Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale and Luddenden

Best known as the birthplace of the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, arrive in Mytholmroyd by train  to see Hughes' story The Iron Man portrayed in station art.  The town is also home to Walkley's Clogs, one of the last UK producers to make and sell the genuine article.

The apparent tranquility of Mytholmroyd belies a more murky past. The oldest hostelry, the Dusty Miller, was the lair of 18th century counterfeiting gang, the Cragg Vale Coiners. 

The steep and winding Cragg Road leads from Mytholmroyd and is the longest incline in England, providing a major challenge to cyclists. The road wends its way up to beautiful heather-clad moorland 1,000 feet above, and wooded cloughs and babbling brooks cascade down the hillsides, beckoning the walker to explore the countryside.