Hollan one

Verified Slow Way

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Each of my 11 photos is explained and numbered in Tansy Hepton's review.

A fine walk with plenty of great views (photos in separate review by Pete Belsey). Some 5 star sections.

The first few miles are almost all on roads, but these are quiet and felt perfectly safe. Leave Holmfirth on Dunford Road, then turn down Dover Lane. This ends at some new build houses and it does feel as if you are going up someone’s drive (photo 1), but keep on the road and the footpath becomes clear.

The path connects through to Green Lane, then Rich Gate and (turning hard right) Choppards Bank Road and Cote Lane. The views across the valley are particularly lovely on this stretch (photo 2).

Take the track off the road around the top of Holme Styes reservoir (photo 3) and follow the footpath and then dirt road up through the conifers of Holme Styes Wood (photo 4).

Turn left and go along the road for a short while before heading right (photo 5), into and across the moor towards the reservoirs (photo 6) – there are plenty of paths to choose from, depending on weather and conditions underfoot. There’s another short stretch of road before turning down to the Winscar Reservoir car park. Start heading away from the reservoir before reaching the dam, enjoy the views of the dam and lake (photo 7) and then walk down the road into Dunford Bridge.

We found the next couple of miles rather a trudge, along the flat ex-railway line Trans-Pennine Way (photo 8). It’s very accessible, of course, with a good surface for wheels, but there’s not much to see for walkers (apart from the brightly painted Book Box – and bench – with mostly children’s books inside).

Keep an eye out for the turn-off point, up steps (or, a bit earlier, up a sloping path) and over the bridge to enter another patch of moorland. This was a lovely quiet and peaceful section, but make sure you keep to the path as parts of the moor are closed off at certain times to protect nesting birds (photo 9).

Cross the busy Manchester Road (A628) and into woodland (photo 10) that meets the top end of Langsett Reservoir. There are a number of footpaths, so keep an eye on the route map. It suggests staying on the upper path above the reservoir (photo 11), but you can drop down into the woods nearer to the shore if you prefer.

There’s a great cyclists/walkers café at Langsett – recommended!.

A good route! Nice views and a mix of hill, moor, and reservoir. Four rather than five stars because there are a couple of road sections, but they're all quite quiet and felt safe and most have nice views. There's one busy road crossing (the A628), but that's probably unavoidable and it's not too difficult a spot for it.

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