What’s going for it? I know, beards are over, austerity nostalgia is over, anything with the words artisan/craft/locally sourced is O.V.E.R. But let’s not throw the baby out with the hipster bath water (sorry, terrible mixed metaphors). Stripped of fashion, there can be a radical kernel behind that turn to the handmade that accompanied the Great Recession. Take The Handmade Bakery, established in Slaithwaite (pronounced Sla-wit) in 2009: “a not-for-profit, community-supported artisan bakery”. Yes: artisan! The aim of this cooperative is to make this basic human foodstuff affordably and ethically, a spirit that sums up that unpretentious strand of gentle revolution that has lurked in cracks in the Pennines like this one since the industrial revolution. The Colne valley hums with cooperative grocers, chutzpah and community enterprises. The northern powerhouse is already here. Plus Simon Armitage is from down the road.
The case against Wet and glowering.
Well connected? Trains: half-hourly to Huddersfield (10 mins) and Manchester Victoria (45 mins). Driving: an hour to Manchester, 20 mins to Huddersfield, 10 to the M62, 40 to Leeds. There are thoughts to tszuj up the M62, and local rail links, as part of the northern powerhouse plans.
Schools Primaries: many, including Slaithwaite C of E, Linthwaite Clough, Linthwaite Ardron C of E and Helme C of E are all “good”, says Ofsted, with Meltham Moor “outstanding”. Secondaries: Colne Valley High was “inadequate” in 2012, but reopened in 2014; Moor End Academy is “outstanding”.
Hang out at… Lots to choose from, including some smashing pubs. But it has to be the cafe at The Handmade Bakery.
Where to buy Think stony old farmhouses between town and moor, piggeries and barn conversions with soaring views of the Pennines; or damp (in a good way), mossy stone Victorian terraces (most affordable); or the occasional old mill conversion. There is 20th-century stuff, too, but it’s more humdrum. Large detacheds and town houses, £300,000-£1.2m. Detacheds, £180,000-£300,000. Semis, £120,000-£280,000. Terraces and cottages, £85,000-£200,000. Flats, £80,000-£200,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom home, £400pcm; three-bed, £550-£800pcm.
Bargain of the week A one-bedroom cottage with a wee courtyard garden, in the centre of Slaithwaite, £59,950 with cornerstoneea.co.uk.
From the streets
Mike Newman “A real community, with great cafes like Vanilla Bean, Cookhouse and Lock 22, pub/restaurants like the Commercial and Noble’s, with beers often from the local Empire brewery.”
Margaret Tennant “Excellent transport links, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal runs through the village and you can walk into gorgeous countryside.”
- This article was amended on 15 February 2016. A sentence was added during the editing process to say Slaithwaite was flood-prone and had been badly affected in the Boxing Day floods. While there was some localised flooding, it is not prone to flooding in general.
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