New Walk@Work Information Boards Erected in Mytholmroyd

Welcome to Mytholmroyd Walkers' Action

Welcome to the web site of Mytholmroyd Walkers' Action (MWA). We hope you enjoy discovering for yourself the beautiful south Pennines countryside in our area of Yorkshire. We are a community organisation, initially part of Hebden Bridge Walkers' Action, but becoming an independent group in November 2008. We launched our first initiative of three waymarked walks, all setting off from Mytholmroyd station, on September 29th 2007. We are now a membership organisation, with the aim of raising money from individual and business subscriptions to fund future initiatives.

We hope you enjoy our web site and the walks described here. Our aims are to:

Encourage more walkers, walking more.
Ensure public rights of way and footpaths are kept open.
Make walking more attractive to a wider range of residents.
Encourage more visitors to make Mytholmroyd a walkers' destination.
Encourage more journeys to be undertaken by foot, rather than private car use.
Work with other partners/providers to promote walking for a healthy lifestyle.

Since its formation in 2007, Mytholmroyd Walkers' Action has:

Developed three waymarked walks, all starting from Mytholmroyd station.
Erected two information boards illustrating these circular routes.
Produced Mytholmroyd: three waymarked walks leaflet for sale at 50p each.
Become a Walkers are Welcome town.
Developed a Hughes on the Hills walk for the Ted Hughes' festival.
Worked with the Elmet Trust, Royd Regeneration, Calderdale Countryside Service, Mytholmroyd Station Partnership, and Calder Future.
Contributed to the Walkers are Welcome Advisory Group for the Upper Calder Valley.
Developed short Walk@Work lunchtime routes from Mytholmroyd's major employment centres.

Walkers are Welcome

One of the first initiatives of nearby Hebden Bridge Walkers' Action was an accreditation scheme for towns that welcome walkers. Hebden Bridge, with Mytholmroyd, had the accolade of Britain's first Walkers are Welcome town. Mytholmroyd became a Walkers are Welcome town in its own right in September 2007. You will see Walkers are Welcome Here stickers in Mytholmroyd's pubs, cafes and shops.

Waymarking

A major initiative has been the development of three waymarked routes from Mytholmroyd station. These walks are all circular but vary in length and difficulty. The easiest is to Wood Top, a former weaver's hamlet; the second explores Scout Rock, a well known local landmark; and a longer more difficult walk includes hills and moorland, visiting a famous local standing stone known as Churn Milk Joan. Links to details of these walks are listed on the left. Printed guides to these walks are also available locally (50p each) in shops, cafes and pubs. Large display boards at Mytholmroyd railway station and at St. Michael's church also show clearly the three waymarked walks. A further free leaflet describes a lovely walk down Cragg Vale, beginning with a bus ride up the valley. Major improvements have been carried out to this riverside path, but waymark signs have yet to be provided.

Walk@Work

Our most recent initiative, launched on 7 May 2009, is entitled Walk@Work. This project recognises Mytholmroyd as a major employment centre with over 2,000 employees based locally in its half dozen industrial and business parks. MWA has been working with local employers, Calderdale Council's Countryside Service and the local Primary Care Trust to develop a range of short walks, setting off from each of the main business parks. Walking for health is a central aim of this initiative, and so all these walks include enough hilly terrain to get you out of breath! You can download the Walk@Work Leaflet for details of the six easy lunchtime walks. Do try them out - they are a great way to enjoy the Mytholmroyd countryside and get healthier, whether or not you are a local employee.

Find out more

Full details of what's currently going on are posted on our Walking News page.

Current Officers: Rose Wheeler (chair), Jill Liddington (secretary), Jean Williams (treasurer). Please email us at info@mytholmroydwalkers.org for more information, or if you want to get more involved in Mytholmroyd Walkers' Action.