| The Next Walk is. | Holmfirth |
| Walk Date. | Sun 19th February |
| Time of Departure. | 9.15am |
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The town originally grew up around a
corn mill and bridge in the 13th century. Three hundred years later
Holmfirth expanded rapidly as the growing cloth trade grew and the
production of stone and slates from the surrounding quarries increased. The present parish church was built in 1778 after the Church built in 1476 was swept away in a flood the previous year. In 1850 Holmfirth railway station opened, part of branch line built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. Holmfirth was the home of Bamforth & Co Ltd, who were well known for their cheeky seaside postcards - although around the time of the First World War, they produced postcards of a more sober nature. The printing works on Station Road has now been converted into residential flats. There are a number of instances when flooding has occurred in the Holme Valley affecting Holmfirth and other settlements in the valley. The earliest recorded Holmfirth Flood was in 1738 and the most recent was 1944. The most severe flood occurred early on the morning of 5 February 1852, when the embankment of the Bilberry Reservoir collapsed causing the deaths of 81 people. Following a severe storm in 1777 the River Holme burst its banks, sweeping away people and property with the loss of three lives; the stone church built in 1476, was also swept away. A storm in 1821 again caused the river to burst its banks. The flooding on the night of 29 May 1944 was not nationally reported and it was then overshadowed by the D-Day landings the following week. Holmfirth (and the surrounding countryside) is the setting for the BBC's long-running comedy Last of the Summer Wine. Thousands of tourists flock to the area each year to enjoy scenery and locations familiar from the series. Filming of the TV Slaithwaite-based drama, Where the Heart Is, had also taken place in and around the area. |
Walks
| A - Walk | Walk Leaders - Michael Pate | Distance - |
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| B - Walk | Walk Leaders - Mark Young and Christine Harris | Distance - |
| C - Walk | Walk Leaders - Margaret Grundy and Eunice Lord | Distance Approx - |