Huddersfield

From World travel guide

Huddersfield is in Yorkshire in England. This article covers both the town of Huddersfield itself, but also the district around it including the Colne and Holme Valleys. Historically a textile town, the area is now in the process of re-inventing itself as a residential and tourist center.

John Betjeman described Huddersfield Station as having 'The finest facade of any such building in the country'. Make up your own mind when you visit as there is no better way to arrive than by train from Manchester or Leeds. Huddersfield has the third largest amount of listed buildings in the country after Westminster and Bristol.

In the 1920's Huddersfield Town F.C. became the first football club to win the English League Championship three times in a row, a feat only matched by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Contents 1 Get there 1.1 By plane 1.2 By train 1.3 By bus 1.4 By car 2 See 3 Do 4 Learn 5 Work 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Contact 10.1 Phone 10.2 Internet 10.3 Radio 11 Stay safe 12 Get out 13 External links

Get there

By plane

• Leeds Bradford Airport, [1]. The nearest airport, which can be reached by taking a train to Leeds and then a bus to the airport departing from the train station. The number of flights from Leeds Bradford airport continues to increase.

• Manchester Airport, [2]. This is the UK's busiest airport outside London, with many European and inter-continental flights. There are through trains from a station within the airport complex to Huddersfield, running at least half hourly throughout the day (see by train below).

• London Heathrow Airport, [3] or London Gatwick Airport, [4]. From there, frequent flights operate to Manchester, or you could travel from London to Huddersfield by train (see by train below).

By train

The principal Huddersfield station is in the town centre and is served by trains to and from Hull, York, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, as well as a local services to Barnsley, Wakefield, Halifax and Sheffield. There are several smaller stations within the Huddersfield area, served only by local trains.

From London, you should travel from London Kings Cross station and change at either Wakefield or Leeds.

Train times for these and other journeys can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.

By bus

• National Express, [5]. Serves Huddersfield with express coach service from around the country. They serve the main Huddersfield bus station in the town centre.

By car

• M1. Huddersfield is served by the M1 motorway which runs from London to Leeds. It is between 3 and 4 hours drive from central London. The best junction to use is junction 38 and then follow the signs.

• M62. Huddersfield is also served by the M62 motorway which runs east-west from Hull and Leeds to Manchester. The best junction to use is junction 24.

See

• Castle Hill. From all around the area, Castle Hill can easily be picked out, crowned with a Victorian folly tower. It can be reached by car and taxi, just beyond the suburb of Almondbury, and gives wonderful views in all directions, including that at the top of this article. Open everyday. Free.

• Marsden Moor Estate, 847016, [6]. An area of 2400 hectares (5600 acres) of unenclosed common moorland, almost surrounding the village of Marsden, with valleys, reservoirs, peaks and crags, as well as archeological remains dating from pre-Roman times to the great engineering structures of the canal and railway ages. Owned by the National Trust, there is a visitors centre adjacent to Marsden rail station. Accessible by train to Marsden station, or by buses 350, 352 & 365 from Huddersfield; car parking availabe at various locations through the estate. Estate open every day at all times; visitors centre open every day 9am-5pm. Free.

• Marsden and Standedge Tunnel End. Beautiful moorland scenery and historic industrial archeology. Includes the chance to take a boat ride into the UK's longest canal tunnel. This is possible as a trip by train to Marsden & Standedge or you can drive to Marsden. Open every day. Free.

Do

Learn

• University of Huddersfield, [7]. A former polytechnic which applied for and achieved university status in the early 1990's. It's main Queensgate campus is situated just outside the ring road. Follow the signs from main arrival points. A new students union building opened in 2005 in the centre of the campus.

Work

Buy

• Kingsgate shopping centre, [8]. The usual assortment of shops contained in a light and breezy atmosphere. Open 7 days a week.

• Huddersfield Open Market, [9]. Offers a range of high quality goods from the continent - mainly France - and tours the area stopping in different towns each weekend.

Eat

The Huddersfield area has many restaurants of different types and costs. The following small selection are restaurants which have been visited and recommended by Wikitravellers:

• Balooshai, 3 Viaduct St, tel. 559055. Balooshai is one of a number of excellent Indian restaurants in Huddersfield. There are an increasing number of restaurants on this small street.
• Gringo's, 8 Railway Arches Viaduct St, tel. 422411, [10]. Mexican.
• Laxmi, Woodhead Road, Berry Brow, tel. 666555, [11]. Excellent Indian restaurant. Tu-Sa 5.30pm-11pm & Su 5.15pm-10pm. Two course meal £~15 (per-person including drinks).
• Lodge Hotel, Birkby Lodge Road, tel. 431001, [12]. Built in 1847, this distinguished old house has had many roles in its life, but now it is high quality family run hotel and restaurant, with an AA 2-star rosette and an innovative menu. £~40 (per-person including wine and tips).
• Mustard and Punch, 6 Westgate, Honley, tel. 662066, fax. 660742, [13]. A small friendly restaurant; Mustard and Punch is expensive when compared to other restaurants in Huddersfield. £~35 (per-person including wine and tips).
• Nosh, Northgate, Almondbury, tel. 430004, [14].
• Thai Charleda, 5 St. Johns Street, Huddersfield, tel. 450159, [15]. Good Thai food with a large menu.
• Tunnel End Inn, Waters Road, Marsden, tel. 844636, [16]. With a very welcoming team of owners, this pub provides a good selection of food and, for the beer connoisseurs, sells the famous Black Sheep beers. Close to the tunnel end complex and the Marsden Moor Estate, this pub is well situated for a visit before or after a trip into the canal tunnel (see 'See' above) or when walking the moors. Open M 8pm-11pm; Tu-W 5pm-11pm; Th-F noon-3pm & 5pm-11pm; Sa noon-11pm; Su noon-10:30pm.

Drink

There are hundreds of pubs in Huddersfield, many of which get packed with people on Friday and Saturday nights.

• The Courthouse, Zetland Streets - Two storey pub with a court theme. Young crowd. Near the university.
• Head of Steam, St Georges Square, tel. 454533 - Popular real ale pub in the train station. Good blues on a Monday night.
• The Vox Bar, Church Street, tel. 452229 - Good music and good drink, young crowd. Resident DJ Friday and Saturday nights. Situated down a back alley near the train station.
• Verve, Church Street - a slightly older crowd than Vox, with pre-club cheesey dance pumped out over the weekend. By day, it's a cafe selling reasonable paninis, coffee and smoothies.
• Warehouse - Large pub. Charges entry on Fri/Sat. Part of the scream chain. Young crowd.
• The Zephyr Bar, King Street - Small, trendy. Good range of foreign beers.
• The Sair Inn, Take a 350, 351 or 352 bus about 4 miles out of the town centre, alighting at the bottom of Hoyle-Ing in Linthwaite on Manchester Road, after the "Royal Oak" pub. There's a sign advertising "The Sair Inn". After a five minute climb up the hill you'll find this gem of a hostelry, selling its own beers brewed on the premises that can be enjoyed in a uniquely authentic, old pub atmosphere. Popular among locals, students and real ale tourists, you may become a regular.
• Bar 120 - 120 New Street (opposite Lidl on the ring road). Live music venue with a range of genre's six days per week.
• Have a drink in The Founders Bar of the George Hotel where the finer points of the game of Rugby League were hammered out. The bar is considered the birthplace of the game.
• The Riverhead Brewery Tap 2 Peel Street, Marsden. 01484 841270 http://www.riverheadbrewery.co.uk/home/home.html

Sleep

• Lodge Hotel, Birkby Lodge Road, tel. +44 (0)1484 431001, [17]. Built in 1847, this distinguished old house has had many roles in its life, but now it is high quality family run hotel and restaurant, with an AA 2-star rosette. £60 (single room); £70 (double room).

• The George Hotel, Main Square, Telephone: +44 (0)1484 515444 Fax: +44 (0)1484 435056, [18]. Entering the square from the train station, you cannot fail to miss this hotel which offers the priciest but best beds in town. The Founders bar (q.v.) is part of the complex.

• Huddersfield Hotel, Kirkgate, tel. +44 (0)1484 421 552, [19]. The Huddersfield Hotel complex was built up slowly from an early start in the 1960's by two brothers, Johnny and Joe Marsden and up until the end of 2003 was still owned and run by the Marsden family. It is now owned and run by London and Edinburgh Inns and comprises of a Bistro, Pub, Cafe, Hotel and the (in?)famous Johnny's Nightclub. Rooms and service varies but locals are generally very fond of the family who still run the lodge and car park across the road.

• Central Lodge Hotel, Southgate, tel +44 (0)1484 515 551, [20]. The Central Lodge Hotel is run by the Marsden family who previously ran the Huddersfield Hotel complex across the road before selling most of it to London and Edinburgh Inns in 2003. They retained the lodge and car park and although the atmosphere is lacking in warmth, the rooms are new and relatively modern and the service traditional. Most people in Huddersfield know the Marsdens or Johnny's nightclub, or both.

Contact

Phone

• Huddersfield's area code (for landline numbers) is 01484 when dialed from within the UK or +441484 from outside the UK.

Internet

If you are travelling with a laptop then you will find broad-band internet access in the rooms of most, but not all, medium to high end hotels. If this is important to you check before booking. Alternatively there are many WiFi hot spots in and around Huddersfield.

There are also several places that offer web and other internet access if you are travelling without a laptop.

• Vox bar. Offers internet access to wireless laptop owners at no additional charge.
• EasyInternet Cafe. Situated above KFC on the main street through town however the general cleanliness of the terminals leaves much to be desired.
• BT phone booth. Situated in the main square has broadband access however this is expensive and best reserved for only basic internet use such as checking emails.

Radio

• The Pulse of West Yorkshire 102.5FM and Pulse Classic Gold 1530AM the local radio stations for West Yorkshire, including Huddersfield (and the wider Kirklees district, plus neighbouring Calderdale and Bradford), Home FM, 107.9. A small scale local radio station for Huddersfield. The university sometimes broadcasts a student radio station during term time from its media centre. Regional radio stations include Real Radio and BBC Leeds.

Stay safe

Huddersfield town centre is generally considered safe as it professes "24 hour total CCTV coverage inside the ring road".

Get out

• Huddersfield has good connections to the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District.
• York and Harrogate both offer rewarding day excursions.
• For shopaholics the White Rose centre near Leeds and the Trafford centre near Manchester are easily accessible.

External links

• http://www.alive.co.uk/ - Alive local live music guide.
• http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/ - Kirklees local council official website.

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