Dalton Bank Nature Reserve is a 50 acre reserve on the outskirts of Huddersfield. There is a free car park on Dalton Bank Road (Grid Ref SE17149 18527 or What 3 Words ///paper.verbs.drums) that can fit about a dozen cars, and that is where our walk starts from. It is roughly 3 miles, with a bit of up and down, and should take the average person about 2 hours. It can get a bit muddy in places, but there is plenty of wildlife to see, and some great views from the top section.
This walk was discovered during Lock down 3 where we decided to use our daily exercise to investigate some local footpaths, and this was was a real treat for us with blue skies, snow on the ground with everything frozen.
From the car park head up the obvious path towards the woods towards the two benches but only for a very short distance. Just after the green bin turn right and follow this narrow path through the scrub and small trees. There are some wooden board walks on this section that can be slippy, so please watch your step. You should see Great Tit, Blue Tit and Goldfinch on this section. Keep on this path until you come to a couple of large wooden posts, turn right down towards the road, then turn left, go over the road bridge and look for the footpath on the opposite side of the road between the chevron signs. This is the only road crossing on this walk, it is on a double bend so cars will be slowing down, but be careful crossing.
Once across the road, follow the path down towards the white footbridge. It is worth being quiet here as I have seen Roe Deer in the woods to the right of the bridge on quite a few occasions. Cross over the bridge and follow the footpath to the next footbridge that crosses the River Colne. At the river keep your eye out for Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and the infamous American Mink that I have seen, and recorded patrolling the river banks looking for an easy meal. Once over the river just follow the path keeping the concrete fence to your left with the river flowing down below you on your right.
At the end of the path you will come out onto Ashgrove Road which is only an access road to the Yorkshire Water depot at the end, so there is no real traffic here, turn right, walk on the road to the viaduct just before the depot gates, and find the short footpath on the left which will bring you out onto the Huddersfield Broad Canal. Turn right at the canal and continue on the canal path, passing the first lock but at the second lock cross the bridge to the other side of the canal. This is quite a pleasant section of the walk with Mallard and Canada Geese seen swimming in the water. Once over the canal bridge, follow the path uphill, under the old Aqueduct, and follow the path up to the path junction where you need to turn left which will lead you to the Aqueduct crossing.
Take your time to enjoy this section, and for the taller people that can see over the walls, there are some great views down in the valley below. You are now entering the territory of a pair of breeding Buzzards, and if you are lucky they well be sat on the top of a tree at your eye level giving you some great photographic opportunities. You may be able to hear them calling whilst soaring on a thermal high above you. Further on the Aqueduct, at the other end, look out for flocks of Long Tailed Tits feeding in the tree tops on both sides. At the end of the viaduct, go through the tunnel then after about a hundred metres look for the footpath to the right. Go over the stile and follow the footpath which has a gradual climb uphill across the fields. When you reach the small valley ignore the path to your right and take the steeper hill upwards towards the farm. At the farm go through the gate and at the T junction climb over the stone stile to your right, past the large farm buildings to your left, and keeping the wall to your left head towards Dalton Bank.
Once at the wall that separates the flat farmers fields, from the steep wooded nature reserve, climb over the stone stile and turn left. Follow this path, which will lead you to some old quarry workings, so keep away from the edges. You will come to a path that heads down to the flat are in the quarry, you could take that path, but our route keeps left and sticks to the high ground. Eventually this high path reaches a point where the ground starts to drop away, and at the fence line turn right and head down towards the tree line. At the the tree line turn right and after about 80 metres you will see some wooden steps to your left going down through the woods. Take these steep steps, which can be slippy in the wet, and this path will lead you back to the car park.
Hope you enjoyed the walk, any comments or alterations you would like to add, then please let us know.
