Slaithwaite
West Yorkshire
Situated on the River Colne and Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Slaithwaite was at one time a prosperous centre of the woollen textile industry and several mill buildings still dominate the village.
Although most often referred to as a village, Slaithwaite has since the industrial revolution had the proportions of a small town. Its original Town Hall, at Lewisham Road, dates back to 1892.
Slaithwaite was used as the TV location for the ITV series "Where The Heart Is" and was also used in scenes for long-running comedy series "Last Of The Summer Wine", filmed principally around Holmfirth, around five miles to the south-east.
Over the past 30 years, Slaithwaite has held celebrations of a much older legend of the Moonrakers. The story is one of illegal liquor being hidden in the canal. The culprits were found by militia trying to fish it out with a rake and escaped arrest by saying they were raking out the moon, the reflection of which could be seen in the canal. The legend is celebrated with a lantern parade around the village during the Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival in February.
Slaithwaite has moorings and facilities on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The canal was vital to the local transport of goods when it opened in 1811 but was abandoned 130 years later. It was restored and reopened in 2001 as a prominent feature running alongside the main street of the village.
Those from outside Yorkshire are prone to mispronounciation of the village name, usually said as if without its first 'i', but often abbreviated by tyke locals to just Slawit.
Village features


















Travel
Slaithwaite station Station Road
Station managed by: NORTHERN. Operator/s: TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS.

External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).
Bus travel
The village has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.
Road travel
Slaithwaite can be reached via the A62 .
Places to Visit
Peak District National Park
For more details see our
Marsden Moor Estate
Find out more about the moors and conservation work at the

Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre
The Standedge Visitor Centre at Tunnel End, Marsden, tells the history of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the building of Britain's longest canal tunnel, the three-and-a-quarter mile long Standedge Tunnel. The tunnel is also the deepest below ground and is the highest stretch of canal in the country. An exhibition centre shows the work which went into the opening of the tunnel in 1811 and how goods were propelled through the tunnel by leggers laying on the boat roof and walking on the tunnel sides or roof. There is also a children's play area and the opportunity to travel deep into the tunnel on a guided narrow boat or to relax at the Watersedge cafe beside the tunnel. The centre hosts a variety of events throughout the year.
Find out more at this Canal & River Trust

Castleshaw Roman Forts
Footpath access. Nearest parking at Waterworks Road, off A62 Huddersfield Road, near Find on map:

Whistlestop Valley formerly Kirklees Light Railway
Whistelstop Valley is a rebranding of the Kirklees Light Railway, a 15-inch-gauge light railway on the trackbed of the former Clayton West branch line from the Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield line. The branch had survived the Beeching axe of the 1960s but eventually closed to coal traffic in 1979 and passengers from the large commuter villages of
More information at the

National Coal Mining Museum for England
The National Coal Mining Museum for England is mid-way between
More details at the

Yorkshire Sculpture Park
West Bretton
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the UK's leading open-air sculpture gallery, situated at More information at the
Yorkshire Sculpture Park website.

Find on map:
Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Emergency services
West Yorkshire Police 
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Local government
Metropolitan district council
Kirklees Council covers a large metropolitan district based in
They include those in the former county borough of
Kirklees Council is made up of 69 councillors with three councillors per ward in 23 wards. Councillors are elected for four-year terms with one-third involved in elections in three out of four years. Councillors elect a Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Kirklees each year.
Link to
Kirklees Council website.

Political composition after May 2024 election:
69 members


County strategic authority
West Yorkshire Combined AuthorityCovers some combined services of the five metropolitan district councils of






Elected mayor:

Police and Crime Commissioner
The Police and Crime Commissioner for West YorkshireThis role has become one of the many responsibilities of the West Yorkshire elected mayor since May 2021.

Fire Authority
West Yorkshire Fire AuthorityThe fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Parliamentary constituency
Colne ValleyElected MP:
National government region
Yorkshire and the HumberCeremonial county
West YorkshireHistoric
1937-1974 Colne Valley Urban District.(Created in 1937 from merger of Golcar, Linthwaite, Marsden, Scammonden and Slaithwaite Urban Districts)
* -1974 Within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
* (The three ancient Ridings of Yorkshire date from Viking times, but gained an increased role as administrative counties in 1889).