Canal ride, Hebden Bridge

[steve50]

Had a ride along the canal yesterday, was the first ride out on my Raleigh Pioneer.
The bike rode a treat and handled the rough bits very well but I really need to get the mudguards fitted as by the time I got home i was covered in dried mud.
My son in law accompanied me on the ride (his first time riding the towpaths) we did approximately twenty six miles with a cake stop at Hebden bridge, the cafe is right at the side of the canal and sells lovely cake, a choice of coffees as well as a good range of electric bikes which was something of a surprise for us. We didn't expect to find a cafe at the side of a canal selling bikes of any description.
I know it was a bank holiday yesterday and the sunshine was more than welcome but the towpaths were like a cycle super highway, i've never seen so many bikes in one day. We stopped at the cafe and chatted to a couple of fellow cyclists who were riding electric bikes and they gave us a bit of a good natured gentle ribbing over the fact we were riding "old fashioned" pedal bikes (anyone on here) .

 

[Globalti]

Towpath riding is pleasant and flat but I find the need to give way to pedestrians a hindrance to steady progress; I've tried using a bell but older walkers sometimes can't hear it. I used to ride that stretch just as a means of joining up bits of ride but wouldn't use it for a long trip.

 

[ColinJ]

Between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, the canal and towpath are still closed for repairs needed after severe damage caused by the Boxing Day floods. The HB end has been reopened but work continues at this end.

 

[Starchivore]

It's a nice place for a cycle, definitely. My girlfriend is "re-learning" to ride and we've been using the canal path for that. You do have to be prepared to announce yourself to pedestrians every few hundred meters though.

The cafe is great- they used to do normal bikes too but recently switched to electric only.

 

[Svendo]

Just west of Shaw Wood Rd. (The most easterly route up to Lumbutts and Mankinholes) the canal is filled in temporarily to allow machinery access to repair the land slip there.
Here it is on google maps, can't link to the streetview from google app on the phone. And while I'm at it they don't tell you which way you're facing on the app streetview which is infuriating if you can't work it out.

 

[steve50]

Between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, the canal and towpath are still closed for repairs needed after severe damage caused by the Boxing Day floods. The HB end has been reopened but work continues at this end.

thanks for that , we are planning to ride the towpath through to Hollingworth lake so looks like we may have to detour onto the road at one or two points, my son in law wants eventually to cycle the towpaths all the way through to Manchester (his home town) but he needs to break his sit bones in first.

 

[Starchivore]

thanks for that , we are planning to ride the towpath through to Hollingworth lake so looks like we may have to detour onto the road at one or two points, my son in law wants eventually to cycle the towpaths all the way through to Manchester (his home town) but he needs to break his sit bones in first.

It's not too bad (or wasn't last time I went that way). You have to come off a couple of times but then if you just follow along on the road and keep an eye out for the next chance to get back on the canal then you shouldn't have more than a few minutes on the road.

 

[ColinJ]

It is definitely still closed by the canalside mill at Woodhouse Road. I went up that road last night and was looking down at the canal to see what was going on down there.

@amasidlover did a long ride along the towpath recently - report HERE.

 

[ColinJ]

thanks for that , we are planning to ride the towpath through to Hollingworth lake so looks like we may have to detour onto the road at one or two points, my son in law wants eventually to cycle the towpaths all the way through to Manchester (his home town) but he needs to break his sit bones in first.

My stepdaughter and her mum (my ex) want to do that. They are going to come here by train and just do Tod-Littleborough, the Hollingworth Lake loop and then Littleborough-Tod. There is a cafe halfway round the lake, which be a good place to stop for a break. They are not really cyclists so that would probably be far enough for them - about 15 miles in total, but almost flat.

 

[Starchivore]

It is definitely still closed by the canalside mill at Woodhouse Road. I went up that road last night and was looking down at the canal to see what was going on down there.

@amasidlover did a long ride along the towpath recently - report HERE.

My parents live near there. It's looked dredged and pretty terrible for a while now, I wonder when they are going to have it done.... must be annoying for the people living in the mill apartments (off topic but- don't those apartments look swanky?)

 

[Svendo]

My parents live near there. It's looked dredged and pretty terrible for a while now, I wonder when they are going to have it done.... must be annoying for the people living in the mill apartments (off topic but- don't those apartments look swanky?)

The one I've been in had storage heaters (I.e. Bloody useless) and on the ground floor so had damp issues. So it was either boiling or freezing and you had little control over which. Lovely location though, and there's tons of wild garlic in the Clough up the road from there, just past the fishing pond.

 

[Starchivore]

The one I've been in had storage heaters (I.e. Bloody useless) and on the ground floor so had damp issues. So it was either boiling or freezing and you had little control over which. Lovely location though, and there's tons of wild garlic in the Clough up the road from there, just past the fishing pond.

Ah, that doesn't sound too great. I've always though from passing and peeking through the ground floor apartments' windows that they look really nice. Damp issues are a real pain, two places we rented in Hebden had that- one so bad that we actually had to move.

Yes, it is a great location. A nice little walk up to the Top Brink and some fantastic views there, and the pike.

 

[ColinJ]

My parents live near there. It's looked dredged and pretty terrible for a while now, I wonder when they are going to have it done.... must be annoying for the people living in the mill apartments (off topic but- don't those apartments look swanky?)

The apartments do look nice. Especially when you think that the mill had been badly damaged in a fire and was derelict before being saved by 'the axeman'.

The one I've been in had storage heaters (I.e. Bloody useless) and on the ground floor so had damp issues. So it was either boiling or freezing and you had little control over which. Lovely location though, and there's tons of wild garlic in the Clough up the road from there, just past the fishing pond.

Ah - I was looking at the lower wall of the building and thought it looked damp. Let's face it - it sits in a canal, so that is not surprising. I had assumed that there would be some sophisticated 'tanking' system inside to deal with it.

 

[Starchivore]

The apartments do look nice. Especially when you think that the mill had been badly damaged in a fire and was derelict before being saved by 'the axeman'.


Ah - I was looking at the lower wall of the building and thought it looked damp. Let's face it - it sits in a canal, so that is not surprising. I had assumed that there would be some sophisticated 'tanking' system inside to deal with it.

I didn't know that. I used to play football at Woodhouse pitch with friends when younger, but that was after 2004, before then I probably didn't go there much or at all so I don't think I've seen what it used to be like.

It's a great building, and part of the great view when coming in to Tod on the train from Hebden way.

 

[ColinJ]

You can see the rising damp in this photo (source) ...

Swanky mill:

Manky mill (source):