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

Earlier in the year, I had walked the Pennine Way - picking up the route near to Hebden Bridge and then walking up to Gargrave on the first day, and on to Horton-in-Ribblesdale on the following day.

The route I took to join up with the Pennine Way was to head out from Hebden Bridge along the Rochdale Canal - and I enjoyed this short stretch of canal enough to make a note to come back at some point, and walk a bigger section of this canal.

Today I am heading out to Littleborough, and will be doing exactly that, joining up with the canal just past Littleborough Summit, and then walking the canal to Sowerby Bridge - where I will divert off onto the Calder and Hessle Navigation to reach Halifax.

Rochdale Canal in its full length runs from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge, but having had a look at the canal online, I was less excited by the Manchester section - and and more interested in the stretch I had planned to walk today.

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 and having an uncertain future at one point). It is quite a short canal, running only for 32 miles, but within that distance, the canal has 91 locks as the canal covers the difficult terrain across the Pennines and so is remarkable for the amount of ascent (or descent) it has along its path.

I'm here to see what it is like to walk along beyond that initial stretch heading out from Hebden Bridge, and arriving at Littleborough I quickly meet up with the canal, and head towards Halifax.

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, one at a time.

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. From here the route should largely 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 along this section of the canal.

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. Up ahead things will get more urban as we start to close in on Todmorden.

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 there aren't too many breaks between the houses, but nor is there much depth to much of the housing on either side. At least there isn't until we get slightly further along, and as the number of houses start increasing, as we pass through the southern tail of Todmorden.

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, resulting from all the effort that has been put into making the town as pleasant as it can be.

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 - but in the end (and after a few wrong turns) I work it out, and use the road to cross over the canal, turn back on myself on the far side of the canal  and then head under the road that blocks my path ahead.

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

The view from the bench

Getting back on with the walk, the path initially heads past a busy boat yard - where a number of boats are being repaired and repainted, while 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, while others do look to be a little in need of paint and a tidy up. Generally look like they don't travel very far down the canal.

For me, it is slightly surprising to see so many of these obviously lived in boats looking rough around the edges, but I suppose that many of these (particularly the larger ones) are chosen as a place to live more for their low cost, than for the joy of travelling up the river - and some have adopted the surrounding area to build a little garden (which is nice to see).

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. In any town, putting effort into make it as neat and tidy as possible, really pays off in terms of making it seems like a nice place to be.

But focusing on the walk again, I continue on and 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 Pennine Way, I am yet to walk and I mean to come back to this part of the world to walk Hebden Bridge to Edale over these hills. When I do, I'll be picking up that small section of the Rochdale Canal running out through Hebden Bridge once again.

A sight of the Pennine hills

On this walk today, I am now starting to stalk the couple who are walking in front, so I take bit of a break to give them a chance to get a bit ahead, as we are generally walking at a very similar pace - and then continue on with my walk back in quiet isolation.

From here round to Hebden Bridge it is 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 changes in direction, and so this variety is very welcome.

Some sort of former mill or other factory building

A bit more countrysidey

Not too far on from Todmorden, the route starts to head through the busier around around Hebden Bridge.

Here there are a lot of families, and groups of older people, pottering about town - and so it is a challenge to both navigate through and get photos that aren't full of people - but Hebden Bridge brings with it both the enjoyment of walking through a town full of heritage, and this negative of having so many people out and about. I think I preferred it before when I just had to listen out for cyclists coming up behind.

Some of the older buildings coming into Hebden Bridge

Heading through the middle of Hebden Bridge

Heading out the far side

But while this 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 long stretch (having passed the train station).

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

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

Having crossed over and re-joined the canal - everything has substantially quietened down by now, and we are back to just being around fellow walkers again.

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 this town is reached fairly quickly you don't get too much of a feel for the town as you head past. Instead you mostly get a look out towards the hills of Midgley Moor in 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

Having passed through the town everything quietens down once again, to restore a much more rural vibe - but by this time the surrounding countryside is getting flatter - with the canal no longer cutting through a steep valley. Instead you get more the vibe you get when 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, which is really a western tail of civilisation, stretching out from Sowerby Bridge along the path of the canal.

Luddenden Foot

Then from here it is just a hop, skip and a jump and we find ourselves passing through the centre of Sowerby Bridge, which has materialised around us.

Now passing into the very 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, and the Rochdale Canal is connected into the tangled web of navigable stretches that cross-cross England in a span that runs between London in the south, and York in the north.

Our path, get diverted off away from the path of this lock - and on the map it is very unclear where to go - but crossing over the main road there is a sign for the Rochdale Canal on the far side, and this is the link section down to the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

My route continues on via this Navigation, and here there is an immediate step change in terms of quality of the path. The attractive towpath is gone, and an in has come a tarmac and grass combo. Unfortunately this is a step down, but the towpath has been really nice to walk along for the majority of the Rochdale Canal, so maybe I have no right to complain.

This canal is busier with boats, and the walking is still 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), before the canal heads north and then comes to an end - with the Navigation route having turned off, and headed to Brighouse near the sewage works.

For the final part of my route, the path follow an old stream and then climbs up into Halifax - with the final section spent following the road up towards the centre of Halifax, before turning off at the station - to take the train home.

Cutting through Halifax on the way to the station

I definitely enjoyed walking the canal - and I'd go so far as to say that this is an ideal place for a lover of walks to live - making use of the numerous walks in the area, train connections to further walks, and then the canal for more regular daily walks. 

With train stations dotted along the route of the canal, this walk is also one that can be easily done in sections rather than in one go.

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, but otherwise I expect to return again one day to walk this canal again.

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).