The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-10)

Winner

TRAWDEN, LANCASHIRE ✪

Nobody calls this rugged corner of the Pennines the people’s

republic of Trawden yet, but everything here is done for the

locals, by the locals — and the results are a triumph. It started

in 2014, when residents clubbed together to rescue

the community centre. When the only shop and

library were under threat in 2018, they took

those over too. In 2021, when the last pub

was about to close, they raised £520,000

to save that by selling shares, and it has

been transformed from a drinkers’ pub

into a family-friendly dining destination

that’s popular for its Sunday lunch

(slow-roast beef and all the trimmings

costs £14.50) and quiz.

There are now solar panels on the

shop roof and plastic-free refills of

spices, panko breadcrumbs and

Yorkshire Tea (the county border is just

down the road). Everyone stops by for a

chat and to pick up a jar of homemade

marmalade or local craft beer. If only every

local shop was as good as this. The attached

library is immaculate with sofas and a recycling area,

while the community centre is booked up with parties, Pilates

and mother-and-baby groups. For everything else — DIY,

chemists, supermarkets, Tuesday-Saturday post office —

Colne is less than ten minutes up the road.

The Trawden in Bloom volunteers keep the place smart,

and there’s a garden festival and an annual agricultural show

with a gruelling fell race. Trawden Athletic Club is on hand to

get runners in shape to complete the six-mile course.

This has always been one of Lancashire’s most appealing

roosts. It’s ten minutes’ drive to the M65 and commutable to

Manchester and Leeds, but some less-than-gilded

neighbours and end-of-the-road location keep house prices

sensible. The countryside is the big thing. The rugged

landscape bumps into Brontë country a couple of miles

away at the majestic Wycoller Country Park.

So what’s Trawden’s secret? “Success breeds

success. The community centre showed people

that it was possible to get things done, and

that it was worth getting involved,” says

Molly Ralphson, who has lived here since

she was two — just about long enough to

be considered local. “We’ve got 80

volunteers and it’s an opportunity for

them to make friends and to get to

know each other. People think of

Pendle as being old industrial mill

towns, but they don’t realise how close

we are to such beautiful countryside.

So many people have dogs and it’s a

great place to bring up a family too. It

feels safe too — you can turf the kids out

to play outside without having to worry.”

Best place to live if ... You like a local

shop for local people in Britain’s most community-

spirited village.

Best address A village terrace or an old stone farmhouse on

Wycoller Road or Burnley Road.

£185,500

and dance classes in the
parish hall, delicious coffee,
croissants and cakes at Koow, a
classy new café, and three
decent dining pubs close at
hand. Pick of the bunch is the
delightful, dog-friendly Ring O’
Bells, the perfect spot for the
kind of Sunday lunch (£14.95,
pigs in blankets £5.95 extra)
that lasts so long that you may
miss the start of Countryfile.
Best place to live if... You
want Cheshire to be more
Agatha than Wagatha.
Best address Anywhere with
a view of the green or the Pit.
£489,000

KIRKBY LONSDALE,
CUMBRIA C

Everywhere needs its super
heroes, and here the heroes
have binbags and brooms
instead of capes. Is there a
town in the land with cleaner
streets than Kirkby Lonsdale?
Even after a summer evening
of picnics and swimming
under the Devil’s Bridge, you
can be sure that all will be
spick and span by morning.
Tidiness is the most visible
way in which this medieval
market town pulls together in
this especially scenic corner
of the country, with the Lakes
a 30-minute drive away on

from 36-hour sourdough

fermented on the premises.

“We’re really busy — and it’s

nice to know everyone. When

I see people on the street,

they always say are you

roasting today, because they

can smell the coffee. When

we started the brewery in

2009, one of the reasons was

to put Kirkby on the map,

because it wasn’t known for

making anything.”

Apart from the rugged

scenery, retail is the star of the

show. You can get all you need

at the town-centre Booths,

but it’s much more fun to

explore the stone streets.

Humble desires will be

more than satisfied at the

weekly charter market, the

award-winning pork pies at

Dales, or the homeware and

garden goodies at Lunesdale,

an knowledgeable hardware

store. Those with fancier

tastes should make a

beeline for Abrahams

(known by some as the Liberty

of the North), which sells

everything from embroidered

dog collars to perfumes

and placemats.

There’s excellent eating

and drinking too, whether

at the Milking Parlour, the

impeccably local ice cream

shop that attracts queues

at any time of year, the

Jingling Lane Chippy

next door, or one of the

smarter restaurants.

Best place to live if. ..

You want to wake up and

smell the coffee, go for an

amazing walk, then come

back for a pint.

Best address The charming

stone houses in the town

centre, or the surrounding

villages such as Casterton

or Barbon.

£404,000

under the banner of the

Rainbow Parish.

Kirkby-born and bred,

Stu Taylor’s Covid-inspired

need to diversify has

cemented the Royal Barn as

the place to be. It’s the

taproom of the Kirkby

Lonsdale Brewery, where you

can taste 20 ales, or spend the

day at the co-working space

fuelled by coffee roasted next

to your desk, with a pancake

or panuozzo for lunch; and

pizzas in the evenings, made

Mooove here

Hereford cows

in the Lune

Valley, near

Kirkby

Lonsdale.

Above right,

from top:

Trawden

community

shop volunteers

Ann Myers and

Liz Berridge;

Wayne Yates

and Libby

Mellows;

volunteer Bev

Robinson at the

Trawden shop

This is an edited version. For the complete guide visit thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-live

one side, the Dales on the

other and the unsung Forest

of Bowland to the south. From

the community cupboard at

the rugby club, to the

community hub phone line,

helping people in the

pandemic, it’s all about

co-operation here. Businesses

such as Lunesdale Bakery and

Dales, the multi-award-

winning butcher, all get

involved, along with the rugby

club, Queen Elizabeth School

and the churches — united

April 10, 2022 31