Based at the Birchcliffe Centre in Hebden Bridge, the project will create a new permanent multi-use education and exhibition resource ‘hub’ with an education room, lecture theatre and performance space to be used by community groups of all ages. A Pennine Digital Archive will be created and there will also be touring exhibitions targeted at local libraries, museums, community centres, schools and elderly care homes.

Led by volunteers the Pennine Horizons Project will use a combination of interactive e-trails through the landscape and a digital archive to record the documents, images and reminiscences of people who lived and worked in the area.

The Upper Calder Valley – covering the towns of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, and Sowerby Bridge – is a magnet for tourists looking to enjoy its beautiful landscapes and well-known cultural and literary connections. The new Pennine Digital Archive will enable visitors and locals alike to access information about the area in one comprehensive place using the latest technology.

Pennine Horizon’s Trails Coordinator, Janina Holubecki, said: “When we’re fully operational you’ll be able to walk through the countryside and access information on your phone or iPod about what you’re seeing, and if it’s an old mill even hear the voice of somebody who worked there before World War One”.

The group hope eventually to have 20 trails and already have two which can be accessed via the Pennine Horizons website.

Fiona Spiers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “This project will bring the Upper Calder Valley alive and expand the horizon for locals and visitors alike. It’s fantastic to see volunteer led projects like this one coming to fruition and wish them every success in developing the digital archive.”

The Group’s Chairman, Frank Woolrych, said “We’re so pleased to have won this grant and terribly grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for awarding it. The Pennines have a unique landscape, a unique history and now we’ll be able to bring this to life for a 21st century audience.”

Further information

Frank Woolrych, Chairman Pennine Horizons, 07860 164 422, frank@pennine-horizons.org.uk

Vicky Wilford, HLF Press Office, Communications Manager on 020 7591 6046 or email vickyw@hlf.org.uk