Walsden is a large village in the town of Todmorden

Todmorden

Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....

 in the Metropolitan Borough

Metropolitan borough

A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

 of Calderdale

Calderdale

The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...

, West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, close to the Greater Manchester border. It lies along the A6033 Keighley to Littleborough road in the Walsden Valley, a branch of the Upper Calder Valley

Upper Calder Valley

The Upper Calder Valley lies in West Yorkshire in northern England, and covers the towns of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, and Sowerby Bridge, as well as a number of smaller settlements such as Portsmouth, Cornholme, Walsden and Eastwood. The valley is named after the River...

, and is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south of Todmorden

Todmorden

Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....

 and 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north of Littleborough.

Walsden railway station

Walsden railway station

Walsden railway station serves the village of Walsden, Todmorden in West Yorkshire, England, on the edge of the Pennines.It is served by the Caldervale Line operated by Northern Rail. The station is west of Leeds and north east of Manchester Victoria. Walsden is the last station before the...

 on the Leeds-Todmorden-Manchester line originally opened in 1841 and re-opened 10 September 1990, having been closed for almost 30 years. It was also the only place to be bombed in Todmorden during the Second World War Blitz

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

, this was probably due to the German plane having a leftover bomb dropping it on what appeared to be an important site as it was a railway station.

Etymology

Walsden's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin meaning "Valley of Foreigner" or "Valley of he who is Foreign". Foreign refers to the Celtic Britons who lived in West Yorkshire at the time of the Anglo Saxon Petty Kingdoms. It has been said in the past that it comes from "Wolves' Den" but this has been dismissed as the "den" in Walsden almost certainly refers to the valley.

Sport

Walsden has a cricket club that is one of the two Yorkshire teams playing in the major Lancashire Leagues, the other being Todmorden Cricket Club.