Berry Brow Trail

The small village of Berry Brow lies close to Huddersfield on the eastern bank of the Holme Valley. It is the last village on the line before we reach the suburbs of Huddersfield, and signs of encroaching suburbia are present in the form of a pair of rather ugly tower blocks, which were built in the nineteen-sixties and achieved notoriety two decades later when they were found to contain high levels of asbestos, which was eventually removed at considerable expense. Despite this, Berry Brow still manages to retain the feel of a village. The area has been inhabited since at least 1584 and the walk includes the village centre, as well as the adjacent village of Armitage Bridge and Castle Hill, which offers fine views over both the surrounding countryside and Huddersfield.

Berry Brow Trail Google Map

Berry Brow Railway Station is a relatively recent addition to the Penistone Line, and is a single-platform station opened in 1989. It is a simple unstaffed halt with a waiting shelter and ticket machine. We leave the station on Birch Road and take a short detour to the right to view Newsome South Methodist Church and the former Berry Brow Board School (now Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School). The school is a fine example of a Victorian Board School, which dates from 1873 and was designed by architect Edward Low of London. After viewing the church and school, return to the station exit and turn left, then left again to cross a bridge over the railway track. On the other side, turn right and follow Wain Brow to School Lane, then turn right again and follow this to Station Lane, passing The Station public house on the left.

Turn right along Station Lane and when it ends at Taylor Hill Road, cross straight ahead and follow a stepped footpath uphill between houses, crossing Caldercliffe Road, Holmcliffe Avenue and Priestley Grove on route. Just after passing Newsome Academy on the right, follow a right-hand fork in the path, which eventually ends at Castle Avenue. Turn right and follow this to Newsome Road South, then turn right again. Just after passing Castle Hill School on the right, turn left and follow a signed public footpath across the edge of two fields to Lady House Lane. Turn left and follow this as it bends right and then left, eventually becoming Hall Bower Road.

At the junction with Hall Bower on the left, take a short detour along this to see the Hall Bower Athletic Club. Originally Hall Bower Working Men's Athletic Club, this Grade II-listed building dates from the nineteenth century. Otherwise, turn right and follow a track, shortly bearing left through a metal gate to follow a path diagonally uphill across two fields to reach Ashes Lane. Cross this and continue straight ahead along Castle Hill Side. Turn left to climb steps leading to the Grade II-listed Victoria Tower, originally named Jubilee Tower and built in 1897-1899 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee and later renamed with her permission.

Victoria Tower.

Walk round the tower, enjoying expansive three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views of the surrounding area, including Huddersfield town centre. Afterwards, continue straight ahead to the car park on the top of Castle Hill, which is a late Bronze Age or early Iron Age univallate hillfort and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

After exploring Castle Hill, leave the car park via Castle Hill Side, and shortly after it bends right take a sharp left turn to follow a footpath downhill through trees and along the edge of a field to reach Clough Hall Lane. Turn right and follow this to Lumb Lane, then turn right again. Almost immediately turn left along a signed public footpath that runs along the edge of four fields. Stay on the path as it turns left and follows the edge of two more fields, then turn right and follow along another field edge, past trees on the left (where Lumb Dike can be seen), and across the edge of another field to a gate. Pass through the gate and turn right, following yet another field edge of Hey Lane.

Turn right and follow Hey Lane, shortly passing Hey Lane Cemetery on the left. Saty on Hey Lane, and just after the junction with Castle Houses on the right, turn left down a track, then bear left through a gate and follow a path to Stirley Community Farm, a former upland dairy farm now owned by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and run with help from volunteers. Walk through the farmyard, then follow a path bearing right downhill and across several fields, eventually Lady House Lane. Turn left and follow this to Bridge Street, turn left again, and follow the road under a railway bridge.

Take the next left turn along Deadmanstone, shortly passing the Deadmanstone after which the road is named. This is an outcrop of rock through which a natural tunnel runs and has been the source of numerous folklore tales over the years. Continue past the stone, then when the road bends left turn right and follow a cobbled path downhill to Woodhead Road, where The Golden Fleece public house can be seen on the left. Turn right and follow the road to a crossroads, then turn left down Stockwell Hill, passing the Berry Brow Liberal Club on the left hand corner and the former Black Bull Hotel (now a restaurant) on the right. A blue plaque on the wall of the Liberal Club marks it as the birth place in 1859 of local artisan Samuel William Copley, who made his fortune in Western Australia. 

Follow the road downhill and over the Grade II-listed Armitage Bridge (which dates from the early or mid-nineteenth century) over the River Holme. On the other side of the river, turn right along Armitage Road, shortly passing the huge Armitage Bridge Mill on the left. Now known as Brooke’s Mill after John Brooke and Sons (who were based there for nearly two hundred years) this dates from 1798. Parts of it, including the clock tower, are Grade II-listed.

Armitage Bridge Mill.

Turn right opposite the entrance to the mill and cross a footbridge back over the river to the Church of St. Paul, Grade II-listed (as is its lych-gate) and consecrated in 1848. From the church, turn right and follow the drive back to Stockwill Hill, then turn left. At a fork, turn left and follow Carriage Drive back to Woodhead Road. Cross straight over and climb a stepped path between houses, eventually reaching Sunny Brow, then turn right and follow this to School Lane. Turn right again, then shortly before School Lane ends at a junction, turn left and follow another stepped path, eventually returning to the footbridge over the railway track close to the station. Cross this and turn right to return to the station.

Berry Brow is the last in the string of villages we have visited thus far on the Penistone Line since entering Kirklees. As we approach the terminus of the line at Huddersfield, we first have one more stop to make, in the interesting suburb of Lockwood…