Ellhud one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 75.00% of reviewers

This is a mix of roads and quite narrow footpaths - plenty of steep slopes and some steps so unsuitable for anything other than two sturdy feet. It's a reasonably direct route, but at this time of year(late June), many of the paths are overgrown with brambles and nettles, so they are not exactly easy going. The plus sides are the views on the slopes above Huddersfield, and the part across a golf course is easy walking.

I walked this route from Huddersfield to Elland, it starts out of Huddersfield, quite urban but nice. When you get to Halifax Old Road, cross over and look for a set of steps, next to the bus stop for going into town. This part is steep, overgrown and narrow, until you cross a small lane when the views get better! When walking this from Elland to Huddersfield, look out and take the right hand path when crossing the small lane, there are two paths that come out close together.

Behind the houses is still a bit overgrown (look out for berries, yum!), but the golf course has a clear path across the middle and is easy going. At the other side, go through a wall notch next to a gate, keeping the pylons on your left. From here, you're dropping down to a road (cross over to find a pavement) and over a footbridge. After the footbridge, the route takes you on one tenuous path and then on no path at all to a style next to Moor Hey. If there are cows, or you don't want to meander across fields without paths, you can stay on Pinfold Lane and then turn left onto Moor Hey Lane - it's further, but a good alternative.

There's some abandoned something up here, and the descent after you get past it (very overgrown path) is VERY steep through woodland. Take care with your footing. Also note that there is a footpath diversion that isn't reflected on the mapping (or on Google maps yet either) - turn right when the footpath ends and follow the new path 100 yards to the east, then turn left to connect onto Dewsbury road a little further out of Elland than you'd expect. When walking from Elland to Huddersfield, this is likely to be confusing! Keep going past the bus stop, past the scaffolding place, and the re-routed path is there on the right, go right again and you will pick up the old path.

This isn't a wonderful walk (the 4 miles took us over 2 hours!), perhaps more because of the time of year made everything quite overgrown and narrow. Also, these are two places on either side of a large hill so it's about the best available route, but it's a challenge! Very steep, absolutely no access for wheels, little feet (or wobbly ones), and alternating between rough paths and roads.

The walk out of Huddersfield not the most pleasant part of the route - certainly not the pleasantest part of Huddersfield. Once you reach Cowcliffe Hill the route is better and the climb out of town gives some great views of the town.
There is one slight deviation round a building just before descending onto the B6114 but it is nothing major.
Overall a good walk.

Route works okay…..footpath from SE126 203 to SE123 206 is not obvious on the ground and may be muddy if livestock are present in the fields. SE120 205 to SE 119 206 is a steep downhill about 200m in length on grass/mud, which may be challenging to less confident users.

I walked EllHud One from Huddersfield Railway Station to Elland town centre on the afternoon of June 16th, 2021.

Once I'd walked the first mile of roads leading out of Huddersfield's centre from St. George's Square, much of the walk was an unexpected delight.

The route climbs beautiful, quiet (albeit sometimes quite steep) lanes out of Huddersfield before continuing by footpath.

From the point when I first left the road, much more of the route than I'd anticipated continued along footpaths - almost the whole of the rest of the way to Elland.

The most unnerving part was needing to cross the A643 to reach a footbridge which then crosses over the M62. The A643 (from Brighouse to Ainley Top) is not a gentle country lane. It's busy and the traffic is fast and unrelenting.

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