There are loads of spots around the North West where you can head out into the hills and enjoy the colourful late-summer landscapes.
From the Peak District on our doorstep to spots across the hills right here in Yorkshire, it's well worth sticking your hiking boots on and getting out for a walk.
And given that the hills and mountains around the UK and surrounding Leeds are currently in their prettiest phase, awash with bright purple heather, it would be rude not to check them out, reports The Manc.
The flowering shrub normally first shows its tiny purple blooms in late July but will keep flowering for a couple more weeks yet, usually displaying its bright colours until September.
From the Peak District on our doorstep to spots across the hills right here in Yorkshire, it's well worth sticking your hiking boots on and getting out for a walk.
Here are a few of our favourite places and walks to see heather around West Yorkshire and beyond...
Ilkley Moor
Just above the spa town of Ilkley is Ilkley Moor, where the heather grows around a rocky outcrop known as the Cow and Calf, which people say resembles a cow sheltering her calf.
It's a popular spot for all sorts of activities, including rock climbing, bird watching and hiking.
This National Trust site is slap bang between Leeds and Manchester and, blissfully, is on the train line - so you don't even need to be able to drive to visit.
There are plenty of well-planned routes to follow, but if you want an only-slightly challenging walk, head on the 4.5 mile circular around Deer Hill, which is lined with heather.
This large open space near Sowerby Bridge has so much heather at the right time of year, it's like someone's rolled out the purple carpet.
It's really at its best at this time of year and there are tonnes of pubs nearby to wind down in afterwards.
Hope Valley
Win Hill. Credit: Unsplash
The Hope Valley is a heather hotspot - walks at Bamford Edge, Win Hill, Higger Tor, Owler Tor and Stanage Edge are all stunning.
You really can't go wrong in this rugged, rocky corner of the Peak District, but it might be the staggering symmetry of the heather climbing beside the footpaths of Win Hill that gets out vote.
Walks along Blackden Brook aren't for the inexperienced - it's more of a rocky scramble, complete with streams and tough terrain, than a gentle Sunday hike.
But you'll be rewarded by splashes of purple heather sticking out from this incredible rocky landscape.
The steep climb up to Baslow Edge is well worth it for the sweeping countryside views that greet you at the top.
On a really clear day you can see all the way to Chatsworth House, and even on cloudier days you've got a good chance of spotting a Highland Cow wandering around the rugged landscape.
Featured image: Unsplash
The Sheff
Sheffield’s top independent bookshops are putting on a big book festival this weekend
A bunch of the top bookshops in Sheffield are banding together this weekend for a huge book festival.
The Sheffield Independent Book Festival (or SIBFest) will be a weekend designed for book lovers, with author talks, signings, workshops, reading rooms and more.
There'll even be a bookshop crawl encouraging people to visit Sheffield's many brilliant bookshops.
Different bookshops will be hosting their own fringe events on the first day of the festival, before loads of local businesses come together at Kelham Island for a full day of book-themed events.
SIBFest has been created by booksellers, for book lovers, with an aim to 'celebrate stories, and the shops and publishers who keep them alive'.
It's been created by the people behind local businesses like Novel (which is temporarily closed because of an issue where staff have been being harassed by a member of the public); and La Biblioteka at Leah's Yard.
Hillsborough Bookshop, a neighbourhood children's bookshop, and Juno Books, a queer independent bookshop, have also organised the event.
It will all be taking place at bookshops across the city, plus at The Victoria and The Mowbray at Kelham Island.
There'll be events at La Biblioteka at Leah's Yard for SIBFestNovel is also taking part in the Sheffield Independent Book Festival
Here, you'll find a marketplace for local bookshops and indie makers inside The Mowbray, while The Victoria will host all sorts of talks, workshops and signings.
There'll also be a Graphic Novel Reading Room, where you can relax with a good graphic novel upstairs at the Lodge at The Victoria.
And you can grab delicious food, cocktails and coffee throughout the day in both venues.
SIBFest (Sheffield Independent Book Festival) lineup
Confirmed speakers include:
Bethan Woollvin (These Are My Rocks, Robin Hood, Little Red, I Can Catch a Monster)
Steve Webb (Peng and Spanners, Spangles McNasty, Cow's Go Boo, Tanka Tanka Skunk)
Luke Barley (Ancient)
Hazel Sheffield (Frontierland)
Manya Wilkinson (Lublin, & Other Stories)
Michelle Tea (Valencia, Black Wave, Against Memoir, Little F with Cipher Press)
Kavitha Rao (Lady Doctors, Jacaranda Press)
Witches and Folklore author panel with Anna Caig (The Wise Witch of Orkney)
Molly Aitken (The Island Child and Bright, I Burn)
Sally O’Reilly (Hagtale)
SIBFest will be taking place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April across Sheffield - see the full line-up and book tickets HERE.
Yorkshire house hunters wanted as UK’s biggest property show returns for new series
Emily Sergeant
Looking to move house? Finding the house hunting process a lot harder than you thought it would be though?
Well, this could be the helping hand you need.
The UK's biggest property show, Location, Location, Location - which has been a fixture in Channel 4’s schedule for more than 20 years at this point - is looking for house hunters from across Yorkshire for the new series.Â
First airing all the way back in 2000, if you've never seen Location, Location, Location, it's fronted by presenters and property experts Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer who head all across the UK to help buyers in search for their dream home.
Despite being on our TV screens for 26 years at this point, Kirstie and Phil have never tired in their efforts to match the nation’s hopeful house hunters with their perfect home.
For its next series being filmed this May, Channel 4 are now looking for individuals, families, and couples from across Yorkshire - Leeds and Sheffield in particular - who need Kirstie and Phil's expertise to find their next home.
The UK's biggest property show is coming to Manchester and needs house hunters for its new series / Credit: James Feaver (via Unsplash)
Whether you're upsizing, downsizing, first timer buyers, or looking for a forever home, Channel 4 wants to hear from you.
"We are casting for the new series, and we are interested in hearing from chain free (or SSTC) house hunters who would be ready to buy in May this year," a spokesperson for Channel 4 said as the casting call was announced.
"Applications are now open and we're looking for individuals, families and couples who need Kirstie and Phil's expertise to buy their dream home."
Anyone interested in appearing on Location, Location, Location can apply on the Channel 4 website here.
Applications will be received by a member of IWC Media and they will contact you directly if they wish to take your it any further.
The Hoot -
24th August 2023 
