Hebden Bridge Walkers Action

This walk takes in some great woodland and part of the trans-Pennine Cycle path.

Terrain – how uneven
Mainly easy surfaces, but one stretch can get a bit muddy after rain

Obstacles – stiles, steps etc.
Involves one set of steps; cycleway barriers may be difficult for buggies; watch out for the occasional cyclist

Facilities
At the start and end there are public toilets, Tourist Information Centre and many eateries.

Start at Hebden Bridge Tourist Information Centre where there is also an exhibition about the Rochdale canal.

Go left past the Picture House, a listed building and one of only three in the UK in local council ownership.

Turn left taking the path through the Memorial Gardens, crossing the canal and entering the park by either the steps or slope.

Keeping the canal on your left, walk along the wavy tarmac path which has slight inclines.

At the end, walk up the slope and turn right along the road to the fine train station. If it is your first visit, take a short detour to look at the platforms and perhaps visit its excellent café.

Pass the station front entrance, go down the short incline and turn right under the railway bridge and up the short incline the other side (this stretch of road is uneven with a lot of potholes).

Pass the signal box and then bear left on to the lower track. You soon pass some sheds which at one time were the town's bakery and later the sewing shop of Clarks Cragghopper's walking gear (they specialised in moleskin trousers). In a few yards, you pass a large house on the left called Crow Nest.

Crow Nest

The path now follows the railway line through some mixed (mainly beech) woods with hillside streams crossing the path. The path has some gentle ups and downs and can be a bit soft in places.

At the end of the path there is a small incline up to the railway bridge. Turn left over the bridge going down the road towards the river. Straight ahead on the opposite side of the river you will see Walkleys Mill which was once used for clog-making and later became a tourist attraction.

Just before the river take the cycle path on the left - it looks a bit uninviting, but it becomes a hard surfaced cycleway along the river with views of Heptonstall church ahead. The cycleway is part of the National Cycle Network established by SUSTRANS.

At the end of the cycleway you will see a stone sculpture, one of many along the Trans-Pennine cycle route.

When you reach the station incline, go right along the very pot-holed road which crosses the river, where upstream you will see a weir which fed a water wheel on the far bank. The power was used by Mayroyd Mill (straight ahead of you), which was once used for textiles, later for egg packing and now for luxury canal-side apartments (a common story in these parts!).

The road goes through a stonemasons' yard to come out on to Mayroyd Lane where a couple of steps on your right will lead you on to the canal towpath. Turning left here will lead you back to the bridge into the memorial gardens.

GENTLE WALKING