Meltham and Wilshaw Nr Huddersfield

After recent visits to the interesting Holme Valley, I looked a little further north for today’s walk.

Today was a short interlude between Storms Dudley and Eunice, but still a very blowy day! I chose not to go too high, nor too far.

This 6.5 mile walk included a total ascent of 1060feet (320m). It took 2hours 45 minutes, plus a 15 minute lunch break.

It was not just windy, there were occasional blustery showers of rain and sleet, but fortunately they were all short-lived!

Meltham is a 55 minute drive from Cheadle Hulme.

There are plenty of sections where dogs can get a good run on this route, but also about a mile and a half from Wilshaw to Harden Hill on a road and across a sheep pasture.

Parking on the street is no problem. Use postcode HD9 4DJ.

The walk is on OS Explorer Map 288.

Greasy Slack Wood and Meltham Mills Reservoir

A short walk up a road and along a track by some industrial units and a newly built restaurant led me into this delightful wood.

The path climbed up to a disused quarry.

The sun came out for the only time today!

I continued on past the golf course, with view across to Meltham Mills Reservoir.

A long track led up to a B road near Wilshaw Manor House.

Wilshaw to Harden Clough

The next section involved a long straight uphill road, but there was a nice seat half way along with views across to Huddersfield, and some Highland cattle, which are always a lovely sight.

Near the junction with Thick Hollins Lane, a large mixed flock of birds was feeding alongside the sheep. I could distinguish black headed gulls, starlings, jackdaws and lapwings.

After negotiating several fields of sheep, I arrived at Harden Hill. Harden Hill Road is in fact just a track. Heading down, I enjoyed lovely views to the north.

Harden Clough

The path off to the clough was easily found, and after crossing a field, I was struck by the bronzed landscape of 2021’s fern crop!

As I made my way towards the wood I noticed that something had been here before me. No idea what though!

The path along the clough is about 40 feet above the stream, narrow, and not for the faint-hearted! I loved it here.

It was also very sheltered from the strong wind, so I stopped here for lunch.

After lunch, I emerged at Wood Cottage, which was undergoing an extensive renovation.

Harden Moss Road

This is a track, and had a couple of unusual points of interest. The first seemed to be a sports stand with a central glass fronted raised shed, overlooking a non-descript field.

After some head-scratching, I remembered seeing a sign before I’d reached Wood Cottage warning that clay pigeon shooting takes place each Sunday morning. I think this may be where it happens.

I also saw another flock of birds, mainly gulls feeding on a muddy stretch of field, adjacent to an area with (I think) turnips in, which looked ready for harvest.

This remained a mystery!

I quickly progressed down the track now, as the weather seemed to be closing in.

Meltham Pleasure Grounds

Arriving back on the outskirts of the small town of Meltham, the stream which had begun at Harden Clough had become a small river. The path alongside it is grandly titled!

I imagined that it would have been quite a splendid spot for a bit of promenading in bygone times. It’s still very picturesque today.

I really enjoyed this walk, and it had a few surprises. I’d certainly love to return to Harden Clough in spring or summer.

And Finally…..

This week, I’ve enjoyed listening to Joss Stone’s new album, Never Forget My Love. This is the very soulful “You’re My Girl”