The Pennine mill towns that straddle the Lancashire-Yorkshire border look, in their dark, brooding, rain-lashed way, like the last word in stolid respectability. But beneath that dour exterior, there exists a notable bohemian sub-culture. In the 1970s, this is where northern hippies sought to escape The Man, most famously around Hebden Bridge, and, even today, a mix of cheaper housing, beautiful countryside and that dissenting undercurrent, means that lefties and arty outsiders naturally gravitate to the area.
Holmfirth, best known as the location of Last of the Summer Wine, is a classic example. Look past the Berghaus-clad walkers and genteel tea-rooms, and this is a compact crucible of offbeat creativity. The small town hosts a folk festival each May, a film festival, irregular art markets, it has a much-loved gig venue, the Picturedrome, and, on Holme Valley’s slopes, it is home to both a vineyard and the orchard/cider press, Pure North.
Run by the Roberts family for over 50 years, the Nook brewpub, a ramshackle, raw-boned, quirky boozer, is embedded in this cultural life.
The Nook’s crowd is similarly eclectic. Its on-site brewery produces fresh, well-balanced, traditional beers (from £2.40 to £2.90 a pint; try the session IPA or Grumpy Mule breakfast stout), and ale fans flock here and to the nearby Gonzo, a more radical craft beer bar. The first time I visited the Nook, on a bank holiday Sunday, I was sat among solo dog-walkers; gnarly, jovial tattooed biker-types; young families; and a friendly crowd of ravers still in last night’s glitter face paint (the Nook has a good jukebox and regular live music). In short, you won’t just find beer bores arguing about barrel-aged sours in here, although the bar staff know their hops. The Nook also hosts two annual beer festivals.
Throw in some over-achieving bar food (the £6 burgers are thick, tasty hunks of beef with sloppy toppings in brioche buns, served with excellent, buttery-soft but earthy, skin-on chips), and you have a bolthole where you could happily wile away a few hours.
Indeed, you need never leave. After a pint or seven, you can simply head upstairs to one of eight bedrooms, as long as you can find your one in this warren of a building. I had to ask a member of staff to show me to the right entrance – it seems the outside light was broken. I’d only had three pints. Honest.
In sharp contrast to the pub, the Nook’s rooms, opened last year, are smartly contemporary, like the Tap House bar-restaurant that is part of the same complex. The rooms make a feature of this 18th-century building’s wooden beams and stone lintels, but that character has been tastefully overlaid with chic fabrics, evocative landscape photography, solid furniture pieces and super-firm mattresses. There were niggles: the underpowered shower and having to ask for milk; and some simple things could be done – homemade biscuits maybe, or better local toiletries – to jazz-up the rooms. But, broadly, this is a very satisfactory billet. Note: there is a drying room for walkers’ wet gear and, as well as a small lounge, and a kitchen to make sandwiches for tomorrow’s yomp.
At the Tap House, I found the “Yorkshire tapas” rather humdrum. They looked the part, but, with the exception of the herb-stuffed lamb in ale gravy, did not deliver on flavour. You eat breakfast here too and this was much better. Complete with sautéed potatoes, black pudding and a large pot of tea, the “Pennine breakfast” would set you up for a day of hiking. Or banish even the deadliest Nook-induced hangover.
• Accommodation was provided by the Nook Brewhouse (doubles from £70 B&B, 01484 682373, thenookbrewhouse.co.uk)
Ask a local
Richard Burhouse, founder of Magic Rock craft brewery, Huddersfield
• Great outdoors
There’s fantastic walking everywhere and great family cycling at Dunford Bridge. In the Peak District, less than 20 minutes’ drive from Holmfirth, there’s Cut Gate, which is often voted in the top three mountain biking trails in the country. For road cyclists, Holme Moss is one of the UK’s best climbs.
• Music
Holmfirth’s Picturedrome (historically a cinema) hosts an eclectic mix of up-and-coming, tribute and international artists in an intimate venue that has gained a great reputation across the UK.
• Eat and drink
There’s loads of great real ale pubs locally, but Holmfirth’s Gonzo Bar is really attempting to expand people’s beer horizons. At Magic Rock, we brew a pale ale called Jacco Macacco for Gonzo exclusively. Upstairs, the Soul Kitchen serves solid home-cooked barbecue. I also like Mezze and, in Huddersfield, the Lahori Taste takeaway is my favourite curry.
