread roll and a bowl of some sort of vegetable soup purée, which for me no amount of pepper brought to life, but the panoramic view was good.

Next day was more successful.  Very successful in fact!  Lunch at the Oil Can Café located in The Carding Shed at Hepworth, which is in Summer Wine country close to Holmfirth.

The Oil Can Café at Hepworth

Check it out here.  It is very original in its concept.

http://thecardingshed.co.uk/

Located in the Carding Shed of yet another redundant mill it is is quite fantastic.  No matter what age or inclination, everyone will find something of interest as well good food there.  This visit for lunch went down a treat!  In fact it was the highlight of the trip.

Despite our late arrival the café was still pretty full.  When these photos were taken it was getting towards mid-afternoon and things had quietened down.  The food was absolutely excellent and no doubt for our friends a welcome departure from the culinary tradition of crispy bacon with maple syrup or beaver tail.

The café was located at one end of the spacious room, which contained a vast assortment of interesting objects on display all around and in small shop areas, a taste of which is shown below, most of which, if not everything, was for sale if the price was right.

For non textile people, the carding shed of a textile factory contains very large machines of rotating cylinders for straightening the fibres of wool and other blends as part of the preparation for spinning yarn.  The Carding Shed was located in what was Dobroyd Mills, well known for high class fine worsted fabrics in its heyday.

 A Type 2 Volkswagen with a difference

At one end of the area there is an ‘emporium’ of pretty much everything pretty.

There are bijoux shops along one side of the display area and café.

Bamforth is quite a common name in this locality and most seem to have a bit of brass.

A Caterham for sale

Another Velocette for sale.  I haven't seen a Noddy bike for years and now I have seen two.  I used to think I should have bought a Lambretta when I had my Vespa but having sat on this I am pleased I didn't.

And finally a corner of the men’s washroom.

Had our friends stopped a day longer they would have been able to see the Tour de Yorkshire bike race on the last stage as it passed though this  locality, but the call of the wild drew them back home.

A group probably five mins in the lead and doomed to fade before the end I suppose.  I don't understand bike race strategy.

I hope Kirklees Council Highways Department profited from this race given their assiduous maintenance along the route as well as the continuous road sweeping and litter picking of the last few days.  Now please come to repair the breaking local side roads.    

I gather this race is likely to be a regular event so I can see the proliferation of speeding Lycra we have enjoyed since the previous big bike race last year will now be with us forever.

David Swanbury