Brighouse is a hidden treat. Brighouse may not immediately come to mind when planning a self-catering cottage holiday in Yorkshire, but it has some surprises in store that make it a desirable destination. It’s also a great base for anyone interested in walking and seeing more of the Calderdale area of West Yorkshire on a cottage holiday. Major walking routes can be accessed, including the famous Pennine Way, the Brighouse Boundary Walk and Calderdale Way making this an excellent choice for a self-catering walking holiday. It could also be a great choice for keen cyclists with the flat Spen Valley Greenway on offer.
What Brighouse offers for Self-Catering Breaks
If you want a challenge on your cottage holiday but within a safe, warm environment, ROKT Climbing Gym is the place to go. Located in a disused flour mill, it opened in 2011. The high ceilings and grain silos were perfectly suited for the conversion into a rock climbing facility. ROKT run different kinds of courses and visitors can take on different sorts of climbing activities. Bouldering enthusiasts use a 4.5 metre wall and climbing is done on 16.5 metre silos and a 21 metre lead wall. The latest addition to the gym is called the ROKTAGON Penthouse Boulder Suite and it consists of huge interlinking boulders that simulate the experience of climbing on an actual rock face.
For those who prefer to take it easy on a self-catering holiday why not head to Wellhome Park, close to the town centre, which is an excellent facility for residents and visitors. Wellhome Park, close to the town centre, is another excellent facility for residents and visitors. Flower displays and woodland form part of its 14 hectares and there is a café and picnic areas. Many activities make the park a great day out, including tennis, crown green bowling and flat bowling, crazy golf, a climbing frame and a skate park. The recently built Brighouse Swimming Pool and Leisure Centre is also near here and comprises a large pool and a learner pool plus a well equipped fitness centre. For golfers, there are three clubs in the immediate area around the town.
Brighouse supports the arts too, at the Smith Art Gallery, which is housed in the Rydings Estate containing parkland and an 18th century house. Touring exhibitions supplement the permanent collection of Victorian artworks.
The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band have put Brighouse on the map for the general public. Founded around 1881, they are familiar to brass band audiences around the world and are UK and regional award winners in competitions. They are much in demand but still play locally and you might get the chance to see them in the area when enjoying a cottage stay here.
If you want to see village life in Calderdale, there are a number of interesting villages in the area and a rural pub lunch is a good way to have a breather. Just outside Brighouse, the village of Clifton has a claim to fame in that local folklore says that Robin Hood is buried there. Hipperholme village has several shops and restaurants to discover on your self-catering break.
A stay in Brighouse provides plenty to do and shopping is convenient with several well-known chain stores on hand. Being just off the M62, the larger cities of Leeds and Manchester are a short car journey away if you want to widen your choices. The town’s railway station runs services to Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield.
Read about the country cottages, large group self-catering and log cabin breaks in and around Brighouse below, or view self-catering country cottages in Yorkshire generally.
Whether you choose to book a holiday cottage in Brighouse, an apartment, a lodge or another type of self-catering holiday accommodation, we hope you have your best holiday yet in West Yorkshire.