"VTers hit Halifax and surrounding area" Top 5 Page for this destination Halifax by suvanki

Halifax Travel Guide: 176 reviews and 1,067 photos

Halifax Minster - Halifax
Halifax Minster
Halifax

Halifax is to be found in Calderdale in West Yorkshire. Famed for its wool production. Many of the stone walled mills remain - some derelict, but others have been converted into appartments, restaurants, hotels (including The Wool Merchants) and Art Galleries etc.

If this town had a theme tune, it would be 'Jerusalem' played by a Brass Band, with a male voice choir singing of 'those dark satanic mills , clouded hills and Englands green and pleasant lands'

One of the reasons that I signed up for the VT 'Fish Chips and Mushy peas' was that my maternal Great Grandmother was born in Halifax, so it was a chance to 'go back to my roots' Since my return from the weekend, I was chatting with my Father, who's been doing our family tree, and it's been quite a surprise to find out about my Halifax connections. I'll share these with you- Some of the dates might be incorrect though.

My maternal Grandfathers' (Aubrey Theodore Hufton) parents (my Great Grandparents) were William Arthur Hufton and Lizzy May Turner, who married in Kirkby, Nottinghamshire.
Lizzy (who hated her first name!) was born 18.12.1884 at 43, Kings Cross Street, Halifax.

Her parents (my Great Great Grandparents) were John Thomas Turner (born 15.11.1861 at 21, Spring Gardens North Owram) and Adelia Tankard (born 09.06.1839, and died 17.02.1903 in Kirkby). They married 17th September1882 at Halifax Parish Church - So he was a bit of a toy boy!!!! (if the dates are correct).
Adelia owned/ worked in a shop, possibly a sweet shop, and John was an overseer in one of the Mills

Adelias parents (my Great Great Great Grandparents!!) were Edward Tankard (born 30.09.1828 in Coley, Yorks) and Mary Mallinson Walton (who was baptised at Halifax Parish Church in 1834) They married 26.02.1855.

Edwards parents (So, my Great Great Great Great Grandparents - Pheeew!!) were Amos Tankard (born 28.07.1799 at Northowram - near Halifax) and Faith Jackson. They were married 18.11.1825 in Halifax.

Marys parents were Thomas Alfred Walton and Ellen Stewart (Stuart?) who married 31.08.1832 in Halifax.

Amos Tankards parents were Benjamin Tankard (born 26.06.1775) and Sarah Settle. They were married in Halifax - date unknown. (here we go ... My Great Great Great Great GREAT Grandparents!!!)

It was quite exciting (and a bit spooky!) to find out all about my ancestors, and my Halifax connection - no wonder I felt so much at home there.- my Father is hoping to find out more soon. He doesn't own a computer, so most of his research has been from perusing records in libraries etc. Will keep updating as soon as I find out more.

'Fish Chips and Mushy Peas' -and lots more besides
Old Halifax Crest -Piece Hall Gates - Halifax

Old Halifax Crest -Piece Hall Gates

Halifax, 2008 - my first VT meet, and what a meet to start with! Someone commented that this was 'The Gold Standard ' for VT meets!

Checking into The Wool Merchants Hotel, I spotted a white haired bearded gentleman, who looked familiar, although he wasn't toting a video camera! Yes it was Hansi-my first encounter with a real live VTer!

Soon, I was being introduced to Lori Pori, Mustertal , Gwynfiguy and Gillybob, Diosh, celiaq and other new arrivals.
Ricky 52 arrived with Sheila and took us to one of his favourite restaurants, where I got to meet more new friends.

Next morning, we boarded a coach and headed to the Gibbet - Halifax's old guillotine, for photo-ops.

Back on the coach, we headed on our 'Mystery Trip' and our big surprise- Ricky had booked seats in our own reserved carriage, for a ride on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway steam train from Oxenhope, to Keighley and back. This is the rail-line that features in 'The Railway Children'. The train also stops at Haworth- the home of The Brontes. 2010, we visited Haworth by train as part of our Pork Pie and Mushy peas meet

Lunch was at Hebden Bridge- where we enjoyed our 'Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas' and a quick look around, before hurtling off to Sowerby Bridge, arriving in time to get a prime viewing spot for the arrival of the Rushbearing Cart, the main attraction of the Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival

We spent a few hours here, enjoying the traditional dancing and mummers, before just making it back onto the coach as a torrential down pour arrived, and followed us to Norland, where we transferred to one of the local mini buses for our own tour around the story book themed Norland Scarecrow Festival Trail
Then it was back to the Wool Merchants Hotel for our VT meal, with VT goodies and a cake baked by Diosh.

Sunday morning, after a full English breakfast, a small group of us followed Ricky to his gun club for Clay Pigeon shooting - A Blast, in more ways than one! then returned to the hotel to pick up the others, and head off for Sunday lunch - a Roast Carvery. Then it was a quick drive to Triangle, where we arrived just too late to witness the spectacle of the Rushbearing Cart arriving. We did get to see more dancing though, with a chance to take some colourful photos of the various performers. Then, sadly, it was time to say Goodbye to those who were leaving Halifax -I was staying over for an extra night. Little did I know then, that I would be meeting EVERYONE! from this weekend again, at least once - in Cork, Manchester, Richmond, Cascais, Krakow, Dolgellau and Halifax again!

UPDATE June 14th 2009
MacedonianUK (Valentina) invited VTers to join her for Sunday Lunch at The Moorlands- Ricky 52, Sheila, Mustertal (Margaret), Gwynfiguy (Rob), Dao (Dave) the VT flag and myself met

3rd- 5th September 2010 - Pork Pie and Mushy Peas VT Meet -
Ricky 52 and Sheila, Gillybob, davesut, mustertal, gwynfiguy, DAO and myself were back for our 2nd 'Mushy Peas meet'
Kaspian (Ed) and Tara (his traveling companion) arrived from Canada, and alyf1961 (Alyson) and her daughter - welltravelled sequinn(Emma) from Leeds completed the gang!


Sunday October 24th 2010 'MacedonianUK is in Town' - another Sunday Roast , this time at 'The Shears'
Valentina & Frosina, Mustertal & Gwynfiguy, Ricky &Sheila.

June 24th- 26th 2011- 'Carry on Camping' weekend.
Myfanwe, Balam, Evenith666, Gillybob, alyf1961 and myself braved the rain under canvas. Davesut, Ricky52, Sheila, ChrisTuscan and Sue visited over the weekend

April 7-8th 2012 Easter Weekend in Halifax
Phils first visit to Halifax! We had a lovely time - meeting up with Ricky and Sheila for a meal, Clay Pigeon Shooting and Duck Racing!

August 31-September 2nd 2012 Ricky52's Rushbearing and Scarecrows meet

Things to do in and around Halifax
Pork Pies and Mushy Peas VT meet 2010 - Halifax

Pork Pies and Mushy Peas VT meet 2010

Even on a wet Sunday afternoon there are things to see in Halifax. In 2008, Angiebabe and I spent a short while exploring the towns attractions, which were closed, but had stuff of interest still, such as the Parish Church (which became Halifax Minster in 2009), the Town Hall (designed by Sir Charles Barry-the architect of The Houses of Parliament), Borough Market, Eureka, and old pubs such as The Royal Oak and Union Cross
Most of our time was spent looking up, and photographing the various stone carvings etc.

On the Monday, Angie and myself joined SueT and poons on their day out to show Hansi and Lori more sights of Yorkshire.

Our first stop was Haworth, for a wander down the cobbled streets, a spot of shopping and a visit to the Parsonage museum - The family home of the Brontes, and the church, where some of the family are buried.
We then went to Bolton Abbey for cream tea and a look around, Brimham Rocks, and then ended our day out in Knaresborough for tea.

2010, Gillybob and I had chance to look around Halifax on the Friday afternoon (in the sunshine too!) We managed to look around the Minster, The Piece Halls, Borough Market, and inside the impressive Town Hall, before dragging Ed (Kaspian) out, for a pint at The Union Cross - The oldest (or one of the oldest)pub in Halifax.

2011, during our 'Carry on Camping weekend' we visited Hebden Bridge for a few hours. This was during the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival, so we witnessed some of the street entertainment, before heading out of the rain to a local hostelry!

So as you can see, there is plenty to do and see in and around Halifax.

Distances from Halifax;
Sowerby Bridge 3 miles
Manchester 35 miles 1 hour
Leeds 16 miles 45 mins
London 205 miles 3.5 hours
Birmingham 125 miles 2 hours
Newcastle 120 miles 2 hours

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:A Great place for a VT meet! Roll on 2012!
  • Cons:None- even the rain didn't spoil it
  • In a nutshell:One of Englands hidden gems!
  • Last visit to Halifax: Sep 2012
  • Intro Updated Sep 3, 2012
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Reviews (30)

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Old Tristram Donations Box - Halifax Old Tristram Things to Do (12)

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Triangle CC Pavillion - Halifax Traditional English Cricket Club Sports & Outdoors (2)

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Comments (20)

  • Reply
    hunterV's Profile Photo
    Feb 9, 2013 at 10:23 AM

    Hello, Sue! Your virtual tour of Halifax is great! Thanks for sharing your wonderful insights!

  • toonsarah's Profile Photo
    Sep 8, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    Great new travelogues - even if you did manage to catch me drinking at 10 in the morning! Unfair comment about the rush for the seat though - look carefully at your photo and you'll see J is already seated behind me ;-)

    Also enjoyed reading your excellent tips - maybe I should have done so before the meet though?! Never mind, they will stand me in good stead for the next one! I certainly should make the effort to see more of Halifax then

    • suvanki's Profile Photo
      Sep 9, 2012 at 1:29 PM

      Thanks Sarah!
      Blimey- missed J sneaking in there ;-)

  • Reply
    spidermiss's Profile Photo
    Feb 16, 2012 at 12:57 PM

    Looking forward to the 2012 VT Meet! Booked Saturday night at the hotel:D x

  • Reply
    Nemorino's Profile Photo
    Oct 16, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    Hi Sue, it’s great that your Mystery Trip turned out to be an excursion by steam train on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. I used to take groups to the Severn Valley Railway every summer when we were in Birmingham (Frankfurt’s partner city).

  • Reply
    hunterV's Profile Photo
    Apr 16, 2011 at 6:15 AM

    Hello, Sue! Thanks for your wonderful stories and pictures! ~><><><><~

  • Reply
    Gillybob's Profile Photo
    Dec 29, 2010 at 1:43 PM

    The eagles have landed. Gillybob greetings

  • Reply
    Nov 13, 2010 at 11:29 AM

    Hi, I go shooting with a friend from work. The only problem is he lives in Rotherham and I’m from Halifax. So it’s a long way for me to travel. Would it be possible for me to come with the view to join the club dionsykes@hotmail.co.uk

  • Reply
    DAO's Profile Photo
    Sep 28, 2010 at 2:52 PM

    Looks like some more awesome tips!

  • Reply
    cachaseiro's Profile Photo
    Sep 28, 2010 at 5:28 AM

    That is really a lot of nice photos from the Halifax meets :O)

  • Reply
    starship's Profile Photo
    Sep 16, 2010 at 10:43 AM

    Thanks for signing the postcard sent from the Halifax Pork Pie & Mushy Peas Meet!! Looks like everyone had a good time.

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