Hi, I’m doing a ride in from west of Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly on Wednesday morning, and don’t know the best routing options at all. Any suggestions on decent options gratefully received, not bothered about hills but ideally a fastish route that avoids the worst of the traffic would be spot on. Thanks!

Canal ?

Route 66 takes you to Piccadilly

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-66

+1 for canal if it links up, a fair few of them end at picadilly

Thanks guys, would rather go road than canal plus isn’t there a slight tunnel situation at Marsden?!

Will see about getting my kicks on Route 66, but by all means other suggestions about traffic avoidance would be useful.

Canal to Marsden, then road up the hill past Marsden golf club, then down to Diggle/Upper Mill and pick the canal back up, then canal all the way into Manchester city centre.

then canal all the way into Manchester city centre

The canal is closed between Portland Basin and the bit where it goes under the A6140 (just south of J23, M60).

There is a diversion but it’s not well signed at all. And no, bikes cannot get through, it is properly closed. Fine from there on though, the bit past the velodrome etc into the city centre is all fine.

The road routes in from Huddersfield are horrible; either busy A-roads or steep / narrow (and often busy) valley roads like through Slaithwaite. If I absoilutely had to ride it I’d come in via Meltham and the Isle of Skye road (A635) into Greenfield then turn left by the Royal George pub and use the B-road (B1675, Well-Hole Road which becomes Huddersfield Road) into Stalybridge, Dukinfield and Audenshaw and jump onto the canal there for the last bit.

I used to do a nice route from Piccadilly to Oldham along store street/bradford road, briscoe lane. Eventually onto Roman road. There my memory goes a bit hazy but eventually I’d hit a cycle route near Fredrick street which took me into Oldham. You could then then head to Delph (there are some back roads avoiding the main roads). and then from Delph over to Marsden to Huddersfield. Obviously in reverse to answer your question but my mind for some reason doesn’t work that way and it was a long while ago when I used to do it. It was about an hour to Grains bar going a reasonable pace.

Have you tried Komoot?

Isle of Skye road (A635)

Total german car race track at commuter time. Not so bad at other times but the safest trans pennine road for riding over is the A62 from Marsden to Delph because there are some back road options for some of it and the bit you are committed to is much wider and much more ‘stable’ (less bouncy, potholed, varying width, ditches, road falling away at the edges) than the A635.

Thanks people, at the moment (I’m starting in Slawit) , I’m looking at over the top of Pole Moor, round the top to Denshaw then Delph then Springhead, then towards crazy’s route from Dukinfield. Will look at all your suggestions this eve though. Cheers.

And yeah my previous experiences of the Isle of Skype route put me off wanting to do it at that time of day!

Just noticed the autocorrect my phone’s gone for there 😆