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| Holmfirth at rest |
During the day, Holmfirth bustles with activity. While it looks like a quiet little town in "Last of the Summer Wine," cars clog the narrow streets, and visitors crowd the sidewalks, enter
the busy shops, and enjoy refreshment in the numerous tea rooms. In the evening, when most of the businesses
close down, the restaurants and pubs remain open. The hotel we stayed at stopped serving food
at nine, but people walked in well after that to enjoy a drink and a chat. As my wife and I sat up late one night in the
bar area, sharing a half-pint of apple cider and using the Wi-fi, a group of six entered and took over the table next to us. “Dueling computers, eh?” a man in their party commented. Then later: “So, are
you two talking to your spouses on Facebook?”
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| The Old Bridge Hotel |
The Time Change wasn’t the only reason we stayed up later
than normal. Savoring one's beverage of choice, and shrugging off the day's cares, seem to naturally increase the volume in conversations. Then, of course, there was the rock music
club next to the hotel, the brass band that played one night in the
car park, and the film festival that drew numerous visitors over the weekend.
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| The view from the park. |
We awoke well before breakfast one morning, and I suggested
we burn off a few of the extra calories we had been consuming lately. It turned out to be
the perfect time to photograph Holmfirth.
The occasional car passed us by, but nothing like the usual traffic. We spotted one or two others walking, but they never grew closer than a block away. We climbed a
hill and claimed sole possession of a lovely park. Then a gravel path led us higher
yet, to a quiet residential street. We found brick and stone houses bordered by manicured yards and boisterous gardens.
With each step up, our views of the church, the shops and houses, and
the surrounding countryside got even better.
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| "Okay, whose job was it to trim the ivy?" |
We breathed in the brisk, clean air, savored the
silence, and reveled in the relative absence of our fellow humans.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m glad Holmfirth is so popular. Yet, in "Last of the Summer Wine," the town seems so still
and tranquil. It was nice to experience
that side of village life, if only for an hour.
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| "I'm glad I asked for the small omelet with my bacon." |
Then it was back into town, to shower before breakfast, and
embark on the day’s next adventure.
Thanks for sleeping-in,
Dragon Dave
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