~Slaithwaite to Brockholes~
11th June 2016
A walk from one railway station to another in South Pennine territory.
Blackmoorfoot Conduit
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
Burnley - Manchester Road Railway Station
Every so often Northern Rail and the local press conspire to persuade folk to take to the rails. Collect two tokens and fill in a form, then you can travel anywhere on the Northern Rail network for just £10 on any chosen day. A similar ticket can be bought to explore the South Pennines for £22.70 - but that does not connect to Burnley on t'other side of the boundary.
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Halifax |
Huddersfield |
Railway Stations
Timings
The 30 minutes at Halifax were easily occupied as I walked with Molly up to the town centre for a bacon butty and a brew. The next 30 minutes proved more difficult as my dog took a serious dislike to Harold Wilson's statue just outside Huddersfield station and her barking was confusing passer-bys. So we strolled around some streets and then returned, pottering the long way around Harold, to catch the next train.
Harold Wilson Statue - Huddersfield Railway Station
Designed by the architect James Pigott Pritchard and built by the firm of Joseph Kaye in 1846–50 for the London & North Western Railway company. Harold Wilson was the first Prime Minister to come to my attention as a youngster. He was not as tall as the statue suggests. I wonder where will Tony Blair's statue be, in the years to come?
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Slaithwaite Railway Station |
Departing Train |
Slaithwaite (locals pronounce such as "Slough-it" as in the Berkshire town) lost its station in 1964, but regained the facility in 1982. Interested parties might like to a look at the "SMART" website for further information. Pop back when you've read about the history of this place, we're going for a walk now.
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
This waterway was open to commercial traffic from 1811 to 1944 and restored for all our benefits from 1981 to 2001. Canals are such an asset to our landscape providing miles of quiet walk / cycle ways. The builders, navvies etc. could not have imagined their role in the modern era. A cafe - Lock 22 is right here, but sadly just the wrong time for me to take a rest. Dogs and cyclists are welcome.
Slaithwaite Mills
The walk followed the canal for a short distance in the northerly direction. New territory is so refreshing to the eyes and mind and an opportunity to get a different map "Bradford & Huddersfield" off the shelves and into action.
The Canal
Lees Mill, 1865
Here, we left the towpath and headed for Upper Clough on our way to Blackmoorfoot reservoir.
Upper Clough Lane, Linthwaite
Steady uphill pavement walk, not ideal.
Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, completed in 1876, is a storage reservoir situated near to Meltham Cop and is 832 feet above sea level. With a capacity of over 700,000,000 gallons over an area of 101¾ acres (nearly half a kilometre), it is Huddersfield's largest reservoir.
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Reservoir Walk
Meltham Cop lies ahead and above in the second photo. At the far end we found one of the conduits feeding the reservoir:
Blackmoorfoot Conduit
We followed the conduit as far as Slaithwaite Road and to a pub that was marked on the map. My plan was to get food on the way, rather than carry sandwiches.
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The pub, Travellers Rest, looked unwelcomming. It could have been fantastic, but as it is, I can't comment. Soon we were in Meltham and found the dog-friendly Cafe 33 on Huddersfield Road.
Ginnel in Meltham
From the cafe, it was down Huddersfield Road until we found the footpath sign that led us down a ginnel in the direction of Meltham Mills.
Meltham Road
From Honley, this road reaches the junction at Meltham Mills. Sadly, my route and high fences / walls meant that I could not take photos of Meltham Mills. On another day, I'll be walking in better visibility on the other side of the valley and hopefully I'll get some views of these mills.
Honley Wood
The next half an hour was spent in Honley Wood. I like woodland walks and these are ancient, unspoilt woodlands. Sadly, much of the underfoot territory was soggy after recent rains - a mixture of mud and leaf mulch. We left the woods near the disused quarry at Hassocks Lane.
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The next mile or so was spent on lanes and tracks that took us past Seventy Acre Farm, across Meltham Road, across Bradshaw Road and as far as the hamlet of Oldfield.
National School, Oldfield (now a home)
Oldfield is home to many fine houses and buildings, like the one above. There is a public footpath through Oldfield and as it splits on the south-west side, I took the route down to Netherthong, hoping to see "Deanhouse Mills" as shown on the map.
The Cider Press, Netherthong
To my surprise, en route to Deanhouse, I came across a cider producer: Pure North. I decided it would be rude to walk past and popped in to investigate.
Valley Gold
"Valley gold is a still medium cider single filtered to leave a deep gold colour with strong apple flavours." so they say. I'm no cider drinker, I can't drink cider all day but I appreciated the taste and refreshing nature of the drink. Dogs are welcome in one part of the cafe and a broad menu of food and drinks are available.
Deanhouse
The mill has gone and in its place some new homes (right of this view). Research elsewhere suggest that the mill was demolished in 1988, maybe the area is still known as Deanhouse Mills?
Hagg Wood
The walk followed the road past Hagg House and into Hagg Wood. Then over Mytholm Bridge and signs led us to Brockholes Railway Station.
Brockholes Railway Station
I found an online edition of the Huddersfield Examiner from 2014 that featured the then owner who was looking to sell the old station building. I believe the property is currently unoccupied. There can't be many old railway buildings like this that are still adjacent to the line and still in their original exterior condition (Settle-Carlisle line excepted).
Stocksmoor Railway Station
We had 30 minutes to wait at Brockholes for the Huddersfield-bound train, so after it started to rain, I suggested to Molly that we take the Sheffield-bound train for one stop to see what Stocksmoor Station was like. In the event the Huddersfield train was delayed by 26 minutes, but it wasn't raining at Stocksmoor, so I think we made the right decision. Two tracks only extend as far as the next station, therefore the train we got off (seen above) must have been held at a red light somewhere around Shepley Station (next stop).
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Train Approaching |
Looking North |
So, we caught the late-running train to Huddersfield where we got a connection to Mirfield within ten minutes.
Mirfield Railway Station
A soul-less place, but good for a connection to Todmorden - wait time ten minutes.
Todmorden Railway Station
Just 8 minutes or so to wait for the connection to Burnley, so the homebound connections were conveniently timed.
Walkers: Me and Molly The Collie
Time taken: 4hrs 40minutes from Slaithwaite to Brockholes - maybe 8 / 9 miles?
Route: Slaithwaite Railway Station, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Linthwaite, Upper Clough Road, Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, Conduit, Meltham, Meltham Mills, Honley Wood, Seventy Acre Farm, Oldfield, Netherthong, Hagg Wood, Mytholm Bridge, Brockholes.
Weather and conditions: Dull and a little damp at times.
Refreshment Review: Cafe 33 on Huddersfield Road in Meltham is a good place and welcomes dogs. The Cider Press in Netherthong is an unusual find and well worth a visit.
Take me back to the start ....