We've been in the UK now for six days - just 24 more days in the Drizzly Isles - and we've been based in the same place for all that time: Hebden Bridge. I tout it might be nice to write a little bit about this small village in the Pennines of Yorkshire.

We chose Hebden Bridge because it was central to all the various places we would be visiting - Halifax, Heptonstall, Blackley, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Jodrell Bank, York and so on. We could have stayed in Manchester, but the thought of basing ourselves in a major urban centre, with all the attendant traffic hassles made my blood run cold. Hebden Bridge isnt exactly on the doorstep of Manchester, but it's close enough to access via the M60, yet far enough away that it feels comfy and intimate.

When we first arrived, I thought it was like Marton in the Rangitikei back home. It's got about the same population, and seemed to have only one main street on which all the retail was based. However, we went for a walk around the village proper on Tuesday, and there's quite a bit to it actually. Think of a place about the size of Marton (both in terms of area and population) but with the same or more retail and food places as Feilding. It's a lovely little village, with all the things that define old England - stone buildings, old narrow roads, but with modern trappings like flash cars, ATMs, cellphone coverage and HDTV.

A quintessential feature of Hebden Bridge are the canals. It's part of a network of canals which were used in the 18th century to transport goods throughout the Yorkshire area, and possibly further afield. One of the main products of Hebden Bridge and the surrounding villages is cloth, and the many mills in the area spun and wove cotton to produce cloth which was transported around the country. Hebden Bridge seems to have been a key part of that network, in a similar way to the towns in the Manawatu that sit on SH1. With the industrial revolution, the power shifted and the position of the cloth mills and the canals was diminished. It seems like the canals wer Ina pretty bad shape for a long time, but in the 1970s, a restoration project was started, and the canals are now working again. The Rochdale Canal, which runs alongside (and at one point, over) the River Calder (which gives the region the name, Calderdale), has 91 working locks, allowing boats to travel up and down the canal. We did a walk alongside the canal this morning, and it was fascinating to consider these feats of engineering in a time without electricity and modern technology, that allowed water - nature, by extension - to be controlled so that boats could move freely up and down the countryside. Hopefully, we can take a ride on one of the canal boats before we move on.

I should also tell you about the place we're staying at. It's called Croft Mill Apartments, and it's amazing! As the title suggests, it's a converted mill (think Grand Designs), with a number of self-catering apartments. Ours is two bedrooms, so Ralph can have his own room, with a a shared lounge and kitchen. The kitchen is fully equipped with a full size oven and gas job, microwave, kettle, toaster, sink, pots, pans and cutlery. The owner, Josephine, also provides a full breakfast hamper packed with a range of local and organic products - bread, fresh fruit, cheeses, local beers, apple juice, organic eggs and milk, fair trade plunger coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and a number of preserves, jams, and chutney, and a whole rock melon in the fridge! Today, to top it all off, Jospehine dropped off some fresh, homemade croissants for breakfast! This place is incredible!

The philosophy behind this place is to use all local produce, sustainably produced wherever possible, supporting the local economy. It's a great way to start off the UK leg of our holiday. The downside is we don't want to leave this place. Jaime's already spotted an abandoned old mill down the road she wants to buy, and fit out in a similar style as a B&B. She reckons I can set myself up as a policy consultant, and she'll run the B&B. Anyone got a spare £750,000 pounds they don't need?