This is the first of thirty climbs in the Holme Valley and it is a tough one to get you used to this valley. The climb starts at its junction with the A616 Woodhead Road towards Holmfirth and adjacent to “The Lockwood” public house. It starts off with a 13% section up towards the village of Newsome. Until very recently there was a mill towering over the hill which unfortunately has been burned down but the magnificent clock tower has been saved, so look out for it! The road levels out in the village and your progress will probably be halted by the traffic light by the church. Cross the lights and into Jackroyd Lane for the next section which is a far friendlier gradient, until you pass the Baptist Chapel and a fabulous round house, a converted water works building, where the gradient kicks up to around another 13%. When you reach the “T” junction with Ashes Lane turn right and follow the hillside round until you reach the first left turn into Lumb Lane. Then approximately one hundred yards later fork left up a narrow road which gives you the final approach to Castle Hill. The Victoria tower was erected to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. This site is also reputed to have been inhabited for over four thousand years but affords the most beautiful views over Huddersfield and surrounding countryside. If the tower is open, which it is quite often at weekends and school holidays, it is really well worth going up to the top for even better views and to look at the plate describing the distant places you can see.

The iconic Victoria Tower Overlooking Huddersfield