Honestly, February is not bringing the joys of Spring with it as the Dark Season continues to recede, far too much rain and days of utter changeability, and the work situation isn't leaving me with much in the enthusiasm reserves, so combine rum weather and a complete lack of gusto to greet the weekend and it looks like February's adventuring might come to an end rather early. However, recall what #hibernot means, and don't think that you have to be out all day every Saturday, if you only have short window of Sunshine due on a Sunday, go out and make the most of it, hurry out to the nearest viewpoint for an exhilarating dash and know that your entire round trip could take less than 4 total hours. So a Sunday dash it it then, to the nearest available high point in Kirklees, with a window of only 2 and a quarter hours to use, and a wholly new panorama to absorb, plus a start on checking off those places regularly observed from afar and never otherwise visited.
Honley to Huddersfield, via Castle Hill 4 miles
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| Castle Hill, from the South |
Finally get a ride out on the Penistone Line, to start off at Honley station at 11.40am beneath crystal blue skies, and first steps have me finally making headway into the unexplored territory that lies below the Colne-Calder-Aire line. First footpath takes me above the former goods shed at Honley, these days used as a local bus depot, and rising to meet Northgate, which takes me over the ridiculously short Honley Tunnel, little more than an rock bridge, and the road walk takes me to the second path of the day, which rises rapidly out of the Holme Valley, and starts to offer views back towards the wild south-west corner of Kirklees. It's a new view to tease the walker at the start of a new season, with the valley of Mag Brook leading the eye towards that familiar saddle-shaped hill that I can finally identify as Meltham Moor, and a further rise brings a view of West Yorkshire's hidden monster, Black Hill, tucked a way and not displaying its height or offering a dramatic profile, indeed the only thing which renders it it distinctive is the Holme Moss radio mast sat atop it, and that is yet another destination which needs to be added to this year's list. Return focus to the path ahead of me, and find paths branching in all directions, one of which offers the Castle Hill geological trail, and that is definitely something to inspire interest, because everyone loves rocks and historical tales of mineral extraction, well, I do at least, but seeking out old mines and interesting strata will have to wait for a day when time isn't against me.
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| Black Hill & Meltham Moor |
Having ascended around 70m from the start of the day, the high plateau is finally met and Castle Hill reveals itself, rising some 40m above the surroundings and immediately demonstrating the profile of an Iron Age Hill fort, albeit one with a Victorian tower stood atop it. The easiest and shortest approach would be from the south west corner, but I choose to aim for the road that leads up the long southern edge, and that means a field boundary walk for a stretch, taking me above the top of the clough of Lumb Dike, the valley which creates the promontory on which Castle Hill sits. When attention isn't drawn to the shifting profile of the hill to the north, attention wanders eastwards towards Emley Moor transmitter, the man-made monster of the county, which needs to be engaged soon as well, and just as I consider this to have been a mostly firm and dry choice of route, I find that the paddock of Lumb Head farm has to be traversed and the local horses have carved it up so badly that a single field takes minutes to cross. Back on firmer stuff once through the farm yard and heading uphill along Lumb Lane to find the path to the southern edge of Castle Hill, and the walkers start to emerge in the landscape, all hardy types well dressed for a brisk winter's day, aside from the guy in a Celtic shirt, oddly, and it's quite a haul to ascend the 40m up the road and along the track to the car park, to finally reach the boundary ditch on the hill, indicating its quality as a defensive site, first used around 4,00 years ago, and the exhilaration of the ascent is tempered somewhat by the gathering cloud and the rapidly intensifying winds.
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| Huddersfield from Castle Hill |
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| Victoria Tower |
I had taken Castle Hill to be just a name rather than a reality but only a few moments on the top will have the eye drawn to the classic features of a hill fort, with three distinct enclosures on the top separated by deep ditches, with a circular rampart running the whole way around the top, though the features are probably of 12th century construction, but are clearly fitted to an ancient style that didn't really need improving. Good to see folks up here in numbers, out to enjoy a Sunday Lunchtime stroll, and I wander my way among them to admire the Victoria Tower, which gives the hill its immediately recognisable feature but is sadly inaccessible for extra elevation, and whilst the sun may have retreated to render the hilltop glum, the sun still pours down to the north, illuminating Huddersfield to present another excellent town-from-above viewpoint. I'm none too familiar with this new landscape so only a couple of feature immediately stand out, Longroyd Viaduct at one end of town and the Incineration Plant at the other, and it's frustrating that I can't pick out anywhere more distant as the lands north of the Calder lack distinction, and in the direction of home, I cannot recognise anything beyond Dalton Bank. A view for the scrapbook nonetheless, but not one I'll be enjoying for lunchtime, as the wind is too sharp to sit beneath and I cannot find any adequate shelter from it, it's enough to make you wish that the pub that used to be up here was still here, but that business died in 2004 when the owners discovered that planning permission rules for an extensive redevelopment were a lot less flexible than they thought. So I depart via the path at the north-east corner and descend carefully down to Ashes Lane, before hitting the trail homeward along High Lane.
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| Castle Hill from the North |
There's still points of interest on the descending track, even with Castle Hill rapidly receding from view, like the non-Conformist school and eccentrically styled circular house in Hall Bower, and all sorts of housing styles that seem really unsuited to a life near the 200m contour, and once past the Victoria Inn in Newsome, I hit my last country path of the day, and having started out with good footing it gets more and more moist as I go, so it's great relief to get back to the roadside. Continue to descend towards town down Newsome Road, which seems to be ascending the road with great purpose, even though it doesn't really go anywhere, and judging by the letting notices along the terraces and semis down the hill, this seem to be the heart of Huddersfield's student land. From up here, the town centre starts to get more distinctive, and the Town Hall looks like a much more substantial structure than it does when you are near to it, almost looking like an Italian Opera house, but as I haven't yet made my official walk to that destination, I probably shouldn't be talking about that. Eventually roll up at King's Bridge, crossing the Colne which is looking much busier than I have ever seen it previously, and this leads us into the former industrial district around the Narrow Canal now occupied by the University, and again I'm gladdened by the survival of so many mills in this town.
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| Huddersfield Parish Church |
Leave Uni-land and find my way to the inner ring road, crossing by Queensgate market, probably the worst 60s eyesore in the town, but prettiness returns down Queen Street, home to enduring Georgian buildings and the Lawrence Batley theatre, and also the main drag of bars in the town, so it's good that this is Sunday lunchtime, and not Saturday night. A look back gives us a last view of Castle Hill, looming over the town before finally hitting the last leg, past the Parish church, very attractive in the sunshine, and along the stretch of John William Street that seems to be entirely composed of takeaways and wind up at the railway station, where the statue of Harold Wilson looks like it really needs to be somewhere else in a hurry. Check my timekeeping and it's 1.30pm, and that's an awful lot of stuff I've managed to drag out of a walk of less than two hours, but a short dose of #hibernot is exceedingly good for the spirit and I am able to enjoy my lunch at leisure before my train departs, enjoying a warmth that I have never previously experienced on the platforms of Huddersfield station!
Next on the Slate: The first 40th birthday party of the year, for my colleague LT, so a hangover is probably going to put an end to February's wandering, and to #hibernot, for that matter, but when March rolls around, that is the cue for the serious business to start again.
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 942 miles (2014 total: 28.8 miles)
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