Castle Hill

Castle HillVictoria Tower, Castle HillCastle HillHuddersfield town centre as seen from Castle HillVictoria Tower cornerstone, Castle HillCastle Hill with its Victoria Tower is Huddersfield's most prominent landmark and offers stunning views from its summit in all directions.

The hill is an ancient monument including the earthwork remains of a hill fort dating from at least the early iron age and a motte and bailey castle of the 12th century.

The hill is thought to have been occupied as long as 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period while its earliest defensive earthworks were created in the early Iron Age around 2,700 years ago.

The Victoria Tower is a relative newcomer to the hilltop. It was opened in 1899 after public fund-raising started two years earlier in the diamond jubilee year of Queen Victoria. It was built so that the top of the tower reached a height of 1,000 feet above sea level.

Hilltop walks

The hill offers a great place for a picnic or to walk the nature trail around the hilltop on a sunny day. You'll at least see plenty of rabbits there in an evening. It's also a place where you will experience the full force of the wind on a blustery day. The tower is open on some weekends and in holiday periods allowing visitors to climb the steps to the top for a small fee.

There are plenty of public footpaths leading to Castle Hill and it is a great place to walk to, either from Huddersfield town centre or from surrounding villages including Longley, Newsome, Berry Brow, Farnley Tyas and Almondbury.

Remember this?

The pub's replacement was eventually stoppedThe old pub during demolition in 2003A pub on the hilltop was demolished in 2003. It had been built around 100 years before the tower. Features of the old pub were to have been retained in a new hotel, but these were removed. Eventually there were orders to stop the new building, which had departed from plan, and to take down the erected steelwork and new walls.

Getting to Castle Hill

Bus services

Service 341 from Huddersfield bus station towards Stocksmoor stops just below the summit of the hill, which can be reached by a steep climb via steps. The top of High Lane, just below the climb to the summit, can also be reached on service 354.

Frequent buses on routes 306, 307 or 308 from Huddersfield bus station can take you to Newsome church and up half the climb from Huddersfield town centre, but from there it is a walk of one mile up to the top of the hill.

341 Monday to Saturday

341 at AlmondburyHuddersfield Bus station - Aspley - Almondbury Bank - Almondbury - Castle Hill at Ashes Lane - Farnley Tyas - Thurstonland - Stocksmoor Station Penistone line

Timetable at

Metro Timetables at

South Pennine Community Transport

354 Monday to Saturday daytime (4 journeys each way). See also 355

Huddersfield Bus station - Aspley - Lowerhouses - Longley - Castle Hill at Ashes Lane / High Lane - Hall Bower High Lane, Hall Bower Lane - Berry Brow
↓ Waingate -
↑ Station Lane, Berry Brow station Penistone Line, Birch Road -
Armitage Bridge Bank Foot Lane - Netherton Marten Drive, Delph Lane, Netherton Moor Road, Falconers Ride, Hawkroyd Bank Road, Moor Lane - South Crosland

Timetable at

Metro Timetables (.pdf format) at

South Pennine Community Transport

Nearest station

• The nearest station is Berry Brow on the Penistone Line from where it is a walk of about 1½ miles to the top of the hill.
A stop on bus route 354 (see above) is only two minutes walk from Berry Brow station.

• From Huddersfield railway station there is a walk of about 2.5 miles or bus services from the nearby Huddersfield Bus Station as above.

Road travel

Castle Hill is situated off Lumb Lane, Almondbury. There is some parking in Lumb Lane with a steep climb on foot by steps to the top of the hill and tower. There is also a car park at the top of the hill, but this is reached by a steep single-track road with few passing places. This road is closed by a barrier at night-time. Hours of closure to traffic vary through the year as hours of darkness change. A sign at the foot of the hill displays the closure times.

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