Whilst many visitors go to Calderdale to explore the outstanding countryside, there are many other things to enjoy. The area is steeped in history and filled with the character of ancient weavers’ cottages and fascinating stories, such as those of Cragg Vale Coiners or the Luddites.
To miss visiting Halifax, the region’s principal town, would be to miss the point of so much that is still South Pennine, built on the cloth trade dating back to the 13th century, Halifax is regaining its former glory as one of the country’s great textile towns. The glorious architecture, galleries, theatres and museums together with speciality shops, budget buys in the Victorian covered market and household names of the Woolshops Shopping Centre, are some of the visitor attractions.
The town’s architectural masterpiece is undoubtedly The Piece Hall, one of Europe’s most outstanding 18th century buildings. Nowadays it bustles with 50 different shops, three weekly markets and an art gallery. It is also a popular centre for events and entertainments. Other attractions in Halifax include Calderdale Industrial Museum which actively portrays lives and livelihoods at the dawn of the factory age; and Eureka!, Britain’s first hands on museum designed especially for children under 12.
A few miles from Halifax is the intriguing mill town of Hebden Bridge, where there is much to enjoy; whether it’s taking a horse-drawn canal trip on the Rochdale Canal which links Manchester with West Yorkshire or watching clogs being made at Britain’s only clog mill. Alternatively, climb ‘The Buttress’ to the preserved industrial village of Heptonstall with its stone weavers' cottages and crooked streets established on this moorland ridge, or savour the rugged beauty of the neighbouring Pennine Way. Nearby is Hardcastle Crags, an area of superb woodland owned by the National Trust, and Mytholmroyd, the birth place of the late Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes.
Halifax and the Calder Valley make an ideal day out from Leeds. By taking the train (just 45 minutes) or bus (just over an hour) from Leeds to Halifax you can sit back, relax and enjoy all your leisure time without having to worry about car parking and traffic jams.