SID’S CAFÉ & SUMMER WINE LOCATION TOUR
The Most Famous Cafe in the World? 

Popular television programmes have always attracted fans to the locations where the outside scenes have been filmed. In many cases this can lead to some disappointment as those producing them use many tricks in order to fit the stories and it can be hard for fans to trace their favourite places. An exception to this for over thirty years has been those programmes filmed in Yorkshire of Last of the Summer Wine since these can be seen as being a faithful record of Holmfirth and its surrounding area. Even then the most that can be expected by visitors is usually the chance to stand on Packhorse Bridge, in the middle of Marsden or near Norah Batty’s steps. A visit to Sid’s Café in the centre of Holmfirth, however, is a must and an opportunity to actually enter where the cast have been seen making their entrances and (usually hasty) exits together with the chance to stand where so many scenes just outside the café have been filmed.

Making contact with Colin Frost, the proprietor of the café since 1992, elicited the fact that he and Maggie were looking for a property to open a bacon butty shop (having run one in Huddersfield and a fish & chip shop in Skelmanthorpe) when local estate agent Mike Dowling offered him the challenge of taking over the major tourist attraction which is Sids Café. It is worth noting that in the First of the Summer Wine series the café was seen as a fish & chip shop. I asked Colin about all the Summer Wine actors he had met during filming and he mentioned how friendly most of them and the crew are; he reminded me that when on location they are working hard to a tight schedule, trying to remember their lines and often in trying working conditions (e.g. sat on a cold wet moor). Colin has particularly enjoyed his contacts with Tom Owen and Stephen Lewis as he finds them very down to earth and friendly and also making the extra effort with watching fans on location. He recalls filming the cast and crew when they were doing a stunt with Tom Owen where Tom was supposed to be on a chaise-longue running away down hill. For safety reasons the scene was shot in reverse with Tom being pulled up hill by a Landrover by invisible cord; when edited it is shown in reverse to give the appearance of running away down hill. On the third take the nylon cord snapped and Tom really did run away down hill – with the crew running after him!

I asked if visitors to Holmfirth expect to meet the characters when they are in Sids Café and Colin agreed that some do and one question often asked is “which is Compo’s seat?” One fan insisted that he was the (late and very much lamented) actor Tony Capstick (one of the policemen in the series) and after trying to convince him otherwise for 15 minutes the fan went home happy with Colin signing an autograph for him!

Asked if Holmfirth will still attract as many visitors if Summer Wine ever ended Colin expressed the view, held very clearly by all concerned with local tourism, that it is such a picturesque little Penine town in its own right that it will always remain as a popular tourist centre; a sentiment with which I certainly concur as a regular visitor from the other end of the country. There is also the thought that my favourite programme could still be being watched on television in thirty years time.

Colin started the location tours about 8 years ago when he realized that a lot of people came to Holmfirth expecting to see all the locations and were going home disappointed at not finding them. He first started off hiring a coach and progressed to having his own company running three coaches. On the tour visitors get to see most of the cottages used in the series i.e. the “homes” of Norah Batty, Compo, Edie, Foggy, Roz, Howard & Pearl, Clegg etc plus many places where the stunts are performed. They also see the Summer Wine pubs, Wesley’s garage site, Tom’s allotment, the final resting place of Bill Owen and the church where Barry & Glenda were married. Visitors are also able to hear Colin’s amusing anecdotes with the film crew over the last 12 years and to get an insight into the magic of filming Summer Wine and its history. Colin gives a running commentary on the tours about the local history of the area and its inhabitants (many of whom being famous in their own right) together with the birth place of Roy Castle and the school he attended, and also the James Bamforth dynasty and its famous postcards and prominent entry into the early British film industry. On a more serious note he is able to tell visitors about the drastic floods experienced in Holmfirth and the Valley not to mention the plague which decimated the inhabitants of one local village. The tour, which also visits Britain’s tallest free-standing structure to learn of its dramatic history, enables visitors to see some of the most beautiful scenery in the British Isles. The cost of the tour at present is £5 for adults and £2.50 for children and has to be an absolute must for all visitors, fans and those who are simply curious. You have to bear in mind that the cottages used for filming are of course private homes and the resident’s privacy must be respected; Colin ensures that the tour vehicles do not stop right outside these properties. It is typical of the excellent community spirit of local residents, however, that they have got used to the sight of the tour bus and always give a friendly wave as it passes by.

If the above whets the appetite of those intending to visit the area; more information is available on the following web sites:

Sids café http://mysite.freeserve.com/sidscafe

Holmfirth http://www.area5.co.uk/holmfirth//

I am grateful to Colin for taking the time to supply the above information and know that visitors will always receive a warm Yorkshire welcome when they come to the very heart of Summer Wine Country to the especial place which is Holmfirth. 

Gerald Hayne