Stoodley Pike Walk
This is one of the most popular walks in Calderdale. The reason
for its renown is the Stoodley Pike Monument. The monument can be seen
for miles in the
Upper Calderdale area. It stands 100 feet tall, which is much higher
than
most hillside monuments. I can't think of one in Yorkshire which comes
close. The existing monument is the second to be erected as the first
one fell to the ground in 1854, forty years after it was built to
commemorate the defeat of Napoleon's armies at the Battle of Leipzig.
The people of
Calderdale must have been pleased about Napoleon's reversal for the
first monument
was paid for entirely by public subscription. The monument stands tall
and proud today, a tribute to the people of this historic valley. The
walk takes us up to the monument on Stoodley Pike from Hebden Bridge.
After climbing from the valley floor along tracks, through fields and
over moor the return is made by much the same way except for the
final three miles which is enjoyed along the towpath of the Rochdale
Canal.
Hike
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