Where are we?
Penistone is a small market town about mid-way between Huddersfield (NW) and Sheffield (SE) in Yorkshire. At a breezy 750 feet a.s.l., we are one of the highest market towns in the country. The scenic Huddersfield - Sheffield railway line passes over our stone viaduct and through Penistone station. We are only a cock stride from West Yorkshire and two other small but notable places, Denby Dale (famous for its pie) and Holmfirth ('Last of the Summer Wine' tv comedy).
Local Landmarks and Features
The modern age has brought us thirteen wind turbines, visible for a great distance north. After Penistone church, the windmills and Hartcliff tower, the tallest landmark around is the 1084ft/330m Emley Moor transmitter tower, about six miles away. Our town has low stone bridges on all main access roads and we don't see double-decker busses here. Buildings are mostly of Yorkshire stone or red brick with very few wooden buildings. There are streams, stone bridges, horse troughs, milestones, spinneys, woods and wild vegetation.
Our railway viaduct is very prominent and part of the Penistone 'brand', if I might be so vulgar, and a matter of local pride. In the town, you will find old red pillarboxes (for posting letters) and old telephone boxes. There was a fine stone-built bus shelter by the church but this was replaced with a plastic one, courtesy of Sheffield Transport (who put 'brand' before utility).
Being on the edge of the Pennine hills, our terrain is undulating, flattening out towards the north and east. To the south is a great unspoilt ridge gently rising to 1100 feet a.s.l., between the rivers Don and Little Don (or Porter). The River Don has its source on the moors a few miles to our west and flows via Penistone, Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster to join the river Ouse at Goole, thence it continues to the North Sea, covering about 70 miles in all.
Beyond the southern ridge are reservoirs, the bleak grouse moors of Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park, which are not spoilt by development or wind turbines. A few miles further south is Edale, the original 'Gateway to the Pennines'. This is the natural start of the Pennine Way, a great 250-mile walking trail, heading north over the 'backbone of England' (a name which doesn't do Birmingham any favours) - the Pennine hills.
Local Pride
Penistone is separate from other towns and villages and has its own identity and sense of community. We are not 'Pennine Barnsley', whatever that may be, and not a natural point of entry to the Pennines.
Housing has vastly expanded over the last quarter century, yet the setting is rural with green fields only a short walk away. Many people who were born here have never moved away - and don't intend to. There is a local pride in Penistone but also a few fears about changes brought from the great housing expansion of recent years and a planned town centre refurbishment which might well be out of keeping with the character of our town.
If you use Google Earth, you will see Penistone just as it was in the summer of 2003. Type 'Penistone UK' in the search box. Since 2003 most of the large factory area has been demolished and is now being replaced by another new housing estate. There are other significant areas of new housing which are not yet displayed in G.E.
Scattered around our hillsides are rectangular fields separated by dark drystone walls and punctuated with centuries-old farm buildings and grazing farm animals. Stone horse-troughs and milestones echo earlier times. Scenes from BBC tv's long-running comedy, 'Last of the Summer Wine' has similarities with Penistone's terrain and people.
