Sadly,Madly,Bradly 20th Anniversary.

[Douglas Enwright]

Sorry. I haven’t been on here this last week or so,things have been very busy this last week,and continue to be so for the next week or so,but I managed to fit a walk in.
All the photos on this thread were taken on the same walk,starting at Holmfirth,then driving to the free car park at the National Trust in Marsden,a walk around Marsden,then along the canal to Standedge Tunnel,then past Hey Green to the Eastergate Bridge and Marsden moor,then along the Huddersfield Narrow canal to Slaithwaite,pronounced Slawitt by the locals,and back to the car.
Thursday the 3rd of March 2022 will be 20 years exactly since Sadly,Madly,Bradly was first aired,and I’m going to follow in their footsteps to see what’s changed,it’s one of my favourite episodes,would love to have seen mor of Bradley,played brilliantly by Gordon Langford-Rowe who was a schoolteacher for 30 years before he took up acting.
We start off at the weir in the centre of Marsden,Billy is there and along comes Truly,a perfect opportunity to have a moan about his miserable brother in law.
Its off Station road in Marsden.
Billy:Tha used to be married Truly,did she have a brother ?
Truly: No she was the only one,they took one look and cancelled all future plans
Billy: Mine has a brother,fair enough you can’t argue with that,but she lets him stay,and guess who’s supposed to entertain him
Truly: Is there a problem ?
Billy: Tha must be joking,it’s like babysitting a lump of wood,I don’t know what you have to do to raise a giggle,get run over or summat,he never smiles
Truly: Got being miserable down to a fine art has he ?

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Auntie at Aunties shop on Oliver Lane in Marsden,she’s about to wave the unsuspecting Wesley down and hire him to move an inflatable trough-a dingy,Aunties is a house now,walking around Marsden you would never know so many scenes were filmed here
Auntie waves Wesley down
Wesley: I’m not buying,our Edie does all that
Auntie: I’m not selling,calm yourself man,I can’t stand grown men going to pieces
Wesley :Not selling ? Is this some kind of trick ?
Auntie: I need to borrow you for a few hours,I’m negotiating with a farmer,a terrible mean old person
Wesley: Well that’ll be a duel worth seeing

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Bradley makes his first appearance,he’s outside the cafe looking thoroughly miserable and won’t go in,it’s Sid’s cafe of course on Towngate in Holmfirth,but this is the view from the cafe door,looking at the spot Bradley was stood at.
Billy: Come in Bradly
Bradly: I’ll wait out here,looks like a salmonella shop to me
Ivy: What did he say ! he’d better wait outside,if he comes in here I shall hit him with my brush,where did you get him ?
Billy: He came with the wife,it was part of a package deal
Ivy: I’v seen more desirable packaging

 

[Douglas Enwright]

This is a lovely little spot,they filmed a few scenes here,including when they first spot the bottle in Follow that Bottle,it’s on The Green in Marsden,a hundred yards from the weir,Bradly won’t join them on the grass,in case he gets wet.
Truly: Bradly,what’s that about not getting wet ?
Bradly: I’v seen it before,next thing you know it’s a chill and Bingo
Truly: Bingo ?
Bradly: There you are in a coffin
Billy: I told you,a laugh a minute
Truly: What do you do for amusement Bradly ?
Bradly: Amusement ? I read a lot,about what wiped out the dinosaurs,about meteorites colliding with the earh,super powerful volcanoes,the end of the world,stuff like that
Truly: I understand he’s her brother,but does your missis still manage to love this person ?
Billy: Aye,it’s me she’s not sure about

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Here the group go for a walk,to Hey Green just past Standedge tunnel,Truly,Cleggy and Billy are up the tree while Bradly sits at the base of it,it’s alongside Waters road at Hey Green,I immediately knew it was this tree,I know Waters road very well and you get a brief glimpse of it before the camera pans to the tree,it all looks a lot nicer in the summer.
Billy: You can see for miles,great view from up here Brad
Bradly: It’s just hills and stuff,you’re alright coming down but ups a beggar
Cleggy: Well that takes care of landscapes
Truly: What do you do at home Bradly,for fun ?
Bradly: Fun ? we‘re on a boiling rock in the middle of nowhere,and the sun’s going to die in about 500 million years,you think it’s the kind of place to be having fun ?

 

[Douglas Enwright]

This is Hey Green,near Standedge tunnel and halfway to the Eastergate bridge,here they are throwing stones in the river as Bradley watches on,it looks a little bleak in February/March but in the summer it will look lush and green and beautiful.
Bradly: How long are we going to hang about here ?
Truly: Look around you Bradly,the scenery,the beauty
Cleggy: People come from miles just to leave their litter
Bradly: You know what you’ve got here don’t you,huge amounts of territory being wasted on nothing happening
Cleggy: Well,if you will wipe out all the dinosaurs !

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Tom and Smiler arrive on their inflatable trough
Truly: Don’t let Smiler get with Bradly,the two of them together could depress the global economy

 

[Douglas Enwright]

The group try and retrieve the dinghy that was let loose,it’s at Hey green a little further downstream,near the spot where they built the fake bridge that was in a few episodes
Bradley: This is the peak of excitement as well,stood here looking at a rubber thing

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Barry appears at the scene,in disguise,to meet Marina,followed by Howard coming through the stile,this area was always identifiable because of the distinct mounds of little hills,but nature is reclaiming them and they are becoming less obvious,we’re still at Hey Green,it’s a longer shot of the gateway Howard is coming through,to see more of the area

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Walking around on my walk I came across quite a few locations,this one reminded me of this great little exchange between Marina and Herman Teasdale,who was trying to get hold of Tom,it’s in Victoria park in Holmfirth,Christopher Beeney was just credited as The collector
Herman: You could understand this place better if it had a great big wall round it,I’ll bet he’s not dead (having just been told by Tom that Simmonite was dead)
Marina: I never thought he was,just a little slow at starting
Herman: I’m sorry,I didn’t realise I was speaking out loud
Marina: No need to apologise,I’v grown accustomed to the odd ways of men
Herman: Well they‘re certainly an odd lot round ere
Marina: Have you had a bad experience ?
Herman: Yes thankyou ( coughs,looks Marina up and down) I’v no time for another
I’m looking for someone
Marina: Aren’t we all (touches up hair at back of head)

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Here’s the Methodist Church as it is today,used as the library,it’s on Market street in Holmfirth

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Here in Slaithwaite,on Church street,is the real life funeral parlour that was used when Compo was at rest there,the area with the arched bridge in the background had been used in several scenes,in this scene Billy is walking here with Truly in Mervyn would be proud.

 

[Douglas Enwright]

This is Carr Lane in Slaithwaite,used in many scenes,the tailors that Barry visits is straight across

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Walking along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Marsden to Slaithwaite I was reminded of several scenes filmed here from The Swan Man of Ilkley,another of my favourite episodes,this is the lock at the beginning of the episode where Alvin,Truly and Cleggy are resting,it’s a beautifully tranquil area

 

[Douglas Enwright]

This is the area of water,near the lock,where Lennie was first seen on his swan,in need of a bicycle repair kit

 

[Douglas Enwright]

The little bridge by the canal that they all walk along

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Back at Marsden and this is Clough Lea,I’v seen a few scenes filmed here,I remember Truly and Billy skating down here on roller skates,and the hall on the left was used in several episodes,including Happy anniversary Gough and Jessie

 

[Douglas Enwright]

This is the Railway pub in Marsden,used in a few episodes,I remember In which Howard gets double booked where it was used,and when Barry was being taught by Truly how to be more assertive,and told the man in the car he couldn’t park there

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Walking along Hey Green to Marsden moor and you come across our lovely Eastergate bridge used in the show for many years,I love it here,every time I visit I am usually the only one there

 

[Douglas Enwright]

Next to Eastergate bridge is the area where they filmed A brief excursion in the fast lane,amongst others