Hebden Bridge walk - National Trail · Hebden Bridge Round Start Hebden Bridge, grid ref. SD...

1 The walk starts on the canal sidein Hebden Bridge heading towardsTodmorden. Follow the canal untilyou come to ‘Callis CommunityGardens’.

2 Leave the canal here and crossthe river and then the road via thepedestrian crossing. Follow thesigns for the Pennine Way, whichgoes along the main road for ashort way before turning left bythe postbox onto UnderbankAvenue. Follow the Pennine Wayup the steep and winding stonepaths and tracks.

3 At the large stone wall ofan old chapel turn right onthe Pennine Way OfficialRoute. This eventually goesup stone steps next to theremains of a long drop toilet.

4 Leave the track following thePennine Way signs across the fieldsto the minor road.

5 Crossing the road continue acrossthe fields and then descend alongthe narrow walled path, cross thetrack and descend the steps to thepackhorse bridge that crossesColden Water.

6 Cross the bridge and follow thepath uphill along the worn stonesand keeping left up the woodensteps into a walled grassy lane.Where the path enters a small fieldgo diagonally left across the fieldand then uphill along a track toColden Village.

7 Cross the road and follow thepath through the village – you canbuy sandwiches and drinks atMay’s Shop which is signpostednearby to this point. Crossing thesecond road follow the PennineWay signs climbing ontoHeptonstall Moor.

8 At the point where the PennineWay drops to meet an obviouswooden stile leave the PennineWay and cross the stile headingtowards the back of the barnahead. At the barn take to lowerstile and follow the walled lane tillit meets the farm drive and followthis down to the road.

9 Follow the road for a short while,past the car park and then take thetrack to the left signpostedHardcastle Crags. As you descendleave the track on the obviousfootpath to the left and then againleave this path down the steepstone steps down to Gibson Mill.

10 Take the riverside footpath fromthe Mill.

11 At the car park follow the roadfor a while and then join theparallel roadside footpath.

12 As the path reaches some housestake the steps down to right andthen follow the riverside pathacross the footbridge by a bowlinggreen. Follow the riverside untilyou cross a packhorse bridge. Turnright down Windsor Street andmake your way back through thecentre of Hebden Bridge.

Map reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data© Crown Copyright 2007 All rights reservedLicence number 100031673 © Natural England 2007

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7.5 miles (12 km) – moderate/challenging circular walk

Hebden Bridge round

Walking from Hebden Bridge

Pennine WayNATIONAL TRAIL

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Hebden Bridge RoundStart Hebden Bridge, grid ref. SD 991,271

Distance 7.5 miles (12 km)

Height Gain 1604 ft (489 m)with some steep slopes

Terrain A mixture of canal towpath, stonepaths and moorland

Time 3.75 hours

Refreshment & public toilets Public toilets,shops and cafes in Hebden Bridge. Mays farmshop in Colden, which sells food and drink.Cafe and toilets at Gibson Mill. Also publictoilets in Hardcastle Crag car park.

How to get there Rail and bus services toHalifax, Huddersfield, Keighley, Todmorden andRochdale

Gibson Mill - was built around 1800, one of the first generation mills of the Industrial Revolution. The Millwas driven by a water wheel inside and produced cotton cloth up until 1890. In 1833, 21workers were employed in thebuilding, each working an

average 72 hours per week. Since the Second World War, GibsonMill has been largely unused, until recently when it opened tothe public for the first time in 50 years. A ground-breaking projecthas renovated the Mill as a model of sustainable development,being run with minimum impact on its environment and it is nowused as a facility for visitors and for the local community.

Hebden Bridge route profile

www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennineway

7.5 miles (12 km) – moderate/challenging circular walk

Hebden Bridge round

Pennine WayNATIONAL TRAIL

Try a Trail ...–

Known as the ‘PennineCentre’, Hebden Bridge takesits name from the packhorsebridge over Hebden Water.The town developed in latemedieval times as a river-crossing and meeting point ofpackhorse routes.

Textiles have been importantin the Upper Calder Valley forcenturies, but it was not untilmechanisation and steampower were introduced fromthe late 18th century thatHebden Bridge began to growsignificantly. The arrival of thecanal and railway attractedindustry to the valley bottoms,but with limited flat land anda growing army of textileworkers, dwellings wereingeniously built on the valleysides, giving the town itscharacteristic ‘double-decker’housing.

Rochdale Canal - Thecompletion of the RochdaleCanal in 1804 revolutionisedthe movement of bulk goods inthe area reducing the price ofcoal by half. This was mostimportant with a greatlyincreased demand for coal tofuel a growing number of mills.1880 was one of the busiestyears for the Rochdale withgoods weighing 686,000 tonsbeing transported. Theequivalent to the movement ofabout 50 boats a day. Thecompletion of the railway in1840 resulted in a decline incanal traffic and the last loadedbarge travelled the wholelength of the canal in 1937. Itfinally closed in 1952. Followinginitial ideas in 1974 theRochdale Canal Society wasformed and the canal wasreopened in July 2002.

Hebden Bridge has seen great change in recent years.Traditional industries are no longer a major force, butbuildings have been stone-cleaned and revitalised,the Rochdale Canal has been restored, and the localityhas become a desirable place to live and visit. Itbecame England’s first Walkers are Welcome town inFebruary 2007