Rochdale Canal - Littleborough to Halifax (★★★★☆)

Earlier in the year, I had walked the Pennine Way - with one day spent walking from Hebden Bridge to Gargrave, and a second spent walking from Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

When doing these walks I find it hard not to get interested in the trails that cut across my path - and as I walk, I will take note of these - and often make plans to walk them at a later date.

One of the highlights of these walks were the canals I passed (that cut through the Pennine Hills), and the one we are interested in today is the Rochdale Canal - which I had used to get through Hebden Bridge, and then across to the Pennine Way. 

And today we have returned today to walk a longer stretch of the Rochdale Canal. 

The Rochdale Canal in it's entirety runs from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge, and so I have picked a shorter stretch to walk, starting in Littleborough (where we have a nice handy train station), and then joining the canal just before Littleborough Summit - which is the high point of this canal.

From there I will continue on to Sowerby Bridge - where I will divert off onto the Calder and Hessle Navigation and follow that to Halifax.

The canal was originally opened in 1804, but went through major restoration - and only reopened to boats in 2002 (after going 50 years without through navigation). 

But what makes the canal particularly interesting is the route it takes - for whilst other canals, such as the Liverpool & Leeds Canal (which heads through Gargrave), seek the flattest route possible, this canal seeks the shortest possible length. As a result this 32 mile canal has a total of 91 locks, or about 3 locks per mile.

And for those interested in walking the canal, it is extremely well served by train stations. 

Beyond the section I am walking you have stations at Manchester Piccadilly, to Failsworth (by tram), at Mills Hill, Castleton, Rochdale, Smithy Bridge and of course Littleborough.

On the section I walked you then have further stops at Walsden, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge.

And so today I arrive at Littleborough train station and begin my walk towards the summit of this canal. 

The very start of the walk along the canal is a little underwhelming. There is nothing massively wrong with is, but there is nothing that makes it more special than a walk along any local river or canal - and at this point I do hope that it will take on a bit more character, as I continue walking through the day.

But, as I head towards Littleborough Summit, the first bits of old-canal-world character do start to appear along the canal.

Heading out from Littleborough

Taking the time to meet up with some of the locals

Before long, I reach Littleborough Summit - the high point of the canal - and considering that it has not been a particularly long distance to the summit, it is surprising how much ascent has been required to reach this point. But from here the route should head downhill, as I continue along the canal.

Dropping in height now

As I head round to Walsden, the canal is cutting through a reasonably steep valley - and I'm glad I'm not going through this by boat, as the locks are pretty relentless in their frequency (we do have three per mile to tick off after all).

Another lock

Either side of the canal the building are a mix of old and newer housing, mixed up with the occasional more industrial site - but with plenty of countryside between - and on the final run up to Walsden, the route has a particularly rural feel. 

Not a bad place to live I think (house, garden, boat, walk, scenery,...)

What is obvious, as we continue along the towpath, is that civilisation is very much centred around the route of this canal - and so whilst there aren't too many breaks between the houses, but nor is there much depth to much of the housing on either side. 

And this holds until we start to close in on the southern tail of Todmorden - where we hit our first proper town along the canal.

The houses very much congregate along the canal

Todmorden itself seems to be a lovely little town, and you do get an exceptionally warm vibe, with plenty of effort having been made to make the town as pleasant as possible.

Upon reaching the town, the towpath comes to a bit of a halt, and it is hard to work out where the onward path goes.

At first I make the (wrong) decision to cross over the road, and begin a search for the onward route on the far side - before realising that the path heads underneath the road that had blocking my path. As a result I cross back over once again, and finally make it through to the far side.

Here I pop out in a pleasant little square of sorts (with a river in the middle), and make an early stop of the day, on a bench under some apple trees.

The view from the bench

After a bit of a rest, I get back on with the walk - and the path initially heads past a busy boat yard, where a number of boats are being repaired and repainted, whilst a load more boats sit moored up on the banks.

Quite a few of the moored boats seem to be used as permanent residences - and some of these boats are surprisingly large for such a small canal. Generally look like they don't travel very far down the canal, and are instead a fixed home.

For me, it is slightly surprising to see that so many of these obviously lived in boats are looking rough around the edges - but I suppose that many of these (particularly the larger ones) are chosen more for their low cost than anything else. 

But others are exceptionally well cared for, and many have even adopted the surrounding area, to build a little garden.

Going through Todmorden - the towpath itself is superbly well maintained, and there is certainly a warmth around this town - even as we head on past the big Lidl. 

Continuing on, it is not long before the town starts to disappear, and the canal once again takes on a more rural vibe - as we continue on towards Hebden Bridge.

To the right the Pennine Hills rear up - and up on the top of that ridge sits the Pennine Way. That particular section of the trail, is one that I am yet to walk, and it is tempting to divert off an go explore it - but I stay focused on the task in hand.

When I do return, I will once again be walking a stretch of this canal, as I will once again use it to link up with Hebden Bridge (where I will catch my train home, to complete a walk out from Edale - where the Pennine Way begins).

A sight of the Pennine hills

But today we have no such plans, and since at this point I'm stalking the couple walking in front of me, I take a break to give them a chance to get ahead - as we are generally walking at a very similar pace.

With a gap opened up I get going again, and head round to Hebden Bridge, enjoying some lovely walking - with a good mix of wooded sections, sections where the canal has more of a river feel, more rural sections, and other sections where there is a bit of a glimpse into the heritage of the area. 

Being a canal there is not much for me to do in terms of navigation, or many changes in direction, and so this variety in the canal is very welcome.

Some sort of former mill or other factory building

A bit more countrysidey

As we close in on Hebden Bridge, the town is very different to my last visit. My last visit had been in the early morning, when the town was quiet - and a sleepy memory of an industrial age.

This time round there are a lot of families, and groups of older people, pottering about town - and I realise now that this is a very popular tourist town.

This makes it a bit of a challenge as I navigate through the crowds - but since it is an enjoyable walk through a town full of heritage, I can forgive this slight blight upon my walk.

Some of the older buildings coming into Hebden Bridge (I found a gap in the crowds)

Heading through the middle of Hebden Bridge

Heading out the far side

But while the busy section of Hebden Bridge is very busy, it is also very short - and once you get through the main section, you turn onto a quieter stretch, where peace is once again restored.

At the end of this stretch, the canal heads into a short tunnel (although not a particularly long one), while the path climbs up to cross over a road. 

The entrance to a fairly short tunnel - we head up on the right

Having crossed over, and re-joined the canal, everything has quietened down even more, and we are back to just being around the occasional fellow walker again.

From here our next destination is Mytholmroyd, which spreads out over a larger area - and which has more of a suburban vibe to it than Hebden Bridge. 

But while Mytholmroyd is fairly quickly reached, you don't get too much of a feel for the town as you head past. Instead what you mostly see are the hills of Midgley Moor to the north.

The town's name is an odd one and worth a quick note - looking it up, it stems from Old English and according to Wikipedia means a clearing for settlement where two rivers meet. So no, this is not Wales, just a town that has managed to retain its older name without it being cleaned up into a more easily spelt form.

Heading through Mytholmroyd

But having passed the town, everything quietens down once again, to restore a much more rural vibe - and by this time the surrounding countryside is getting flatter - with the canal no longer cutting through a steep valley. 

That said, the character of this stretch is particularly strong, and you get a similar vibe to walking around a Derbyshire country estate - and everything along this stretch continues to be beautifully maintained.

Another of the locks between Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge (with hills behind)

Before reaching Sowerby Bridge, the canal reaches Luddenden Foot - although this is really a western tail of Sowerby Bridge, which extends along the path of the canal.

Luddenden Foot

It is, however, a charming little stretch of river, with delightful stone houses - and from here it is just a hop, skip and a jump before we find ourselves passing through the centre of Sowerby Bridge.

Now passing into the centre of Sowerby Bridge

Here we find the end of the Rochdale Canal - and our path comes to a very quick halt at Tuel Lane Lock.

This is the deepest lock in the United Kingdom, and provides a link between the Rochdale Canal and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. 

Unlike rivers, canals are designed to link up (rivers are designed to flow to the sea), and the Rochdale Canal is connected into the tangled web of navigable stretches that criss-cross England (between London in the south, and York in the north).

On the map it isn't entirely clear where we should be going, but in reality we just head down and over the road, before we have a very obvious link down to the Calder and Hebble Navigation (follow the water and boats).

Having joined this Navigation, the attractive towpath is gone - and in has come a tarmac and grass blend. This is a step down, but with the towpath along the Rochdale Canal having been the gold standard for towpaths, maybe I have no right to complain.

But a second contrast is a more positive one, and this canal is busier with moving boats. And here the walking continues to be pleasant until after Copley, when the rather stinky sewage works starts to dominate the landscape - or should I say smellscape.

That particular section is best moved on from (and quickly), and immediately after the sewage works the navigable section of the canal turns off, whilst we continue on up a cul-de-sac in the canal towards Halifax.

Here the canal eventually comes to a halt, and for the final part of my route, the path follow an old stream, climbing up into Halifax. For the final section, I turn off this route and up to a road above that carries me into the centre of Halifax and to the station to head home.

Cutting through Halifax on the way to the station

I definitely enjoyed walking the canal - and it is a wonderful area with lots of varied countryside and easy links along the train network. 

But doing it again, I would end the walk at Sowerby Bridge, as that final section round to Halifax was not as good and added distance without much extra value. That said, I'm still intrigued enough to think about walking more of the Calder Navigation as it heads west across England.

Total Distance: 19.1 miles (15.3 miles on the Rochdale Canal)

Total Ascent: 673 feet (407 feet on the Rochdale Canal)

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 103, 104 and 109 OS Landranger maps - although the route is very easy to follow since you just have to make sure you stay following the canal (links redirect to Amazon).