WHERE CAN WE RIDE?
Fact Sheet No. 1
THE SPEN VALLEY GREENWAY
The Spen Valley Greenway [SVG] is one of Kirklees’ finest achievements, and very popular with cyclists, walkers, joggers & horse riders. It is 6.8 mile long tarmac surfaced car free, level (ish) route between Thornhill Lees and Oakenshaw ideal for commuting or leisure cycling, and as a result is a very well used facility.
It leaves Kirklees lowest point (about 155 feet (above sea level)) and skirts Ravensthorpe, passes through Liversedge, Cleckheaton and over 12 lanes of the M62.
HOW TO GET THERE
By bike from Huddersfield it is possible to ride most of the way to Thornhill Lees off road and away from traffic although it is a difficult route to follow without a good guide or local knowledge (see a later fact sheet).
By car we have found the best place to leave the car is Crow Nest Park, West town, Dewsbury. To find it, travel through Mirfield and Ravensthorpe on the A644 westwards towards Dewsbury. Half a mile beyond Ravensthorpe the road passes under a railway bridge (the greenway) and climbs a short hill. Once at the top of this look out for signs for the B6117 to Heckmondwike and also Crow Nest Park signs.
Turn left into Temple Road (one way) to the T-junction with Cemetery Road. Bear left and almost immediately right through ‘Temple gates’ and into the park. Follow the road round to the left where you will find a small car park.
As you enter the park notice, through the barrier the large building (a former mill owners mansion) which now houses the museum, café and toilets. The café opens at 10.00a.m. until 4.00p.m. most days of the year but it’s worth checking before you arrive.
To the Greenway
Leave the car and ride (gently) uphill away from the car park and through the bollards until you see a large stone drinking fountain. Turn left and descend towards, and out of, the large iron gates giving way on to Cemetery Road.
Go straight over and swoop down Burgh Mill Lane carefully negotiating the crossroads at the bottom and onto the short continuation of Burgh Mill Lane, at the end of which lies the Greenway (distance from car approx. ½ a mile).
Once onto the Greenway
Turning left (South) takes you over the Scout hill bridge (which you passed under on the way in) and down to meet the towpath of the ‘long cut’ branch of the River Calder Navigation (0.6 miles from Burgh Mill Lane end).
Where the tarmac greenway meets the gravel towpath a right (west) turn will take you eventually to Cooper Bridge via Ravensthorpe, Mirfield and Battyeford.
A left (east) turn takes you through Thornhill Lees and beyond.
Both these options will be explored in a future fact sheet, although as they run alongside water may not be suitable for the very young or wobbly.
Returning to the bottom of the tarmac ramp, all you do now is climb back up & head north for the best part of 7 miles.
The route is very easy to follow and is well surfaced all the way with assorted wayside sculptures, sign posts, a couple of tunnels, a supermarket and a golf course.
The biggest disappointment is the termination at a patch of waste ground overlooking Victoria Park between Oakenshaw and Low Moor.
Bradford council is due to extend the route northwards but as and when; we don’t know.
It is wise to take something to sit on if you desire a rest plus a drink and a snack to get you back home!
The journey back
It is actually downhill on the way back although being railway gradients you’d never know.
Retrace your route, but to prevent you missing your exit concentration is required!
Once through the double white barriers there is a ‘chicane’ after a few hundred yards, immediately after which are 2 large concrete blocks on the left denoting the end of Burgh Mill lane and the start of the climb up to the park.
Turn left, back through the gateway onto Burgh Mill Lane & go straight over the crossroads, continue up Burgh Mill lane and back into the park through the big iron gates, up to the fountain and turn right past the car then turn left through the barrier and into the café for well earned refreshments.