You are here: Home: Leisure and culture: Tourism and travel: Town twinning

Town twinning

Introduction

Where is Calderdale?

Calderdale is an area covering 363 square kilometres in West Yorkshire, nestling in the heart of the Yorkshire Pennines. It has a population of approximately 202,000. Halifax is the main town of the area. The economy is traditionally based on industry, which is still very important to the area despite the decline in the textile industry. However, service industries now provide more jobs than the manufacturing industry.

Calderdale is easily accessible from most parts of the UK. The M62 runs along the South of Calderdale with links to the M1 and M6. Visitors from Europe could use North Sea Ferries and be in Calderdale from Hull in about an hour. Regular train services connect Calderdale with Leeds and Manchester, where there are international airports.

About the people here

People in Calderdale are like the area itself: they love the countryside, enjoy walks in the Pennines or taking a cruise along the canal in a narrowboat through the picturesque valleys. The area offers great possibilities for days out; museums, parks, bike rides, climbing, hiking, shopping and stunning views to admire. Then, after an exciting, busy day or a leisurely one, the people of Calderdale like to eat out in small individual restaurants or have a cup of tea and meet with friends.

The main thing about the people of Calderdale is that they are extremely warm, friendly and welcoming and they like to meet people from other areas and other countries, learn about them and bring them to Calderdale to introduce the area to them.

History of twinning

After the Second World War, Halifax established the first foreign Twin Link in Calderdale. In 1949, Halifax Borough Council set up an official link with the city of Aachen in Germany. The following year, in 1950, the link between Brighouse and Lüdenscheid, Germany was formed.

Further links were developed between Elland and Riorges, France (1978), Calderdale and County Mayo, Ireland (1990), Calderdale and Strakonice, Czech Republic (1992), Calderdale and Musoma, Tanzania (1992) and finally Calderdale and Halifax, Nova Scotia (1994).

There is a second set of links in Calderdale. Todmorden Town Council is twinned with Roncq in France and Bramsche in Germany and Hebden Bridge and District International Group is twinned with St. Pol sur Ternoise in France and Warstein in Germany. All four of these partnerships continue to thrive.

What twinning means for us all

The civic twin links are permanent links. They consist of civic ties between Councils, which involves a rolling programme of inward and outward civic (Mayoral) visits.

Most importantly, the twin links are links between ordinary people in Calderdale and overseas. Individuals and groups regularly take part in exchange visits, stay with friends and families abroad or in Calderdale and learn about the foreign country and the lives of ordinary people there. People of all ages and occupations, including school exchanges, sports clubs, music groups, families and individuals take part in twinning programmes and activities.

Friendships formed through twin links can last a lifetime and provide a wealth of opportunity to experience different countries, their cultures, languages and activities for everyone involved.

back to top