Lumb Bank

Lumb Bank has undergone an extensive redevelopment to make the site more accessible and environmentally friendly. This includes the installation of a lift, ramped access both inside the building and to access the front of the building, and the addition of two new accessible rooms with ensuite wet rooms. However, it is important to note that it remains an old house, and only three of our twelve bedrooms are on the ground floor, with guaranteed stair-free access. If you require one of our ground floor rooms please email sally.ashworth@arvon.org when booking.

Kitchen/Dining: Writers take it in turns to jointly prepare meals. If you are unable to do this, it is not a problem, just let us know when you complete the online booking form. All work surfaces are a standard height, and a lower work surface can be provided. There are base cupboards with utensils, crockery and other supplies at an accessible height. If you want to ensure that a particular type of chair is available for dining, i.e. a chair with arms, please contact us in advance.

Bedrooms: We have three ensuite rooms with wet rooms equipped for wheelchair access. You can bring a Personal Assistant with you if required, for no additional cost. You can choose this option on the booking form, or contact us on the dedicated access email or phone number.

Outside: The main entrance is accessible from the driveway. A ramp with a railing runs along the side of the house to the main front door.  The surface on the driveway and ramp is paved. There is a level access terrace with seating. Please be aware that the stone paving is very old and uneven in places.

Physical Access: The upper floor of the barn is accessible by lift, and the ground floor is level access or ramped. There is an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Lumb Bank’s main building is accessible for wheelchair users, but the access to the house itself is down a steep country lane, and the initial part of the driveway is bumpy and uneven. If you are coming on a course and require assistance to enter the building or are a wheelchair user please contact us on access@arvon.org or sally.ashworth@arvon.org so we can meet you on arrival and guide any vehicles in. If you need to park onsite please contact us to arrange this in advance (one space available per course).

Nearest Train Station: The nearest train station is Hebden Bridge, 1.7 miles from Lumb Bank. The station has a lift but no taxi rank – taxis must be booked in advance; we recommend Valley Taxi – 01422 844070.

The Grounds: Lumb Bank is situated on the side of a steep valley, surrounded by beautiful woodland. Unfortunately due to the steep landscape much of the gardens are inaccessible to wheelchair users. There is a patio area outside our new kitchen/dining area that can be accessed by a wheelchair.

Mobile Signal and WiFi: The mobile phone signal at Lumb Bank is very good, so you should have no problem contacting the outside world. There is Wi-Fi available throughout the site.

The original Arvon concept of enabling young people to live and work with experienced writers was developed by John Fairfax and John Moat. They started running courses in 1968 in the Beaford Centre in Devon. Ted Hughes was living fifteen miles down the road and one day John Fairfax decided to seek him out and tell him about the idea.

Ted was at first sceptical, but asked that if anything should come of the idea he’d like to be told.
Ted was invited to attend the last night of the first Beaford course and from then was fully supportive of the venture, often holding meetings in his Devonshire home and joining courses as the guest reader, where “his presence would have a magical effect, a contagion of imaginative excitement”.

In 1975, following Ted’s suggestion for a northern centre, Arvon leased Lumb Bank from Ted and Carol Hughes. In 1986, Carol Hughes took up the Chair of Arvon. In 1989, Arvon bought Lumb Bank from The Hughes Trust with help from the Arts Council.

“There were so many individual contributions vital to Arvon’s survival, but I think no-one would dispute that Ted’s contribution was of an order all of its own.” —John Moat

Please do not use the postcode for Lumb Bank in your Satnav, as it sends you the wrong way. Use HX7 7EU (Smithwell Lane, Heptonstall). Take the A646 through Hebden Bridge or from Todmorden, follow signs to ‘Heptonstall via turning circle’. If you’re coming through Hebden Bridge, use the turning circle to double back and turn left at traffic lights by the Fox and Goose pub, up the steep hill. Do not take the left turn to Heptonstall (signed ‘access only’); instead, keep driving on Lee Wood Road, then Draper Lane. As you approach the houses at Slack Bottom, take the left-hand turn towards Heptonstall. Continue 30 yards. The lane to Lumb Bank is on your right by the benches and bus stop.

Please park on Smithwell Lane and walk down the track to Lumb Bank, unless you need to drive down to site to drop off luggage.

Please note there is no parking onsite, unless by prior arrangement, eg if you have mobility issues. Please email lumbbank@arvon.org in advance of your visit, if this is the case.

Hebden Bridge railway station is on the main Manchester Victoria to Leeds line with trains from both cities at regular intervals. Every half hour you can catch the 596 bus (Blackshaw Head) to the top of the Lumb Bank lane from the railway station.

If you want to take a taxi from the train station, please arrange for a taxi to meet you at the station in advance. Call Valley Taxi on 01422 844070. Students often arrive at the station at the same time, so you may be able to share – check when you book your taxi. The journey time to Lumb Bank is 10-15 minutes. Taxis will drop you off and pick you up at the top of the lane only, so you will need to make your own way down and back up the lane.

Every half hour you can catch the 596 bus (Blackshaw Head) to the top of the Lumb Bank lane from the railway station. The timetable is here – check the box ‘show all stops’ .  The stop is Heptonstall – Green Lane / Smithwell Lane, the stop just after the school as you leave Heptonstall. Green Lane is to the left by the benches, with Lumb Bank signposted. Follow this lane steeply down for 5 minutes – Lumb Bank is at the end of the lane, before the road turns into a path.

Please see the accommodation, food and accessibility page for further information.

Lumb Bank
The Ted Hughes Arvon Writing House
Heptonstall
Hebden Bridge
West Yorkshire
HX7 6DF

Email: lumbbank@arvon.org

For individual team members please visit the Meet the Team page.