Get ready to spring into action
Nature Road, Designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1987, the 12-acre site is owned by Kirklees Council and jointly managed with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It has a network of paths and a variety of habitats, including woodland, a pond, wet areas, acid grassland, hedges and dry stone walls. Although restored to nature, the site bears the traces of past industrial use. Until the early 1900s there were coal pits in the area and the remnants of two can be seen at the side of the wood, now overgrown with gorse. Find the reserve on the A 6024 to Holmfirth. Bus services from Huddersfield to Holmfirth pass the reserve but there is also roadside parking.
Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve, Elland Road, Brighouse: This reserve is Brighouse and Elland’s best-kept secret – acres of woodland, wetland and grassland, all accessible by wheelchair users and families with buggies. Formerly a quarry, power station ash tip and land-fill site, the reserve now has a bird-viewing area, enclosed pond, and miles of maintained pathways. The site, designated a nature reserve in 2003, has its own friends’ organisation, The Cromwell Bottom Wildlife Group, which is always eager to attract new volunteers. On open days the group provides refreshments. Visit cromwellbottom.wordpress.com for details. The reserve can be found off the A6025 Elland Road and has its own car park. Extend your exploration of the area by taking in the canal towpath between Brighouse and Elland (dogs can be let off the lead by the canalside).
Dalton Bank Nature Reserve, Dalton Bank Road, Huddersfield: The 50-acre Woodland Trust site became a Local Nature Reserve back in 1995 following a funding partnership between Syngenta, Kirklees Council, and the Environmental Alliance. It’s now an award-winning nature reserve, offering educational opportunities to schoolchildren and families. There’s a pond with dipping platform, pathways and facilities for disabled visitors. Just two miles from the town centre, it is easily accessed from Dalton Bank Road, where there is off-road parking.
Stirley Farm, Hall Bower Lane, Huddersfield: This Yorkshire Wildlife Trust site covers 240 acres of land that were once intensively farmed. It is now a showcase for how wildlife-friendly farming methods can benefit the landscape, involve the community and support a sustainable farm business. The farmland has a network of footpaths that can be explored at any time, but the farm itself is only open on the