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Huddersfield from Castle Hill

Huddersfield is in West Yorkshire in England. This article covers both the town of Huddersfield itself, and also the district around it including the Colne and Holme valleys. Historically a textile town, the area is now in the process of re-inventing itself as a residential and tourist centre.

Understand

John Betjeman described Huddersfield Railway Station as having 'The finest façade of any such building in the country'. Make up your own mind when you visit as there is no better way to arrive than by train from Manchester or Leeds. Huddersfield has the third largest number of listed buildings in the country after Westminster and Bristol.

In the 1920s Huddersfield Town F.C. became the first football club to win the English League Championship three times in a row, a feat only matched by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Huddersfield can be considered a university town as the University of Huddersfield, formerly Huddersfield Polytechnic is one of the town's largest employers and much of the local economy now depends upon it.

Famous connections, past and present, include former Prime Minister Harold Wilson and actors James Mason and Gordon Kaye.

Get in

By plane

  • Leeds/Bradford International Airport. This is the nearest airport, by road. It can be reached by taking a train to Leeds and then a bus to the airport departing from the train station. The number of flights from Leeds Bradford airport continues to increase.
  • Manchester Airport. This airport is the easiest and quickest to access. It is the UK's busiest airport, outside London, with many European and inter-continental flights. There is a rail station within the airport complex, with services running through Huddersfield to Newcastle, at least half hourly throughout the day (see by train below).
  • London Heathrow Airport or London Gatwick Airport. From there, frequent flights operate to Manchester, or you could travel from London to Huddersfield by train (see by train below).

By train

The principal Huddersfield station is in the town centre and is served by trains to and from Hull, York, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, as well as a local services to Barnsley, Wakefield, Halifax and Sheffield. There are several smaller stations within the Huddersfield area, served only by local trains.

From London, you can travel from London Kings Cross and change at either Wakefield or Leeds, alternatively you can use London Euston, and change at Manchester Piccadilly.

Train times for these and other journeys can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 08457 484950 from anywhere in the UK.

By bus

  • National Express serves Huddersfield with express coach service from around the country. They serve the main Huddersfield bus station in the town centre.
  • Megabus Plus serves Huddersfield with London daily. Note that it is quicker to get off the bus at East Midlands Parkway, as it shows in the timetable.
  • First Greater Manchester serves the Greater Manchester area.

By car

  • M1. Huddersfield is served by the M1 motorway which runs from London to Leeds. It is between 3 and 4 hours drive from central London. The best junction to use is junction 38 and then follow the signs.
  • M62. Huddersfield is also served by the M62 motorway which runs east-west from Hull and Leeds to Manchester. The best junction to use is junction 24.

Get around

For the main shopping streets and everything inside the ring-road, it is best to explore on foot. Many of the shopping areas are pedestrianised anyway, and there is not much car parking space inside the ring-road.

Many bus routes run from the central bus station to the surrounding towns and villages. This is on the north side of the town centre off Westgate. Most buses operate on repeating hourly timetables up until 11PM Taxi services are mainly available from outside the train station.

See

  • Castle Hill. From all around the area, Castle Hill can easily be picked out, crowned with the Victoria Tower, built to commemorate Queen Victoria's silver jubilee. It can be reached by car and taxi, just beyond the suburb of Almondbury, and gives wonderful views in all directions, including that at the top of this article. Victoria Jubilee Tower is open to the public at weekends during the summer.
  • 1 Marsden Moor Estate, Marsden Moor Estate Office and Exhibition Room, Station Road, Marsden, HD7 6DH, +44 1484 847016, . An area of 2400 hectares (5600 acres) of unenclosed common moorland, almost surrounding the village of Marsden, with valleys, reservoirs, peaks and crags, as well as archaeological remains dating from pre-Roman times to the great engineering structures of the canal and railway ages. Owned by the National Trust, there is a visitors' centre near to Marsden rail station. Accessible by train to Marsden station, or by buses 183, 184 & 185 from Huddersfield; car parking available at various locations through the estate. Estate open every day at all times; visitors centre open every day 9AM-5PM. Free.
  • Marsden and Standedge Tunnel End. Beautiful moorland scenery and historic industrial archaeology. Includes the chance to take a boat ride into the UK's longest canal tunnel. This is possible as a trip by train to Marsden & Standedge or you can drive to Marsden. Open every day. Free.
  • Rugby League Heritage Centre. The national rugby league museum is in the basement of the George Hotel where the Northern Rugby Football Union was founded in 1895.

Do

  • Huddersfield Giants are a rugby league team who play in Super League, the highest level competition in Europe. They were one of the founding members of the break-away Northern Union who created the sport of rugby league. Nicknamed "Fartown", they were the dominant team in the early history of the game. These days, they play at the Galpharm Stadium.
  • Huddersfield RUFC, Lockwood Park, +44 1484 469801. Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club We was founded in 1909 and celebrated our centenary season with promotion to National League 3 North, the highest level ever achieved in our history,one of the oldest clubs in the world, founded mini-rugby in England in 1969. After playing many years at Waterloo, HRUFC bought Lockwood Park in 1997 where we have four rugby pitches plus an all-weather Astroturf pitch with parking for 300 cars. The main floodlit pitch has a capacity of 1500 with seating for 500.

Additionally HRUFC has subsidiary clubs catering for mens and ladies hockey, road running, squash and a bowling club that has now become a major venue for Yorkshire county matches. Tucked away too within the huge clubhouse is the Borough Club for the town's serious snooker players and we also rent out property to Fitness First plus our local radio station 107.9 Pennine FM.

  • Kite flying is practised extensively here with local council backing. The local electrical company, Npower, has also moved power lines underground to prevent kites getting tangled up in cables. This has also encouraged the users of powered hang-gliders to also use the site as a take off point.
  • Huddstock Festival, PO box 1542, Huddersfield, HD1 9LG (see website). The Huddstock music festival is held annually on the first Saturday in June, with 2009 being the 3rd event it is shaping up to be a fantastic place to go for all the family with over 70 live acts consisting of Bands, Dj's, Acoustic and solo singers, fairground rides, stalls bouncy castles food and bars.

Learn

  • University of Huddersfield, [1]. A former polytechnic which applied for and achieved university status in the early 1990s. Its main Queensgate campus is situated just outside the ring road. Follow the signs from main arrival points. A new students' union building opened in 2005 in the centre of the campus.

Buy

  • Huddersfield Open Market - offers a range of high quality goods from the continent - mainly France - and tours the area stopping in different towns each weekend.

Eat

The Huddersfield area has many restaurants of different types and costs. The following small selection are restaurants which have been visited and recommended by Wikivoyagers:

  • Fenay Bridge, Penistone Road. This place can be excellent but sometimes awful. They have a 2 for 1 deal on all year which is a big serving. But sometimes the food can take a while and isn't up to scratch, but other times its top notch. Give this place a try you might like it. It is on Penistone Road going towards Kirkburton you can't miss is!
  • Balooshai, 3 Viaduct St, +44 1484 559055. Balooshai is one of a number of excellent Indian restaurants in Huddersfield. There are an increasing number of restaurants on this small street.
  • Gringo's, Possibly one of the best restaurants in W. Yorkshire. They serve a wide array of great tasting, affordable Mexicans food. Their drinks, however, can be rather expensive though. Tip: Go for the 'early-bird' special food offers for the best deal - order before 7PM. 8 Railway Arches Viaduct St, tel. 422411, [2].
  • Laxmi, +44 1484 666555. Woodhead Road, Berry Brow. Excellent Indian restaurant. Tu-Sa 5.30PM-11PM & Su 5.15PM-10PM. Two course meal £~15 (per-person including drinks).
  • Lodge Hotel, Birkby Lodge Road, +44 1484 431001. Built in 1847, this distinguished old house had many roles in its life, was a high quality family run hotel and restaurant, with an AA 2-star rosette and an innovative menu. £~40 (per-person including wine and tips). BUT Currently (Feb 2006) is closed!
  • Mustard and Punch, 6 Westgate, Honley, +44 1484 662066, fax: +44 1484 660742. A small friendly restaurant; Mustard and Punch is expensive when compared to other restaurants in Huddersfield. £~35 (per-person including wine and tips).
  • Nosh, Northgate, Almondbury, +44 1484 430004.
  • Thai Charleda, 5 St. Johns Street, +44 1484 450159. Good Thai food with a large menu.
  • Tunnel End Inn, Waters Road, Marsden, +44 1484 844636. Open M 8PM-11PM; Tu-W 5PM-11PM; Th-F noon-3PM & 5PM-11PM; Sa noon-11PM; Su noon-10:30PM. With a very welcoming team of owners, this pub provides a good selection of food and, for the beer connoisseurs, sells the famous Black Sheep beers. Close to the tunnel end complex and the Marsden Moor Estate, this pub is well situated for a visit before or after a trip into the canal tunnel (see 'See' above) or when walking the moors.
  • The Weavers Shed Restaurant With Rooms, Knowl Road, Golcar, +44 1484 654284. Converted C18th Woollen mill - a Modern British restaurant specialising in home-grown, locally-sourced produce (the restaurant has its own farm) Voted 'Best Restaurant With Rooms' Good Food Guide 2006, Restaurant Of The Year and Chef Of The Year 2007, Yorkshire Life.
  • Azeem Takeaway, 325 New Mill Road, Brockholes, +44 1484 667471. Open 6 days a week M-Sa 5.30PM-11.30PM.
  • Gurkha Thali, 1 Cherry Tree Centre, Half Moon Street, +44 1484 517457. Every day 12-2.30 and 6-11. Nepalese style food. Welcoming and friendly, with an excellent menu near the bus & train station in Huddersfield.

Drink

There are plenty of pubs in Huddersfield, many of which get packed with people on Friday and Saturday nights.

  • Coffeevolution, Church Street - the best coffee in town can be found in this unpretentious, fiercely independent coffee shop which is licensed and open late at weekends. Light but pricey meals available.
  • Head of Steam, St Georges Square, +44 1484 454533. Popular real ale pub in the train station. Good blues on a Monday night. Great Jazz on a Wednesday night.
  • Revolution, Cross Church Street - Vodka bar from very popular chain which attracts a large, diverse crowd most nights. Outdoor area & DJ's at weekends.
  • The Vox Bar, Church Street, +44 1484 452229. Good music and good drink, young crowd. Resident DJ Friday and Saturday nights. Situated down a back alley near the train station.
  • Verve, Church Street - a slightly older crowd than Vox, with pre-club cheesey dance pumped out over the weekend. By day, it's a cafe selling reasonable paninis, coffee and smoothies.
  • Warehouse - Large pub. Charges entry on F Sa. Part of the scream chain. Young crowd.
  • Zephyr, King Street - Small, trendy. Good range of foreign beers.
  • The Sair Inn, Take a 183, 184 or 185 bus about 4 miles out of the town centre, alighting at the bottom of Hoyle-Ing in Linthwaite on Manchester Road, after the "Royal Oak" pub. There's a sign advertising "The Sair Inn". After a five minute climb up the hill you'll find this gem of a hostelry, selling its own beers brewed on the premises that can be enjoyed in a uniquely authentic, old pub atmosphere. Popular among locals, students and real ale tourists, you may become a regular.
  • Bar 1:22, 120 New Street (opposite Lidl on the ring road). Live music venue with a range of genres seven nights a week. The original and best live venue in town, beware of cheap imitations. Featured The Feeling, The Pigeon Detectives and Enter Shikari before they all went on to be Top Ten Album selling bands. The home of live music in Huddersfield
  • Have a drink in The Founders Bar of the George Hotel where the finer points of the game of Rugby League were hammered out. The bar is considered the birthplace of the game.
  • The Bridge at Longroyd Bridge. A few hundred yards out of the centre of Huddersfield. A great live music venue. Live bands Fri night and Sun afternoon. A great D.J on Thursday and Saturday nights.
  • The Riverhead Brewery Tap, 2 Peel Street, +44 1484 841270. Marsden.
  • The Rat and Ratchet at the junction from Lockwood onto the ring road has a large selection of cask ales on tap and the staff are usually quite knowledgeable. Nice atmosphere.
  • The Parish, by the Parish church - Huddersfields finest alternative/metal bar and live music venue. Excellent food and drink and a great atmosphere. Well worth a visit.
  • Tokyo, Queen Street - 'The club to finish off the night' Tokyo opened in June 2005 after a 2 million pound re-investment of a 19th-century, grade two listed former Courthouse.
  • The Live Lounge, 75 Lidget Street Lindy. Old brownstone type of building with a nice lounge downstairs and dining room is upstairs. This is fine dining at it's best with great service and well known for the lamb. There is soft music and also a great place for small parties.

Sleep

  • Lodge Hotel, Birkby Lodge Road, +44 1484 431001. Built in 1847, this distinguished old house has had many roles in its life, but now it is high quality family run hotel and restaurant, with an AA 2-star rosette. £60 (single room); £70 (double room).
  • The George Hotel, Main Square, +44 1484 515444, fax: +44 1484 435056. Entering the square from the train station, you cannot fail to miss this hotel. The Founders bar (q.v.) is part of the complex.
  • Huddersfield Hotel, Kirkgate, +44 1484 421552. The Huddersfield Hotel complex was built up slowly from an early start in the 1960s by two brothers, Johnny and Joe Marsden and up until the end of 2003 was still owned and run by the Marsden family. It is now owned and run by London and Edinburgh Inns and comprises a Bistro, Pub, Cafe and Hotel. Rooms and service varies but locals are generally very fond of the family who still run the lodge and car park across the road.
  • Central Lodge Hotel, Southgate, +44 1484 515551. The Central Lodge Hotel is run by the Marsden family who previously ran the Huddersfield Hotel complex across the road before selling most of it to London and Edinburgh Inns in 2003. They retained the lodge and car park and although the atmosphere is lacking in warmth, the rooms are new and relatively modern and the service traditional. Most people in Huddersfield know the Marsdens or Johnny's nightclub, or both.
  • The Weavers Shed Restaurant With Rooms, Knowl Road, Golcar, +44 1484 654284. Converted C18th Woollen mill - a Modern British restaurant specialising in home-grown, locally-sourced produce (the restaurant has its own farm) Voted 'Best Restaurant With Rooms' Good Food Guide 2006, Restaurant Of The Year and Chef Of The Year 2007, Yorkshire Life. 5 Deluxe en-suite bedrooms in former mill-owners' residence.
  • Castle House Farm Cottages, Castle Hill, +44 1484 663808. Idyllic holiday cottages in beautiful and tranquil countryside on the edge of Summer Wine Country. Offering stunning views of the Pennine hills and valleys. Ideally located between Huddersfield and Holmfirth in the rural south Pennine area of Yorkshire under Victoria Tower at Castle Hill, Huddersfield's most prominent landmark and ancient hill fort.
  • Gilcar Farm Holiday Cottages, Emley. A collection of three former farm buildings that have been converted into luxury holiday accommodation. The working dairy farm on which they are located is ideally situated for exploring the beautiful countryside around Emley Moor, as well as visiting Huddersfield and Holmfirth. Two of the cottages have disabled access facilities.
  • The Loft, 9a Brook Street, HD1 1EB, +44 1484 312370. F-Sa 11PM till very late. Su-Th private hire only, Live DJ's with all the top tunes.

Stay safe

Huddersfield town centre is generally considered safe as it professes "24 hour total CCTV coverage inside the ring road". In November 2007 a student, Tobiasz Minski from Poland, was murdered in Slaithwaite (5 miles from Huddersfield). Walking by yourself, especially if you are female, through Fartown, Bradley, Thornton Lodge and Birkby during late at night can be quite dangerous so if you do wander out stay in groups or get a taxi home.

Connect

Phone

  • Huddersfield's area code (for landline numbers) is 01484 when dialed from within the UK or +44 1484 from outside the UK.

Internet

If you are travelling with a laptop then you will find broad-band internet access in the rooms of most, but not all, medium to high end hotels. If this is important to you check before booking. Alternatively there are many WiFi hot spots in and around Huddersfield.

There are also several places that offer web and other internet access if you are travelling without a laptop.

  • Vox bar. Offers internet access to wireless laptop owners at no additional charge.
  • Coffeevolution. Open wifi hot-spot for customers at no charge.
  • EasyInternet Cafe. Situated above KFC on New Street. However, the general cleanliness of the terminals leaves much to be desired.
  • BT phone booth. Situated in the main square has broadband access however this is expensive and best reserved for only basic internet use such as checking emails.

Radio

  • The Pulse of West Yorkshire 102.5FM and Pulse Classic Gold 1530AM the local radio stations for the area, including Huddersfield (and the wider Kirklees district, plus neighbouring Calderdale and Bradford). 'Pennine FM', 107.9, was a small scale local radio station for Huddersfield up until April 2010 when the company went into administration for the final time. The university sometimes broadcasts a student radio station during term time from its media centre. Regional radio stations include Real Radio and BBC Leeds.

Go next

  • Huddersfield has good connections to the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District.
  • York and Harrogate both offer rewarding day excursions.
  • For shopaholics Meadowhall near Sheffield, the White Rose Centre near Leeds (bus number 202 and 203 from Huddersfield) and the Trafford Centre near Manchester are all easily accessible.



This city travel guide to Huddersfield is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.