Holiday apartment in Calderdale: South Pennines, trails and culture

Calderdale encompasses part of the South Pennines, with river valleys, moorland and hilly terrain. As a result, landscape, waterways, industrial history and vibrant cultural venues are found side by side within a compact area. The Caldervale railway line runs through Calderdale and serves Brighouse, Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Walsden.

Landscape

Hardcastle Crags features a varied landscape of rocky ravines, rushing streams, oak, beech and pine woods, as well as upland meadows. There are signposted walking trails for all abilities, including river crossings via stepping stones and opportunities for wildlife watching.

Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve encompasses wetlands and meadows along the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Almost two miles of the paths are wheelchair accessible, including the canal towpath. Bridestones Moor is Calderdale’s first community-owned nature reserve and is considered a hotspot for rare animals and plants.

Trails

Calderdale’s cycling network connects signposted and unsignposted routes on roads, greenways and bridleways. The range extends from family cycling to technical mountain biking.

The Calderdale Way is a 50-mile circular walking route through the hills, moors and valleys of Calderdale. Using connecting paths from nearby towns and villages, it can be divided into shorter circular walks. The 47-mile Mary Towneley Loop is a section of the Pennine Bridleway and passes Blackshaw Head, Heptonstall, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Walsden.

The Pennine Way enters Calderdale at Blackstone Edge, passes Stoodley Pike and runs via Callis, Colden and the moors to Widdop. Along the water, the Rochdale Canal follows the route for 33 miles from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester, passing through Luddendenfoot, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Walsden. The Calder and Hebble Navigation runs for 21 miles from Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge and has 27 locks.

The towpath along the Rochdale Canal provides a level walking route close to the railway stations at Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Walsden.

Culture

Shibden Hall dates from 1420 and offers insights into the lives of the people who lived and worked there, including diarist Anne Lister. The adjoining barn-like hall and 17th-century workshops house a collection of carriages, as well as displays about the crafts of blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights and saddlers. Nearby Shibden Park has a miniature railway, a boating lake, walking paths, a playground and an orienteering course.

The church now known as Halifax Minster has existed in some form for approximately nine hundred years. Halifax Minster contains Anne Lister’s rediscovered grave, which attracts visitors from around the world. The Minster also offers customisable tours on historical, educational, architectural and stained-glass topics, as well as tours about Anne Lister.

The Piece Hall is the world’s oldest surviving Georgian cloth hall and a Grade I-listed Georgian masterpiece. Its courtyard hosts live music, dance, film and spectacles throughout the year. It also features independent shops, bars, cafés and a restaurant.

Eureka! The National Children's Museum offers six themed areas, hundreds of interactive exhibits and extensive outdoor spaces. At Gibson Mill, a tour explains the history of the valley and the mill; there are also changing exhibitions.

The Grade II*-listed Wainhouse Tower was commissioned as a chimney for a local dyeing business but was never used as a working chimney. It is therefore considered the tallest folly tower in the world.

Bankfield Museum has been telling the story of Halifax and Calderdale through its diverse collections since 1887. The exhibitions cover local history, costumes, art, toys, military history, jewellery and textiles from around the world. Calderdale Industrial Museum displays a collection of industrial machinery and artefacts across four floors, including some machines considered to be the only surviving examples in the country.

Other places within Calderdale include Hebden Bridge, Halifax and Todmorden.

For the higher-level travel overview: Yorkshire And The Humber.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

North Yorkshire, Rotherham, West Yorkshire, Bradford, Wakefield.