53°43′34″N 1°50′20″W / 53.726°N 1.839°W
Shibden Valley (also known as Shibden Dale)[1] is to the east of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, where the community of Shibden lies. The name of the Shibden valley comes from scepe dene meaning "sheep valley" or "Sheep Vale".[2] The area was heavily involved in wool production[3] but was also a site of much coal production and flagstones from Northowram, Southowram and Hipperholme areas.[4]
The Red Beck stream flows down the valley, joining the River Calder at Brookfoot.[5] It runs for 6 miles (10 km) and drains an area of 6 square miles (16 km2).[6]
Southowram stands on the southern side of the valley, and Northowram stands on the northern side of the valley. Shibden Valley stretches from Halifax through to Queensbury in the south-west of Bradford.[7] A medieval road, the Magna Via, crosses west to east in the lower part of the valley over Beacon Hill.[8] This was an ancient road between Halifax and Wakefield and the road still retains its Hollow way character with stone setts for some of the route.[9] The A58 also crosses the valley as does the Caldervale line between Bradford Interchange and Halifax, though this is in a 1,105-yard (1,010 m) tunnel under Beacon Hill.[10]
Shibden Hall lies in the valley set in the grounds of Shibden Park which is accessible to the public and has walks, a boating lake and a miniature railway.[11][12]
