Get to know Huddersfield from different perspectives: its parks and a walk along the canal, collections about the city’s history and its people, and specific historical themes. When planning your visit, it helps to distinguish these offerings by their character. This way, you can decide whether you would rather spend time outdoors or explore history and culture.
Parks and Outdoor Activities
Greenhead Park opened in 1884. Its facilities include a free skatepark for skateboarders, BMX riders and inline skaters. The skatepark is accessible during the park’s opening hours. Check the current park opening hours and operating details before your visit, as use is limited to these times and operational details may change.
Greenhead Park also has a miniature steam railway that runs along a one-third-mile track. The skatepark and railway are different attractions within the same park: one centres on riding wheeled equipment, while the other offers a ride on a miniature train. Here too, it is worth checking the current operating details before finalising your visit.
Ravensknowle Park provides a different setting for a museum visit: Tolson Museum is located in the park. The park also has a playground, a gift shop and refreshments. The museum and park can therefore be considered two distinct parts of a visit; the facilities mentioned are park amenities.
Local History and Exhibitions
Through unique collections, Tolson Museum presents a diverse picture of Huddersfield and its people, from prehistoric times to the present day. This broad timespan offers a different perspective on the city’s history from a single event or clearly defined historical period. Anyone interested in how life in Huddersfield has changed over time will find a wide-ranging look at different eras here.
A different historical subject is explored in the exhibition Through Our Eyes. It tells the story of 16 children and young people who survived Nazi persecution across Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Alongside the history of Huddersfield and its people, this provides a distinct cultural focus on persecution in Europe. The exhibition and the collections at Tolson Museum therefore differ both in subject and in their chronological and geographical focus.
Heritage Quay is also relevant for exploring local history: the University of Huddersfield’s service for special collections, archives and records management preserves local history collections that help explore the diverse history of life in the Huddersfield area. This offers a different emphasis from a museum with a collection spanning a broad period: here, the focus is on local history. Castle Hill, meanwhile, is designated as a Scheduled Monument (NHLE1009846)—a specific heritage designation for the site.
A Walk Along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
If you would like to combine your stay with a relaxing outdoor activity, consider a walk along the towpath beside the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Unlike the museum and archive themes, the focus here is on exploring on foot. Huddersfield therefore offers different ways to discover the area: park activities, history in collections and exhibitions, and a walk by the water.
Discover more destinations: Scissett, Batley, Cleckheaton, Holmfirth, Gomersal, Dewsbury
Return to the main travel overview: Kirklees.
