Hello, dear Fodorites!
Would love some Yorkshire experts (knock knock Morgana...??) to check out a bit of my itinerary. My interests: Victorian History, Stately Houses and Hiking; Public Transport only.

DAY 1/TUE: LEEDS “Jet Lag Day”
QUESTION: Any recommendations for my jet lag day in Leeds? I will be out and about around 2:00 p.m., so not much time. Interested in the Victorian era, so I will hunt down a walking map for Victorian architecture. (The shopping arcades looks gorgeous.) The Industrial Museum at Armley Mills looks great. The Abbey House Museum looks interesting, but potentially cheesy.
Any thoughts?

DAY 2/WED: Day trip to SALTAIRE VILLAGE or HAREWOOD HOUSE
I'm still deciding between Saltaire and Harewood House.
QUESTION: Anyone been to Saltaire, and is a 4-5 hour walk-around enough time? Any tour guide recommendations? Likewise, anyone been to Harewood House, and what were your impressions? I've seen lots of statelies, but always looking to pick the brains of the docents, and try to see some furniture or kitchen tool or something I've never seen before.

DAY 2 CONTINUED: HAWORTH
After my day trip, train back to Leeds (19-30 min), then rail to Hebden Bridge (48-55 min), then B3 Bronte Bus to Haworth. Check in to Inn; early evening arrival.
QUESTION: Any reccos for a dinner in Haworth? Any sort of Yorkshire dish I should check out? I heard something about Henderson’s relish, and not sure what I would eat with that.

DAY 4/FRI: HAWORTH to HEBDEN BRIDGE to YORK
Take B3 Bus to Hebden Station; Train to York
QUESTION: So, what’s the deal with Hebden Bridge…? Should I take a bit of a break and peruse the downtown, with my suitcase in tow, before heading to York? Is this, as they say, a “drug town with a tourist problem”? Looks like a nice arts community.

I'll end here. Don't want too unwieldy a topic, and still sorting out the York/Whitby/Scarborough portion. Many thanks for any information or thoughts!

Why do you keep travelling via Hebden Bridge - the easiest way to & from Haworth is train to Keighley then bus from there (the train passes through Saltaire)

As for Saltaire / Harewood - this year I would choose Harewood purely for the Chippendale connection - it also solves the problem of what to do with your luggage as you can either leave it at your hotel or at Leeds station left luggage

As for a “drug town with a tourist problem” or "Why has Hebden Bridge become suicide central?", it must be a different HB from the one I know

Leeds central, assuming you want to stay outside or in the light I might walk to the Armories which is a glass lined building holding all the military stuff they can't fit in the tower of London. If Jet lag was not an issue you could visit Leeds Museum which is filled with Victorian art (according to our tax reducing pressure group about �135 million worth of it) and small bits of Henry Moore. I'd not try West Yorkshire Sculpture park as it is just too far but it would be a good trip. Armley is fine especially if you like butter pats and industrial machinery. "Victoria Quarter" is an upmarket shopping arcade, but Leeds has a whole series of these short market arcades often with interesting stuff in the ceilings etc, You'll also like the main market, the Corn market and its roof and there is even a tiny bit of medieval Leeds (behind the Corn market) that escaped the bombing and the planners. If you can try and get inside the Leeds Town hall main hall, the walls and ceilings are exquisite.

Harwood or Saltaire, sorry but I'd choose Saltaire as far more interesting, Harwood is just dull (and very expensive) and you will be indoors for too much time and most of it was paid for from compensation following the freeing of the slaves, Saltaire was the world's largest factory at the time and this was before the concept of the limited company so it was all one man's property, the main building is filled with cafes, local shops, art and a history of the Saltaire. The canal, the park and the local special houses is a good halfday out.

Hebden Bridge, is nice enough, the steepness of the town leads to some odd things, the canal is ok, the clog factory is ..... a clog factory and the lesbian centric element is well, fine. There are many old mill towns like it. A �5 to any nice pub will probably get the bag looked after, but Yorkshire people are nice people and if you buy a coffee you should be ok.

Hendersons is just a Worcester Sauce, so in a tomato juice?

Keighley, has a nice Victorian station, the odd old mill (but nothing as nice as Saltaire) and a general down at heel feel. Despite yet more bombing a few buildings have survived, the best of which is the Library's stained glass, the odd shopping street etc. I would not bother but up to you.

Luggage as dotheboys say. Otley (train and bus from Leeds) is holding a Chippendale festival and is a good example of a Dales town with no wool based mills in town (paper and printing was the business here, it did the world's largest Koran's print run) but is now just a bustling market town with more coffee shops than you can throw a stick at, it also is bilbo's home town.

I'm glad Bilbo has responded as he is very much the West Yorkshire expert. I live in North Yorkshire and can hopefully answer pretty much most things about that area. 'Yorkshire' as I am sure you are aware, is massive and covers a huge swathe of Northern England.
Having said that, I did work in central Leeds for many years. It's a lively, vibrant city with fabulous shopping and some wonderful bars and restaurants.
Harewood or Saltaire - that's a tough call. I'd probably pick Saltaire as it is definitely different. However, if you do choose Harewood it is very easy to get to by bus - and if you arrive by public transport you can get half price admission.
https://harewood.org/visit/
Pick up the excellent 36 bus service from Leeds bus station which runs to Harrogate (and beyond). These double deckers go every 15/20 minutes and have wifi, leather seats etc. The route takes you right through Harewood village and the bus stop is almost opposite the entrance to Harewood. Ring the bell on the bus to get it to stop though - it's a request stop.
36 Bus Service Information ~ Transdev
Assume you know about the Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes link with Hebden?
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-n...rkshire-poetry
Often in the news as Sylvia's gravestone gets defaced on a regular basis (scrubbing out her surname normally),
I've lived in Yorkshire half my life and have never touched Henderson's Relish. Maybe splash it on your fish and chips as I understand some do - although I'll stick to salt and vinegar!

There's a restaurant called "Embers" on the main cobbled street in Haworth. I can recommend it and have eaten there a good few times. For very good pub food, take a short cab ride to the "Old Silent" on the road towards Colne.

The main part of Hebden Bridge is fairly level and I also don't recognise your "drug town" analogy. It has some nice pubs, good cafes and a small market, making it an attractive place worth visiting. Saltaire would be my choice too, again an attractive small place to wander around. Salts Mill has its permanent David Hockney exhibition which is worth seeing. Include lunch and you'll have a pleasant afternoon.

Hebden, I recognise the smell of of dope in the air... and last year went to a wake there and found a local drug dealer hanging out in the gents, but all very low key. I'd recommend a walk along the canal which passes through town and offers the odd little hippy cafes etc while most of the shops are non-branded stores so worth spending your tourist dollars ;-)

Thank you! Fodorites are always so helpful. @Bilbo, I should've remembered you were up north, but I've been away from Fodors a bit lately. I've jotted all the recommendations down. @Rubicund, I'll check those pubs--do you live in England, too?). And was glad to be told of the Sylvia Plath connection, @Morgana. Such a sad life, and seemingly the wrong burial place for her. Though that countryside is heartachingly beautiful.

@dotheboyshall: Thanks for pointing that out. I'd read the B3 Bronte Bus route from Hebden to Haworth is one of the more scenic routes in England, but I realized I'm taking it twice. WIll modify to go by rail from Leeds to Keighley, then bus to Haworth, on the way there, then will do the longer bus route from Haworth to Hebden, then rail to York. It'll save me time, as well.

As for the Hebden "drug" comment, I read that in the comments section of The Guardian, and wanted to poke around a bit. I knew nothing of Hebden Bridge, except for its public transportation links, so was intrigued when I found an article about its arts community. But then someone made a comment about the drugs.

Leaning toward Saltaire now, but man, I love the stately houses. I shouldn't, but I do, and they inform my historical romance writing. (Though I don't do the hard-body dukes, my heroes and heroines ultimately get to live in some swanky places.)

@Morgana: I may have some itinerary questions for York-Scarborough-Whitby. Still sorting between all the places I want to visit--just never enough time. But will check out the National Rail Museum, at last.

Further to your mention of historical fiction, are you aware of the book by Hallie Rubenhold called Lady Worsley's Whim? It's not fiction - Lady Worsley lived at Harewood for several years and certainly caused a stir.
The red-hot story of Harewood's scarlet lady | Wharfedale Observer
The book came out a few years back and is a very good read. Well worth checking out and it might sway you towards a Harewood visit.
A BBC programme based on the book came out a couple of years ago, retitled The Scandalous Lady W.

Hebden Bridge is much under rated, and hasnb';t really been discovered by the tourists yet. It went through a tough time in the 1960s when nearly all the mills closed, but it has since reinvented itself and de-tattified. It still has some splendid Victorian buildings and an eclectic range of shops. The usual chain stores which blight most high streets haven't arrived here yet. it is an interesting place to walk around (remember to look up at the buildings) and the Visitor Centre has a town trail. It is a pleasant walk along the canal, and you can also walk up to the original settlement at Heptonstall above the town. I wasn't aware of grafitti, litter or drugs when I visited last month.

I'd also choose Saltaire above Harwood house. Saltaire is different (interesting industrial archaeology heritage) whereas you could describe Harwood House as 'yet another stately home'....

Thanks, Morgana. That may definitely put Harewood on the visit list along with Saltaire. Maybe I'll move a few things around to make that happen, as I'm wanting to see both so much. Good grief, the things aristocrats got up to with their chamber pots.

Thank you, ESW. I didn't know Heptonstall was the older settlement, and close enough to walk to. (If I can leave my bag somewhere.) And will be sure to look up! That's how I usually wander through England, especially the larger towns and cities. The street level is usually so modern feeling, it's far more fun for me to look to the 2nd story and up. Thanks for mentioning this!

I took train to Keighley and bus and was surprised how they pronounced Keighley - just so you are in the know:

Good to know! I'm the worst with English pronunciations. Thanks, PQ!

Hi ChgoGal, yes I live 10 miles from Haworth in Pendle, but I'm from Manchester where I still spend a lot of time. Embers is a good restaurant, not a pub and you won't be disappointed by it.

Looks like a walker's paradise. Envy you your coordinates! Thank you again for the recommendations.

RE: Hebden Bridge and Luggage Storage Help
Wow! Is this really true, that I might ask to leave my suitcase at an establishment like a pub for a few hours for 5 pounds or so? As a Chicagoan, the idea I might leave my suitcase with a restaurant is very foreign to me. We don't operate with that level of trust/humanity over here, and I'm having trouble finding other storage/left luggage options. Would love to explore Hebden and Hepstonstall unencumbered, but may be rolling that suitcase with me.

Heptonstall is steep and on the the top of a hill overlooking Hebden and I can't recommend pulling a suitcase through it. The ruined abbey for instance is very uneven underfoot and not a suitable surface for a case.

As far as leaving a case in a pub is concerned, it's not something I've seen done, but asking wouldn't hurt. Good luck with that.