Van Miles

For New Year 2024/2025 we decided on a short campervan trip to West Yorkshire, spending time in Haworth, Heptonstall and Hebden Bridge. We were travelling in our self-contained van, which gave us a bit more freedom when choosing where to stay, especially at this time of year when the weather can be unpredictable.

Haworth

Our first stop was Haworth, where we parked overnight at the Brontë Village Car Park. We stayed on the second level, which was very quiet during our visit. It cost £10 for the overnight stay and the following day.

The location was ideal for exploring Haworth, with the famous cobbled Main Street only around a five-minute walk away. There were public toilets nearby, although these weren’t open throughout the night, so this stop is much better suited to a self-contained campervan or motorhome.

After settling in, we went for a walk around the local park before heading into Haworth for a drink in one of the pubs. Haworth is particularly lovely around Christmas and New Year. The cobbled street, little independent shops and Christmas lights gave it a really cosy winter feel.

Walking to Brontë Waterfall

The following day was dry but cold, so we headed out across the moors towards Brontë Waterfall.

The walk from Haworth to Brontë Waterfall is roughly 3 miles each way, making it around a 6-mile return walk depending on exactly where you start and the route you take.

The walk itself was actually the highlight for us. Heading out across the moors felt much more impressive than the waterfall when we eventually reached it. If I’m being truthful, we found Brontë Waterfall itself a little disappointing, but the scenery and moorland walk made the trip worthwhile.

There is the option to continue further across the moors towards Top Withens, which is associated with the landscape that inspired the Brontë sisters. We didn’t continue any further because of our dog, so Brontë Waterfall was our turnaround point.

Back in Haworth, we had another look around the shops on the cobbled street, which looked especially pretty lit up for Christmas. We then picked up fish and chips from the local chippy and ate them back in the warm, cosy van. Sometimes that’s one of the best parts of winter campervan trips!

Haworth to Heptonstall

After Haworth we moved on to Heptonstall, a small historic village sitting high above Hebden Bridge. If you’re a fan of Happy Valley, you might recognise parts of the village, as Heptonstall was used as one of the filming locations for the TV series.

We stayed overnight on the cricket club car park. This was a very simple stopover costing £5, paid into an honesty box, or £10 if you needed to use the water. There were no other facilities, but it was quiet and we were nicely sheltered from the wind.

It was around a 10-minute walk from the car park into the centre of Heptonstall. The village is small but full of character, with narrow cobbled streets, old stone cottages and historic buildings. It feels as though you’ve stepped back in time and is lovely just to wander around.

One of the most interesting places to see is the atmospheric ruins of the old St Thomas à Becket Church, which stand beside the newer church and graveyard. Heptonstall is also the burial place of American poet Sylvia Plath.

There are a couple of pubs in the village, so after exploring you can stop for a drink before heading back to the van. It made a great little overnight stop between Haworth and Hebden Bridge and, despite being so close to Hebden Bridge, had a completely different feel.

New Year’s Eve in Hebden Bridge

On Tuesday 31 December we drove down into Hebden Bridge for New Year’s Eve.

We stayed at the Stubbing Wharf pub car park, which offered a free overnight stop when eating in the pub. For us, the location was the main attraction. The car park sits right beside the canal, so once the van was parked we didn’t need to drive anywhere else.

We walked along the canal and into Hebden Bridge to have a look around the shops and town centre. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side. It became very wet and windy, so we were particularly pleased that our overnight stop was right next to a pub!

We ate at the Stubbing Wharf that evening. The food was tasty and reasonably priced, with our meal and drinks coming to around £50 for the two of us. It wasn’t particularly busy and there wasn’t any New Year’s Eve entertainment, but that actually suited us perfectly. We weren’t looking for a big New Year’s Eve party and were quite happy having something to eat before heading back to the van.

The rain continued heavily throughout the night and there were flood warnings in place. Being parked so close to the canal was a little concerning, but thankfully the water didn’t reach us.

Heading Home

After a very wet New Year’s Eve night, it was time to start heading home. We broke up the journey with a stop at Oswaldtwistle Mills before continuing back to the Fylde Coast.

It wasn’t a glamorous New Year’s Eve trip and the weather certainly didn’t behave, but that’s part of travelling in a campervan in the middle of winter.

Haworth was probably my favourite part of the trip. The Christmas lights, cobbled street, pubs and walk across the moors gave us exactly the winter atmosphere we were looking for. Brontë Waterfall might not have lived up to expectations, but the walk to it certainly did.

Hebden Bridge gave us a completely different New Year’s Eve — no expensive tickets, packed venues or big celebrations. Just a canal walk, good pub food and a cosy campervan while the rain battered down outside.

For us, that was enough.