Manchester Weekend Walkers lead public transport walks into fantastic countryside all year round.
Train-based walk
Leader: Mary
Meet Point: Near the ticket barriers, or on the platform, at Piccadilly station. Alternatively, meet the group on the train, or at the Walk Start at Marsden station.
Transport to Walk Start: 09:58 train from Manchester Piccadilly (final destination Huddersfield).
Suggested Ticket: Off Peak Day Return to Marsden £12.70
Walk Start: Marsden Railway Station at 10:40
Waypoints: Spring Head Lane, Kirklees Way, towards Deanhead Reservoir, Stott Hall Farm, Scammonden Water, Coal Gate, Slaithwaite Hall, Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Return Services: between x:04 and x:07 each hour until 20:06, then 20:37, 21:33, 22:40, 23:38.
Extra: Map is Ordnance Survey Explorer OL21 (South Pennines).No toilets at walk start or en route. Optional pub visit at the end of the walk. Marsden will be busy due to the Jazz Festival, so the whole group may not visit the same pub. For information regarding this festival, please refer to the their website: marsdenjazzfestival.com.
The large village of Marsden, nestled in the Colne Valley, is known for the surrounding rugged Pennine landscapes and for being the gateway to the Standedge Tunnel, the longest, highest, and deepest canal tunnel in Britain.
The walk will be undertaken at a steady pace, but it does require you to have a good level of fitness for a 12-mile strenuous undulating walk.
We begin with a short steep ascent from Marsden followed by a gradual ascent on Spring Head Lane to meet the Kirklees Way path. We continue across the top of Slaithwaite Moor, which offers a diverse and captivating vista of the region’s most picturesque landscapes.
Once we reach the A640 (the old Roman Road) on the Kirklees Way, we descend towards the tranquil Deanhead Reservoir and from there we ascend the zig zag path towards Stott Hall Farm (famous for being the farm in the middle of the M62) which has a right away that runs by it and under the M62.
We then will return via Scammonden Water, across fields and lanes to meet the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which take us back to Marsden Train Station.
No dogs please, other than registered assistance dogs, as we will be walking through fields with livestock in them.
Please carry plenty of food and water to sustain you for a long day. There will be no opportunity or time to purchase food at the walk start or anywhere en route.
Please wear suitable walking footwear as some of the route is uneven and will be muddy/ boggy in sections (NO sandals or crocs).
I would advise you to bring waterproof over-trousers as part of the route will be walking through long grass that may be wet depending on the weather condition on or prior the date of the walk.
