History of the Calder & Hebble Navigation

Now that the Rochdale Canal and Huddersfield Narrow Canal have been restored, the Calder & Hebble is once again an essential part of the waterway routes across the Pennines.

Running for 21.5 miles between Sowerby Bridge and Wakefield, the Calder & Hebble was designed to extend navigation beyond Wakefield, where the Aire and Calder Navigation terminated at the end of the 17th Century. By 1770, navigation was possible along the upper reaches of the Calder.

The canal joins the Huddersfield Broad Canal at Cooper Bridge, and the Rochdale Canal at its Sowerby Bridge terminus. Since the Calder & Hebble's locks are shorter than those on the Rochdale, the warehouses at Sowerby Bridge were used for transhipment - storing cargoes after they were unloaded from one size of boat, ready to go into another. These spectacular warehouses are now being restored with the help of a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

As well as a windlass, you will need a handspike - a thick wooden pole - to operate the locks on the Calder & Hebble. A long-distance footpath meets the towpath near Brighouse.