Out & about… October

Each day starts with a long walk with the dog. It’s normally a case of put the boots on, grab the lead and go. Our camera is quite cumbersome so it doesn’t get out much. However, last month we decided that we were going to make the effort to take it with us more often on these daily walks.

We’re going to start sharing with you some of the photos that we take when we’re out & about – things that we find beautiful, striking, interesting or fleeting – posting a collection of our favourites each month. This first batch were all taken in & around Todmorden this October.

October heralds the start of autumn with its stunning foliage, fruit, berries & fungi.

We stumbled across this beautiful orange mushroom beside a stream. It must have sprung up overnight – it was so pristine.

We didn’t have to walk far to get this image. These cute, little white-capped mushrooms were growing in a cluster on an old tree stump at the end of our garden.

These amethyst deceivers are plentiful in the local beech woods…

…we picked a few – they’re great in an omelette or salad.

Tempting berries – some edible, some not…

…these juicy elderberries most definitely are – and will soon be turned into jam & jelly.

Todmorden lies in a tree-lined valley, so we get a glorious leaf display around this time of year.

Will one of these grow into a giant oak tree?

After a wet summer, we’ve had much better weather this month. We captured this bee making the most of some lovely autumn sunshine.

This patch of orange crocosmia was growing wild. It looks stunning against the bright blue sky…

…as does this lone, windswept hawthorn tree.

These lovely stone walls criss-cross the fields & hills of the Pennines.

Other fields are divided by wooden fences – they can produce wonderful shadows.

The farms of the area concentrate on hardy livestock – beef & dairy cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens.

October hasn’t all been sunshine. These photos of electricity pylons and a local wind farm were taken under more threatening skies.

And not forgetting a photo of our regular walking companion taking in a view.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this first Out & about post – it’ll be back with more photos next month!

T is for… Todmorden

Since we launched the website back in March we have wondered what to do with the furniture that we’ve got in stock.

Furniture poses a slight problem – unlike standard packages the cost of getting it to different parts of the country, indeed the world, vary wildly. Therefore, it’s almost impossible to incorporate into a website where postage is calculated automatically at checkout.

We’d almost decided to abandon furniture altogether but we thought that would be a great shame as we already have some nice pieces available. Also, what would we do the next time we see a great chair at a great price?

So, after some thought, we’ve now decided to include these larger items on the website – available via courier or collection in person.

What’s all this got to do with Todmorden? Well, that’s where H is for Home is based!

‘T is for…’ is an opportunity to show you a bit of our town – and also suggest some of the shops & sights that might be of interest to someone making the journey to pick up that table, desk or chair.

Tod, as the town’s affectionately called, is a small Pennine town situated in the Calder Valley on the border between Lancashire & Yorkshire. In fact, the border used to follow the river which runs through the town centre – where the town hall now stands.

It’s officially been in Yorkshire since the 1880s, although not everyone agrees – and just to add to the confusion, it has a Lancashire postcode!

The town was heavily involved in the textile industry. The ready supply of running water was ideal for the cotton, wool and dye-work mills. The settlements of the area were originally linked by pack horse trails. Canal, rail & road links were later constructed in the 18th & 19th centuries.

The canal, rail, road and river all criss-cross the valley bottom to this day. It now has a varied mix of light industry from metal fabricators to mineral works. Farming in the surrounding fields and hills. Also service industries, retail etc.

A lot of people live & work in the valley – and an increasingly significant number commuting to either Manchester or Leeds, being more or less mid-way between the two cities.

There’s a wide variety of housing stock – workers’ terraces, stone cottages, converted mills, farms and some quite grand villas.

The valley is quite steep-sided, and in some areas the buildings appear to almost topple down on to each other. We recently discovered this Marrimekko Mokki fabric…

…we love it – it really captures the feeling!

So, what else might you be able to see & do if you make the trip? We’ve already spoken about the market in the M is for Market… post – remember, Thursday’s flea market day!

In terms of other interiors-related shops, there’s a nice little group in the Water Street area. We have a decent-sized antiques centre – Picture House Antiques (now closed down). They have a few traders housed under one roof and over 3 floors – traditional antiques, rustic bits & pieces, vintage & retro too.

Next door is The Bear Co-op (now Yakumama), housed in the old Industrial Cooperative building – a lovely health food/grocery shop with café upstairs.

Recently opened is Hogarth & Hunt, specialising in French country interiors (now closed down).

Across the street is Makepiece…(now closed)

…who sell ladies & children’s clothes, hand-spun and knitted using wool from the shop owner’s own rare breed sheep. Also handmade soaps, potions & lotions.

You can design & make your own greeting cards at Vanilla Pod (now Sunlight Apothecary). There’s Water Street Gallery which showcases contemporary pieces of glass, ceramics, textiles and paintings.

Also, Lyall’s, a small second-hand bookshop, Todmorden Toy and Model Museum and a few charity shops close by.

Also on Water Street is Todmorden Fine Art, one of our absolute favourites and the location of many of our moments of weakness. The gallery specialises in Northern artists such as William Turner, Geoffrey Key & Peter Stanaway.

We have a large park, Centre Vale, in the town with a leisure centre and swimming pool. Swings & things if you’ve brought young kids… and wooded trails if you’ve brought the dog! There’s no shortage of hills, trees and water in the area generally – making it great walking country.

Seventytwo (now Park End) is a family-friendly café situated opposite the park – and there are plenty of other of places to sip a coffee in the centre of town.

There are a few villages & towns in the valley. Five minutes drive in either direction are Walsden and Hebden Bridge.

Walsden has a large garden centre, Gorden Riggs and Cottage Antiques (now closed down) which specialises in rustic country furniture – beautifully displayed in a two storey barn and courtyard.

And no mention can be made of Walsden without talking about Grandma Pollard’s (now closed, Tony Pollard retired) – a famous fish & chip shop in these parts – people travel from far & wide to sample its delights!

Hebden Bridge is a lovely little town famous for its independent shops and cafés. It also has an antiques centre… as does Mytholmroyd, a further 5 minutes drive up the valley.

Back to that furniture – here are some of the items that we’ve recently put on the website…

…all available to collect from Todmorden!

M is for… Market

We live in Todmorden – and run our website from here too.

It’s a small market town in the Pennine hills on the border between Lancashire & Yorkshire. Todmorden Market is one of its major assets.

Thursday is flea market day, with a mix of regular traders & one off stall holders having a clear out or raising money for charity.

We try to get there most weeks, trawling stalls for potential H is for Home stock. We’ve picked up all manner of things over the years – from 200 year old chairs to 1960s lamps.

Some traders know what we like now and draw our attention to things they’ve got or will be getting hold of soon.

After the second-hand stalls have been scoured, there’s a great place to stop for coffee – it has an unbelievable choice of teas & coffees all on display on their shelves… with home-made cakes and doughnuts to boot!

Also on the inside market are a florist, greengrocer, cheese stall, biscuit seller, haberdasher, butchers, bakers, but alas, no candlestick maker! Having said that, there’s Dawson’s – a great, traditional hardware stall that never fails to have that little brush or screw that no one else seems to stock. They, no doubt, have candlesticks… and the candles that go in them too!

The market has at least 4 different butchers – everyone has their own regular or favourite. Ours is Paul Standsfield whose stall greets you as you enter through the main doors. He’s Fudge’s firm favourite too as he’ll always throw in a big, tasty beef or venison bone for him.

On other days of the week, the outside market has the usual range of food, clothing and homeware stalls.

Special mention has to go to Alexander Gourmet Med, a Mediterranean food specialist who’s usually there on a Saturday. Alex is extremely passionate & knowledgeable about everything he sells. He knows where it was made, which family made it, the methods they used and what makes it unique. We buy great olives & other antipasti, honey, chocolate, coffee, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. He’s an endless source of birthday & Christmas presents for friends & family!

We hope you get the chance to visit one day!

G is for… Garden

Our small Pennine garden has woken up – well, started to at least! We’ve been out at the weekend sweeping, potting up seeds, planting strawberries and some colourful annuals.

We have lots of shady corners, so hostas and astilbes do really well.

Ferns like it here too – we’re really fond of these little ones which self-seed and sprout from the old stone walls.

This is another self-seeder. It can take over a bit if left unchecked, but if it’s restricted within pots and cracks between paving it looks wonderful – the bright green leaves and pretty white flowers really lift the shaded areas… and it’s always good to get plants for free!

We have a little project for the summer, renovating this little, old greenhouse which was about to be thrown on the tip. It’s a house in the loosest sense of the word – being only about 4 feet wide. We’ll try not to lose any of its shabby charm, but if it doesn’t get some TLC soon it will fall to pieces.