Calder Divide Trail

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Calder Divide Trail

The Calder Divide Trail is a long distance circular route that connects the old network of packhorse

01/09/2026

Eastergate packhorse bridge was built some time around the 1720’s to serve the busy trade route between Marsden, Oldham and Todmorden.

On the Calder Divide Trail we cross the bridge and head over Marsden Moor on a well marked but rough track.

The moor is an important area for wildlife and the National Trust have undertaken vital tree planting on the heavily eroded banks using seeds gathered from local trees.

The moor is in effect a huge bowl collecting water that flows into the River Colne and onto the River Calder.

As we climb the moor P**e Hill rises up to the north and forms the upper headwaters.

This prominent hill with its Pen y Ghent face was the site of a Mesolithic camp with worked flint and stone.

4,000 years ago the landscape the first hunter gathers found was forested and alive with a rich variety of animals. Hopefully it will be again.

Event: Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: 100 miles or 140 miles

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

30/08/2026

On the 5th Calder Divide Trail weekend riders choose one of four routes: 2x MTB and 2x GRVL. But there are long sections where there is only one trail to follow.

Like this track below Blackstone Edge, an outcrop of millstone grit that faces Littleborough, Rochdale, Oldham and the skyscrapers of Manchester.

The track has been here for a long time. It connects Marsden and Todmorden and takes us across several semi wild Pennine Moors.

In places it’s rough, in others it’s fast rolling. It’s always interesting.

Event: Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: 100 miles or 140 miles

The 5th event now has a waiting list with invites going out when riders cancel and spaces freed up.

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

Adrian
CDT / YD

28/08/2026

The other day I counted the number of badges I had stored in a cupboard and there were only 80.

As there are 130 riders on the 5th Calder Divide Trail event I thought it best to get a new batch of embroidered cloth badges made.

A company in Leeds called Ensign Design make them and the service really is first class.

So now when a rider gets to the finish line at Mytholmroyd Community Centre they can admire their new badge whilst tucking into their pie n peas.

Event: Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: MTB x2, GRVL x2
Distance: 100 or 140 miles

www.yorkshiredivide.co.uk

20/08/2026

Just four weeks to go and it’s the 5th Calder Divide Trail event from Mytholmroyd Community Centre.

I had a look at my ‘to do’ list and most things are in order.

- event room and farm campsite are booked

- GPX files have been edited to take into account the diversion at Yateholme reservoir

- embroidered cloth badges have been ordered

A lot of tasks are just me on the computer so it was a nice change this week to have a lovely conversation with Sarah from the Overgate Hospice fundraising team about the donation our event will make. More on that soon.

There is one important job I haven’t done and that is to order the pie n peas! So first thing tomorrow I’ll ring Di’s Pies and get 132 of the best pies in Yorkshire ordered 😋

Adrian

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

19/08/2026

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard.

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

Mark Whitham, Digger Walsh, Rachel Rose, James Partington, John Marshall

18/08/2026

There are two diversions in place on the CDT both due to works being done on public infrastructure and so the off-road tracks we want to use are closed.

The Dewsbury diversion has been in place for 3 years with no end in sight as apparently it takes that long to upgrade a track whereas building the whole line from scratch took two years!

The only positive is that it shouldn’t take 3 more years to get the train line upgraded and our route can then go back onto the Spen Valley Greenway cycle bridge over the Calder and east to the fab Saville Town canal basin.

The Yateholme diversion is more straightforward and is in place till December.

The GPX files for the 5th CDT event on 19th -20th September will be updated and sent out by 14th September.

Adrian

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

14/08/2026

On the ‘Whirlaw’ MTB route (135 miles) riders enjoy one final descent with a track running from Bean Hole Farm down to the valley floor.

In places it’s narrow and set between stone walls with sudden drops and rock gardens.

A section of the track is set at the edge of a ravine and so you ride amongst the upper canopy of an oak wood.

The track does open out to give you a panoramic view of the Upper Calder Valley with Stoodley Pike on its gritstone plateau.

After the rock fest it’s a smooth run on the towpath of the Rochdale Canal as you head to the event room in Mytholmroyd and your pie n peas 😋

Event: Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: 100 miles or 140 miles

The 5th event now has a waiting list with invites going out when riders cancel and spaces freed up.

Adrian

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

09/08/2026

At the finish line of the Calder Divide Trail in Mytholmroyd, riders will receive this A5 card.

It shows the scale of the route along the watershed of the River Calder from Todmorden in the west to Castleford in the east and Sun Hill in the north to Black Hill in the south.

The poster also records the main landscape features found within the river basin.

As there are five rivers - Elphin, Colne, Holme, Ryburn and Spen - that flow into the River Calder the poster records the location of:

- millstone grit ridges such as Gate Foot
- woods such as those at Shepley Mill
- crossing points from Eastergate Bridge outside Marsden to the fabulous Millennium Bridge in Castleford.

The human labour that transformed our river basin is recorded in the former collieries such as Lofthouse (closed in 1981) and Walton (closed 1979).

A map of the Calder and its landscape would be incomplete without recording its canals and navigations. Four are recorded from the Aire and Calder Navigation built in 1704 to the Rochdale Canal built in 1804.

The poster was designed by Judith Broug.

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

Event: Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: 100 miles or 140 miles

The 5th event now has a waiting list with invites being sent when riders cancel and places are freed up.

Adrian
CDT
Yorkshire Divide

08/08/2026

Time to get the climbing legs in gear as I head to Luddenden Valley and onto Horbury,

Event: 5th Calder Divide Trail
Date: 19th - 20th September
Routes: 100 miles or 140 miles

www.calderdividetrail.co.uk

Address

Mytholmroyd Community Centre
Mytholmroyd
HX75AF

Website

https://www.calderdividetrail.co.uk/

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