Fenay Bridge, Birks, Almondbury Common, Bottoms, The Lumb, Castle Hill, Catterson,
Lower Park, and Robin Hood Hill.
The last walkable Saturday of the year also gets dropped from the schedule, but not because of seasonal rain, rather a projected maximum temperature of 4C gets me feeling that I'd rather be in bed on such a day, but as we still have a 3+C warmer Sunday to use before my birthday week of being NIW, so we head out for another rail replacement bus ride that seems to be a regular fixture of the mornings at present, taking us out to Mirfield for a tilt at a viewpoint as my planned finale route got walked a fortnight ago. Hop off the bus at the Huddersfield Road bus stand at 9.20am, five minutes walk away from the station, and thus only ten minutes later than a ridden rail would have gotten me out to the heart of the middle Calder valley, but as we set out along Hopton New Road the intense cold of the morning air is felt in the lungs and the view across the fields to Holme Bank Mill and the woods beyond reveals the wisps of a morning mist that has only recently dissipated, and there's frostiness on the pavements too as we arrive at Hopton Bridge to cross the River Calder. Once on the end of Granny Lane, and passing the Flower Pot inn in Lower Hopton, we find ourselves on a familiar path, retracing steps up the suburban ribbon up Hopton Lane at a predictably slow rate thanks to the pitch of the climb, as the alternative field walk seems seasonally unsuitable, meeting the turn to the main body of Upper Hopton with Hopton Hall Lane, passing the old manse and Park farm on the edge of the suburban estate that surround them, getting views over the reverse to the middle Calder as we go. Land by the long wall that contains Hopton Grange and soon come up past St John's church and its vicarage, ticking another Kirklees church off the list, and then come past Hopton Old Hall with its timber framed wings that suggest a lot of vintage, opposite the hall farm, and the arrivals of a late 20th century vintage, joining Jackroyd Lane as it rises on, past the old village school and the last suburban outliers, heading south as we come up level with the woodlands that cover the southern bank of the Calder. Pass Hopton Green farm, and the Clough terrace that sits at an odd remove from the village, and to avoid a twisting road detour, we hit a short and rising field walk between Covey Clough and Benroyd farms on the shoulder of Dransfield Hill, a choice that proves challenging as the waterlogged soil and icy covering make for some hard going on the elevation up to the B6118 Liley Lane, dirtying up the boots something proper as we take our last looks over the middle Calder for this year, territory that still needs further investigation even after 8 years of walking.
The last walkable Saturday of the year also gets dropped from the schedule, but not because of seasonal rain, rather a projected maximum temperature of 4C gets me feeling that I'd rather be in bed on such a day, but as we still have a 3+C warmer Sunday to use before my birthday week of being NIW, so we head out for another rail replacement bus ride that seems to be a regular fixture of the mornings at present, taking us out to Mirfield for a tilt at a viewpoint as my planned finale route got walked a fortnight ago. Hop off the bus at the Huddersfield Road bus stand at 9.20am, five minutes walk away from the station, and thus only ten minutes later than a ridden rail would have gotten me out to the heart of the middle Calder valley, but as we set out along Hopton New Road the intense cold of the morning air is felt in the lungs and the view across the fields to Holme Bank Mill and the woods beyond reveals the wisps of a morning mist that has only recently dissipated, and there's frostiness on the pavements too as we arrive at Hopton Bridge to cross the River Calder. Once on the end of Granny Lane, and passing the Flower Pot inn in Lower Hopton, we find ourselves on a familiar path, retracing steps up the suburban ribbon up Hopton Lane at a predictably slow rate thanks to the pitch of the climb, as the alternative field walk seems seasonally unsuitable, meeting the turn to the main body of Upper Hopton with Hopton Hall Lane, passing the old manse and Park farm on the edge of the suburban estate that surround them, getting views over the reverse to the middle Calder as we go. Land by the long wall that contains Hopton Grange and soon come up past St John's church and its vicarage, ticking another Kirklees church off the list, and then come past Hopton Old Hall with its timber framed wings that suggest a lot of vintage, opposite the hall farm, and the arrivals of a late 20th century vintage, joining Jackroyd Lane as it rises on, past the old village school and the last suburban outliers, heading south as we come up level with the woodlands that cover the southern bank of the Calder. Pass Hopton Green farm, and the Clough terrace that sits at an odd remove from the village, and to avoid a twisting road detour, we hit a short and rising field walk between Covey Clough and Benroyd farms on the shoulder of Dransfield Hill, a choice that proves challenging as the waterlogged soil and icy covering make for some hard going on the elevation up to the B6118 Liley Lane, dirtying up the boots something proper as we take our last looks over the middle Calder for this year, territory that still needs further investigation even after 8 years of walking.
