An energetic walk can be a fine tonic.

If you're not feeling up to scratch get that oxygen pumping through your bloodstream, let the rhythm of your stride calm you down, steep yourself in the glory of distant views and let yourself be delighted by suddenly chancing upon charming corners of pretty countryside, and after four or five miles you'll feel...well, miles better.

It was like that for me on the September Sunday we did this walk. A stiff neck, bit of a sore throat, mild depression that refused to be shaken off. As we drove up from Huddersfield to Marsden under a Pennine sky that was partly blue but largely dark grey, I half hoped the heavens would open so we could call off the planned walk.

But they didn't. There was a heavy-duty shower that caught us after we'd walked from the Standedge Tunnel car park along the canal towpath to Tunnel End, prompting us to take refuge for a while in the visitor centre - which has just reopened in a former warehouse and contains excellent, informative displays of the history of the longest canal tunnel in the country and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal that enters a Yorkshire hillside to emerge at the other end in Lancashire.

But then the rain passed for a while and there seemed nothing for it, having driven all that way, but to set off and hope for the best.

All was well as we climbed steadily up the valley side, following a narrow road that passed a farm where a dog chased out to see us off. The road, with the views from it getting better all the time and taking in the distant Emley Moor mast and Castle Hill, eventually turned to gravel and our route left it to head steeply up the valley side between walls initially and then on to open moorland.

It was then that the first shower drenched us before a patch of blue came along in its wake and the sun and the stiff breeze dried us out again. The heather all around glowed deep mauve in the sunshine as we plodded along a clearly defined path to eventually arrive at a junction with a stone bench inscribed in memory of Rodney Roberts (1942-1984) and erected by the West Yorkshire Countryside Ranger Service.

What a fine way to be remembered, in such a glorious place high on Slaithwaite Moor. As we turned east to follow the Colne Valley Circular Walk, the heavens opened again and once more we dripped with water. But then the rain passed, the sun came out, and the weather took a turn for the better.

My spirits had done the same. The effort of walking had begun to work its magic.

My neck was still stiff, my throat still thick and slightly sore. But I didn't care any more.

Off the moor at last, but still high up on the tops with fine views in all directions, we walked along a ridge road before taking a steep, narrow path downwards, the start of our descent into the valley.

Deep Gate was the name of the path, and it was an apt one. It had been worn, or even cut, down into the bedrock. It was like walking in a natural gutter.

Soon we were on the road again and pausing to pick and eat the blackberries that grew on the banks alongside the fattening bilberries.

Far below us and to the east we could see the houses of Slaithwaite in a valley bottom that also contained the River Colne, the canal and the railway and the busy road that links the towns and villages on its way to Oldham.

Our route left the road again and joined a steeply-descending footpath through woodland to eventually pass beneath the railway. At the other side of it, down a drive, was a hidden gem: twin reservoirs with anglers dotted around their banks and between them a stretch of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal spanned by a hump-backed bridge just before a lock half the width of those on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

What a splendid spot for a lunch stop, with the tranquillity of the place broken only intermittently by the sound of a train passing by higher on the hillside.

This, though, is clearly a popular spot with local people. We met plenty of strollers as we walked along the towpath, passing many a picturesque spot and more than a few superbly-situated houses as we climbed steadily past one lock after another to return to the car park adjacent to Marsden Station.

It had turned out to be a better-than-average walk with plenty of variety. A real tonic, in fact.

Step by Step

  1. From Tunnel End car park next to Marsden Station, walk along towpath under railway bridge and follow canal to bridge at Tunnel End. Cross canal and if you like spend a while in visitor centre (it's free) to learn about canal and tunnel. Then walk up access road towards Tunnel End pub. Go up track immediately to right of pub, follow arrows through gate on right of track and continue straight up narrow path and through stile into garden of end cottage. Walk up past end of cottage, climbing slightly left to emerge into road.
  2. Turn right and follow road (Kirklees Way) uphill to pass farm with "Beware of Dog" sign (and possibly an untethered dog to go with it!) and continue as track becomes stony and turns left then right and continues to pass another farm on right.
  3. Almost immediately go left, following Colne Valley Circular Walk sign up side of field and continuing between sometimes crumbling walls and then following wall on left to stile on to open moorland.
  4. Keep ahead on clear path through heather (still Kirklees Way), dropping down to footbridge over stream and continuing up far side to eventually arrive at junction of tracks with stone bench on right.
  5. Go right here, on Colne Valley Circular Way, and follow good path eastwards to pass a ruined stone hut and, after a stile, to continue with boundary on right to gate into road. Walk along road to Wham Farm on left.
  6. Don't take track immediately opposite farm exit but instead continue for a few more yards to next right turning. Follow this initially-wide track and soon take right fork down narrow, hollow path known as Deep Gate to emerge into lane. Turn right and walk down lane, heading now towards Marsden but with Slaithwaite in valley on left.
  7. Where road swings sharp left, keep ahead into narrow footpath and follow it (taking care, because it's rocky in places) to meet track that heads alongside railway briefly before passing beneath it and joining narrow road. Go left for a few yards then right, heading down access road for Sandhill Cottages. Just past gable end of cottages, go right on embankment beside reservoir towards hump-backed bridge.
  8. Cross this bridge, turn right on canal towpath, and walk back the -mile to Marsden and start.
Fact File

  • Set-off point: Marsden Station.
  • Time for 5-mile walk: two hours or so.
  • Going: average, with one steep ascent and two steep descents.
  • Map: OS Outdoor Leisure 21 South Pennines.
  • Getting there: follow A62 Oldham Road from Huddersfield, or travel by train to Marsden from Huddersfield.
  • Parking: Tunnel End official car park next to station.
  • Refreshments: at Tunnel End cafe and Tunnel End pub.
  • Toilets: inside visitor centre.