The Village of Ripponden.
The West Yorkshire village of Ripponden nestles in the Ryburn valley at an important crossroads where the roads to Halifax, Oldham, Rochdale and Huddersfield all combine. These days, commuter traffic heads off on its divergent paths to access these towns and the cities of Leeds and Bradford, as well as Manchester. This latter city is easily reached by the M62/M60 link that is only five miles from Ripponden centre.Ripponden includes the eponymous village and the adjacent hamlets of Barkisland, Soyland and Rishworth. Whilst these form a quartet for local administrative purposes, each has its own identity and community. Barkisland and Soyland are essentially hillside settlements, having an affinity with rural activities. Rishworth combines residential settlement with farming, whereas the main focus of Ripponden itself is on business and housing. The central village boasts a variety of small shops and assorted businesses and the residents are supported by their own primary school, a surgery, dentist and chiropodist. A church primary school is situated in Rishworth, where there is also a prestigious private secondary school. There are a number of restaurants offering international cuisine, as well as the usual meals offered in the public houses in Ripponden and its environs. In recent years there has been a decline in the number of hostelries in the area, but there is a plentiful variety in both atmosphere and ale offered by those that survive.
While the village is compact, the boundary of the Parish is nearly 20.5 miles long, covering an area of 5300 hectares. The 2001 Census recorded a population in the area of 6412 people in 2575 households.
Walking is a popular pastime in the area, and Yorkshire Water supply details of a number of local walks on their website [www.yorkshirewater.com]. Calderdale MBC runs guided walks from time-to-time, and you can find details on their website at [www.calderdale.gov.uk/tourism/whatson/walking.html]