An hour's drive from three of northern England's biggest cities sits a small market town that punches well above its weight. Todmorden, straddling the River Calder about 20 miles east of Blackburn and just over 30 miles west of Leeds, has swapped its cotton-mill past for Victorian architecture, independent shops, and a surprising amount of free food — the town grows fruit and vegetables in public gardens for anyone to pick.

The market is the headline act. Todmorden Market Hall, a 19th-century building with a glass ceiling, was named Britain's Best Small Indoor Market in 2018 and opens six days a week with more than 40 stalls covering local meat, cheese, books, flowers and coffee. Next door, the outdoor market has been trading since 1802, running five days a week with upwards of 70 stalls. Thursday is the day for rummagers — second-hand goods, crafts, upcycled fabrics and wax melts take over.

Families are well catered for at Centre Vale Park, which packs in a skate park, tennis courts, football pitches, lawn bowls, cycle paths and a playground with a zip wire. There's a sports centre with a pool and sauna, oak and beech woodland around the edges, and a steel sculpture known as the Lucky Dog that's said to bring fortune to those who pat it.

The real draw, though, is what surrounds the town. Todmorden sits where three valleys meet in the South Pennines, and the walking options stack up fast. A 10-minute drive gets you to Todmorden Moor and a 2.6-mile circular route with wide views over fields and hills, or to Bridestones Moor, where weathered gritstone formations resemble faces and creatures — the largest, the Great Bridestone, stands about 15 feet tall. Keen walkers can take on the 20-mile Todmorden Centenary Way, loop the 50-mile Calderdale Way past medieval settlements and the 100-foot Stoodley Pike monument, or simply follow the 3-mile Town Trail past the Grade I-listed Town Hall. Birdwatchers should keep an eye on the sky for birds of prey over Bridestones.

Getting there is easy: under an hour by car from Blackburn, Leeds or Manchester, or around 30 minutes on the Northern rail line from Manchester or Blackburn, an hour from Leeds. For an overnight stay there's Lindores Bed & Breakfast or The Queens Hotel, set in a historic building. Huddersfield, with its canal-side trails, is a reasonable add-on about 25 miles away.

Todmorden suits travellers who want a low-cost countryside base with genuine local character — proper markets, moorland hikes and a town small enough to walk end to end, all within easy reach of Manchester and Leeds.