Honley Trail

Honley is the next village along the Penistone Line, and is somewhat larger than Brockholes. Like that village, it is located on the banks of the River Holme, and has been a settlement since Roman times. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Haneleia and still holds an annual agricultural show, a testament to its history as a farming village. This walk is shorter than the previous few at just over four miles, and is largely confined to the village, which boasts plenty of historic buildings, but nevertheless includes some very scenic stretches.

Honley Trail Google Map

Honley Railway Station, like the preceding ones on the Penistone Line, opened in 1850 and has had a single line since 1989. From the station we walk down Station Approach to a crossroads, then turn left along Station Road. When this ends at another crossroads, turn right and walk to the filling station, then turn left and follow a path running behind this to Honley Mill. This Grade II-listed mill was originally an eighteenth century corn mill, later converted to textile manufacture. Continue straight ahead past the mill, crossing a bridge over the River Holme, then turn left and follow a path to Eastgate, passing the former Coach & Horses public house on the right.

Turn left along Eastgate, passing the former Council Offices on the left, then when the road bends left to cross the river, turn right and follow Old Turnpike uphill. When it ends at a junction, cross straight over and follow Southgate past Honley Cricket Club on the left. Turn right along a footpath that joins Marsh Gardens, and follow this until it ends at Westgate. Turn left and follow this, then turn left again to enter Honley Park (take an optional detour straight ahead along Westgate to visit Honley Library).

Follow the path across the park to exit on Jagger Lane, then bear left and follow this past Jagger Lane Recreation Ground on the left. Just before the lane bends right, turn right and follow a footpath between houses, continuing straight ahead at Roundway, to reach Stony Lane. Turn right and follow this to Bradshaw Road. Turn right, passing the Foresters Arms public house, and walk to Meltham Road; Trinity Church can be seen on the right. Turn left and follow Meltham Road to Honley Top Recreation Ground on the right hand side of the road and immediately after passing this, turn right to follow a signed public footpath (which becomes a track named Garner Lane) to Hassocks Lane.

Turn right and walk to the junction with Scotgate Road, then cross over, turn right, and immediately turn left to follow a path downhill through the woods, eventually reaching Old Moll Road. Turn right and then almost immediately bear right to follow a signed public footpath along a cobbled drive, which soon turns into a path through a wood. Stay on the path, shortly passing Honley Quarry on the right. The quarry has been a popular spot for rock climbing since at least the nineteen-sixties.

Honley quarry.

Continue pass the quarry and stay on the path as it loops round to the right and then curves left and eventually ends at Thirsten Road.

Turn right, then bear left to follow a cobbled track uphill to a junction. Turn left and then right, following the path up a short flight of stone steps and then past a row of houses to reach Cuckoo Lane. Turn right, shortly reaching Honley Liberal Club on the right, then turn left along School Lane, passing Honley Junior, Infant & Nursery School. Formerly the Church of England (Controlled) School, this Grade II-listed building was built in 1846. Turn right along Cross Street and follow this as it turns left and then right, shortly ending at Westgate. Turn left and then right again Church Street, passing the Allied Public House on the left and soon reaching the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on the right. The Grade II-listed church dates from 1843 and was built on the site of two earlier chapels. Walk past this and then turn right, following a path to St. Mary’s Road. Turn left and follow this as it narrows to a path, bearing right through a gap in the wall to St. Mary’s Mews and then turning left to follow this to Green Cliff.

When Green Cliff splits into two at a fork, follow it to the right and then enter Greencliff Cemetery. Walk straight ahead through this, then leave via a gate on the left and turn right to follow a footpath through trees, which soon bends right and then reaches a junction. Turn left and enter Magdale Fields, following the path to a bridge over Mag Brook. Cross the bridge and then turn right, following a path between the brook on the right and Magdale dam on the left; the dam was built to provide water power to a textile mill. Stay on the path, which shortly becomes a private road (look out for an empty wheel pit on the left) and eventually ends at Magdale. Turn right and follow this over a bridge over the River Holme.

Magdale dam.

Continue straight ahead to Huddersfield Road, then cross over and turn left. Immediately turn right along Hanging Stone Road, then right again to follow a signed public footpath into a wood. Straight ahead, the path passes through a long tunnel under the railway track; do not enter this, but instead turn right and follow a path up steps and then alongside the railway track to Northgate. Cross straight ahead and continue to follow the path until it ends at Station Approach, then turn left to return to the railway station.

Our next station is once again just a few minutes ride further along the line, and is once again at a small village. And it includes a climb to a vantage point that offers some of the finest views we have encountered this far in Kirklees…