WESSENDEN HEAD

MELTHAM, HOLMFIRTH

Although not far from civilisation, the route up Wessenden Head Road across Meltham Moor is surprisingly barren and lonely. If you want to get away from it all, have the wind and rain tear the skin from your face and purge your body of the stresses of modern life, then this is the climb for you. Starting in the centre of Meltham, the gradient assumes its almost uniform angle whilst passing through the shelter of town. Just past the last house, the road is framed either side by a small stone wall and you’ll see a permanent warning of snow. As you continue up the relentless 8% slope, the landscape gradually starts to open up. And beyond the last remnants of the small stone wall, you’ll find nothing to shelter behind taller than a blade of grass. You are now totally exposed on a road that looks like a tarmac carpet gently rolled out across the moor, climbing to its conclusion in total solitude.