Follow the Calderdale Way with Matthew Wolfenden and Roxy Shahidi
Living North's columnists, actors Matthew Wolfenden and Roxy Shahidi (best known for their roles David and Leyla on Emmerdale), are exploring Yorkshire one walk at a time
The Calderdale Way is a 50-mile circular walking route that takes you right around Calderdale, passing through towns like Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Brighouse and Elland. It’s marked with a simple black-and-yellow logo – a ‘C’ inside a triangle – so it’s easy to follow. Most people don’t try to do the whole thing in one go, but dip in and out of different sections, using the handy link paths that connect the main trail to villages along the way. It’s a brilliant way to explore the valleys, moors and little corners of West Yorkshire at your own pace. Here, Matt and Roxy take on section 13, from Shibden Valley to Norwood Green.
Why The Calderdale Way?
Matt: ‘I grew up in Halifax, in the heart of Calderdale, and I can remember walking parts of The Calderdale Way as a kid – school outings, family walks with the dogs, and countless hours spent exploring the woodland paths and scenic trails. I couldn’t wait to show Roxy my old stomping ground and revisit some of the places that shaped my childhood.’
Roxy: ‘When Matt suggested this route, I jumped at the chance to get out there with him, Iggy (Matt’s dog) and Mr Cooper (my dog), to see what he insists is some of the most stunning countryside in Yorkshire! I mean, I know he’s biased, but I was ready to be convinced.’
Matt: ‘Ha, guilty as charged… I am biased! We’re starting in the beautiful Shibden Park. As a kid, winters there meant sledging down the steep hills, and summers were spent kicking a football around the parkland or hiring a rowing boat on the lake… and, more often than not, getting stuck in the middle until Dad came to rescue me! It’s a place full of memories for me. It also feels fitting that this walk ends in Norwood Green, the village where I grew up, bought my first house, and worked in what will be our finishing point: the Old White Beare pub, where I started as a pot washer and worked my way through just about every job before I eventually headed off to university.’
Roxy: ‘I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve heard this section has some steep climbs so I’m ready for a proper workout!’
‘It’s very much uphill and down dale for five miles, so dig deep’
Let’s walk…
So, once we’d parked up and put two very excited, energetic pooches on their leads, we set off down the steep, rolling hills of Shibden Park, passing the magnificent Shibden Hall on the right, to find the Calderdale Way link path.
The Hall Dates back to 1420; its architecture a mix of styles reflecting Shibden’s varied history. Made famous in the BBC drama Gentleman Jack, exploring the life of Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones), Shibden Hall is well worth a visit before setting off on your walk.
From the park, we pushed on down into Shibden Valley, where we found our first yellow link path sign pointing the way towards the Calderdale Way trail. After a short but steep climb up Staups Lane, and through the first of many wooden stiles, you’re rewarded with a breath-taking view across the Halifax countryside; farmhouses dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see. With cows and calves grazing around us, we set off across the open fields. Take care to dodge the cow pats, unlike Matt, who managed to step in the first one he came across!
Once through the fields, we hit a country road, and the little yellow sign told us to hang a left down to the Shibden Mill Inn, a beautiful, award-winning 17th century country pub. We stopped to sample a pint of the local bitter… I know we’d only been walking for less than half an hour, but we thought it would be rude not to! Roxy was not a fan of her first pint of bitter, and after one sip announced to the barman that it was ‘disgusting’! So, after Matt finished both pints, we pushed on.
A little further down into the valley, we hung right at a fork in the road down Simm Carr Lane. A tunnel of beech branches guided our way. With the sound of fallen husks crunching underfoot and a babbling stream to our left, we finally found our first official Calderdale Way sign. Turning right through another stile, we were now on the Calderdale Way proper.
Another steep climb out of the valley followed – a running theme on this walk. It’s very much uphill and down dale for five miles, so dig deep! At the top, with lactic acid building up in the old legs, you’re over yet another stile and into woodland once more, which opens out to an absolutely magnificent view over the valley and back to where you’ve just come from.
Turning left up yet another steep path (yes, another!), you arrive at a quiet country lane. To your right stands the imposing Black Dyke Mill, the home of the Black Dyke Mills Band, one of the leading brass bands in the world, and to your left, the Emley Moor mast; a giant needle plunged into the Yorkshire Moors. From here, we dropped down dale once again into Stone Chair in the village of Shelf, famous for – you guessed it – its stone chair, a Grade II-listed monument, dating from 1891. We took the weight off our feet for a photo before pressing on through fields of grazing sheep towards our final destination: the village of Norwood Green.
We dropped deep into a beautiful woodland valley, where walking alongside the trickle of gentle streams is juxtaposed with the rumble of the waterfalls you come across on the way to the 99 steps that lead the way up out of the valley and onto the final stretch towards our end point – 99 steps! This really is a walk for the bums and tums!
And so, with aching legs, two very tired dogs, and Roxy still with the bad taste of her first pint of bitter in her mouth, we arrived at the picture-book village of Norwood Green and The Old White Beare pub – the village Matt grew up in and the pub he worked in all through his younger years, from dishwasher to barman to waiter and everything in between. We sat with the locals, some of whom Matt had served behind the bar all those years ago, and enjoyed a well-earned drink at the end of a taxing but rewarding walk.
Roxy had a glass of red this time!
