Cecilia Fage's Yorkshire: 'I fell in love with the Calder Valley that day'

What’s your perfect day out in Yorkshire?

A long horse ride on the moors - being up on the moors on horseback has to be one of my favourite things to do. There’s a perfect stretch of the Pennine Bridleway above Hebden Bridge, under the watchful eye of Stoodley Pike, which is long and flat enough to have a canter. I’d be joined by my friend, whose horse I ride, and we’d take a picnic.

What’s your favourite part of the county?

I love where I live in West Yorkshire so much, that I feel like a bit of a traitor saying this - but I think it has to be the coast. The North York Moors are so expansive; it’s a beautiful drive - that long winding road which cuts through the heather. When you pass the Hole of Horcum and see RAF Fylingdales you know it won’t be long before you catch a glimpse of the sea on the horizon.

Do you have a favourite walk ?

Any part of the Cleveland Way between Boggle Hole near Robin Hood’s Bay and Staithes, ideally arriving at the Cod & Lobster for dinner. The wildness and beauty of the route, and each fishing village with a unique character of its own, feels like going back in time.

Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Dr Jane Powell, President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, a former England Women’s Cricket Captain and the first female president in 160 years of the role existing. I’d be very interested to hear about her views on the future of women’s sport, the challenges it faces and how to encourage more women and girls to take part.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star would you like to take for dinner?

Lena Headey, who grew up in Huddersfield. I think she’s a wonderful actress. I loved her in Game of Thrones, playing Cersei Lannister, who was one of the best telly baddies I’ve watched. So much barely contained fury. And you’re still rooting for her, even when you’re horrified by her.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Very much. My Cobalt Chapel bandmate Jarrod Gosling is a Sheffielder, and our latest album ‘Orange Synthetic’ was inspired by Yorkshire and our surroundings here - the landscape, folklore, the people.

What’s your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’?

The Castle Carr Fountain in the Luddenden Valley. There’s only a small section of the old ruin left - it was a huge, palatial mock-medieval castle but was dismantled and the pieces sold off in the 1960s.

If you could choose something to own for a day, what would it be?

Harvey’s of Halifax. It’s a family run department store, which has been going since the 1920s and I absolutely love it. The restaurant upstairs feels like something from another era - in the best way - which I find hugely comforting. I hope it never changes.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

The combination of its wild, epic rural landscape and the buildings created by the county’s industry - the old mill buildings wedged in the rocky valleys of West Yorkshire, the fishing villages nestled into the crumbling sandstone and clay on the East Coast, the steelworks of South Yorkshire by the rolling hills. You can be on top of the moors within 10 minutes of being in the heart of a bustling town. I think the people reflect that mixture - their warmth and friendliness, cut through with a welcome directness, which gets right to the heart of the matter.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

The Robin Hood in Cragg Vale. Elva, who until recently ran it together with Roger and their daughter Joanne, sadly passed away recently, and was given a beautiful send off by horse and carriage with most of the village walking behind to the packed out church.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

I absolutely love Booth’s. Our nearest branch is in Ilkley and I could just waft around there all day imagining I’m Margot Leadbetter in a kaftan buying artichokes for her dinner party.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

Yorkshire’s always changing for the better in my eyes, through getting to know it better - though I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. I do wonder about the ‘suburbanisation’ of the countryside where I live, and whether we’ll lose some of the eccentric characters and curious ways as a result, but I hope we won’t.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

Amy Johnson, the pilot. Her achievements would be considered extraordinary now, but were even more impressive in the period she was alive.

Name your favourite Yorkshire album.

His ’n’ Hers by Pulp. I’ve been a fan of Pulp since I was a teenager, and this is my favourite of their albums - listening now, it still gives me goosepimples. T

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

Runswick Bay on the Yorkshire Coast. It’s a tiny, magical village, set into the cliffs with large, sandy beach below it with a section of flat rocks where you can spot ammonite fossils.