Loop - Autumnal Woodland Hike - Hebden Bridge - 10mi/16km 🎃

Join us for our highly anticipated annual autumnal woodland hike at the picturesque town of Hebden Bridge nestled within the Pennines in the middle of the beautiful Calder Valley.

Start Time: 09:45am
Miles/Kilometres: 10mi/16km
Total ascent: 575m
Difficulty: Moderate
Estimated length of time: 5-6hrs
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Public Transport: Yes, train leaves Leeds at 08:58am arriving at 09:39am.
Parking: There is a pay & display car park that uses the app APCOA in between the river and canal, before you reach the train station. If full, there's other options nearby.
Payment: £1 for the walk - Use this link to pay - https://settleup.starlingbank.com/jamie-pope-b52348?amount=1.00 please put "Hebden" as reference.

There will be a Halloween/autumn-themed dress code for this walk on 31 October. We’ll also be running a competition for best dressed on the day, so feel free to get creative!

Please bear in mind that the weather may be poor (last year it rained for most of the day), so make sure your outfit is suitable for walking and the conditions.

We will try and make the voting democratic by putting a poll on our instagram and so that others who can’t make it can get involved! 🎃

Overview

Meet outside the train station. The walk starts by descending down the cobblestones next to the station. We then go under the train station and slightly up the road before veering off on a footpath into the woodland, immediately enjoying the autumn colours. It is a steady 1km long ascent up through the woodland. We do not go to the top of the hill but continue through the woodland along a farm access road, until we come out onto Horsehold Road.

Its a small ascent up this road until we can take another footpath into the woodland on the other side of it. We follow this path along the hillside, it comes out at a recently new Christian Cross with views of Mytholm and hill Heptonstall village sits atop of. We continue along the footpath, crossing a stream that the foliage makes you feel like you are in a rain forest (or in summer it does at least) and takes you back to what woodland on Great Britain used to be like thousands of years ago.

We continue through Callis Woodland and descend down a road towards the canal. Before reaching the canal we veer off onto a footpath walking by some old mill workers terraced houses into the woodland behind. There's a slight ascent (take a rest on the swing here) up to the farm road above. Its then a through some fields before entering more woodland to descend back down the hillside to the canal. We then take a footpath into the woodland on the side of the canal we are on, for a nice walk above the canal through the woods. Will aim for lunch here.

Once ready we continue through the woods, cross over the canal and then up to the A646. We cross over and walk down it briefly until we can take a footbridge over the railway. We then ascend up through the woodland to a country road and follow it up and through a farm. We then take footpaths along the hillside then descend into woodland, we may walk past the ruins of a mill but I think it may have been knocked down recently due to health & safety.

We cross over the stream in this little clough and take a footpath along the hillside opposite through the woods until we join the Pennine Way. We follow this footpath up the hill slightly until we can veer off through fields along the hillside, enjoying views of where we were earlier and down the valley to Hebden. We exit the woodlands into Mytholm and take a dirt road through the woodland here, if there's been enough rain there is a waterfall here that used to power a water wheel for a mill that was here when I was a kid.

Its then the last ascent of the day up the road until we can take footpaths through the woods and then along the clifftops of Hell Hole Rocks for views of the valley towards Todmorden. We then enter into the village of Heptonstall and can take time to explore the ruins of the 11th Century church that is here.

The walk ends by walking through Heptonstall's medieval/victorian streets to descend down into the woodland below and then down to Hebden Water. We then follow the river back through the woods here to Hebden Bridge, where we can then go find a pub for food & drink.

Disclaimers
The walk organisers do not have training or insurance. Therefore, anyone who joins the walk is accountable for their own safety and anyone they bring with them. By signing up you accept this.
Check the weather (on multiple websites) before leaving your residence.

Bring clothing & footwear suitable for the forecast. We advise you to bring walking boots for any medium or harder walk. Trainers are only recommended for leisurely and easy walks. Bring a coat just in case (this is Britain after all...) and extra layers if it is going to be cold.

All proceeds go towards equipment for leading walks, group events & trips. A percentage will go to charities.
Bring a packed lunch and snacks. Bring enough food & water to last the estimated time.

We recommend bringing some cash just in case. Especially if parking. Not everywhere is contactless yet.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the walks organiser.