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Walk Summary:  Moderate 6.2 mile circular walk from Hepworth south to Snittlegate, through Holmestyes Wood to Hades, back to Hade Edge,and then down stream through Bluebell Wood to Hepworth
Start : Butchers Arms pub
Locality: Hepworth
Area: South
Start OS Grid reference: SE1631206815
Start What3words : makeovers.validated.archive
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance miles: 6.2
Ascent meters: 321
Estimated Walk Time hours: 3.6
Pub & Locality: Butchers Arms at Hepworth
Parking: Small pub car park with on-street parking in village
Public Transport: Bus 310 from Holmfirth to Hepworth. Journey time 30 minutes. Check bus times
Walk Description: Starting from the Butchers Arms pub, Hepworth, at the junction of Towngate and Jackson Bridge Road, walk south along Towngate before turning left onto a signed public footpath (following the Holme Valley Circular (HVC) way) beside cottages, climbing gently between walls to reach open pasture. Continue south-east on the well-defined path, crossing successive stiles and field boundaries to reach Cowcliff Hill Road. Turn right and follow the road turning left before joining Strines Moor Road,  folling the track south, cossing the Penistone Road and on reaching Snittle Road turn left  to reach Snittlegate crossroads.  Turn right along Bare Bones Road walking due east. On reaching Holme Styes wood, turn right briefly then left through a gated track, descending towards woodland. Follow the main path north west through mixed broadleaf trees, keeping the stream on your right, and descend steadily to cross a footbridge before climbing out to open moorland. Bear south-west across rough pasture to reach the scattered settlement of Hades (1), where continue on the access lane past old stone barns and cottages, noting remnants of former quarrying and industry. At the junction with Copthurst Road above the hamlet, turn east on a signed bridleway crossing the southern end of Holmes Styes reservoir,  climbing gradually along Greave Road into Hade Edge village, gaining wide views over the Holme Valley.  At the Penistone Road junction continue north east along Scholes Moor Road, then turn right and folow the edge of Boshaw Whams Reservoir turning north onto Newgate Road.  After 200m turn right down to Little Cake hamlet, before descending north eastwards into Bluebell Wood (2), keeping to the main descending path alongside the beck, crossing footbridges and passing areas rich in spring flora. Continue downstream until emerging onto Dean Bridge Lane below Hepworth, then climb up the road past the church to reach Towngate, returning to the Butchers Arms pub to complete the circuit.
Other comments and Points of Interest: (1) Hades –  developed as a small industrial outpost serving quarrying, agriculture and early textile work. The name is thought to derive from a personal name rather than mythology, though its bleak setting helped fix the darker association. Several barns retain features linked to handloom weaving and stone extraction.
(2) Bluebell Wood – An ancient semi-natural woodland, Bluebell Wood supports bluebells, wood anemone and ramsons in spring. The beck has powered small mills in the past, and the woodland structure reflects centuries of coppicing and managed use.

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