The A635 is a main road that runs between Manchester and Doncaster running east–west through

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

Saddleworth Moor Saddleworth Moor is a moorland in North West England. Reaching more than above sea level, it is in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. It is crossed by the A635 road and the Pennine Way passes to its eastern side. Geography ...

, Holmfirth,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

and the Dearne Valley. The section forming the eastern part of the

Mancunian Way The Mancunian Way is a two mile long grade separated elevated motorway in Manchester, England. It is officially made up of the A57(M) and A635(M) motorways, although the latter does not appear on road signs for practical reasons. It is also pa ...

is a motorway and is officially designated as the A635(M) though there is no road sign with this designation, and the signs at the entrance of Mancunian Way westbound show A57(M).

Saddleworth Moor

A635 Holmfirth to Greenfield Road - geograph

The section between

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

and Holmfirth, which passes across

, is known locally as the Isle of Skye Road after a public house that was at Wessenden Head until it was demolished in the 1950s after a fire. It passes over treeless high moor top for about 4 miles: Saddleworth Moor west of the watershed and Wessenden Head Moor to the east. This section of the road is at high altitude and in winter months local snowfall usually results in closures of the road. In January 2010, as a result of the extreme winter, the road was closed for over a month, and other closures also occurred in the same winter.

Pennines

Unlike the other Pennine passes in the area such as the A57 Snake Pass (Manchester to Sheffield), the A62 (Manchester to Huddersfield and Leeds) and the A58 (Rochdale to Halifax and Leeds), the section of the A635 over the Pennines enjoys much quieter traffic since the A628 Woodhead pass is much more direct when travelling between Manchester and Barnsley, connecting directly to the M1 junction 37 and passing through the centre of Barnsley. In 2012, after an increase of car incident rates on the moors, a 50mph speed limit was put in place between Greenfield and the boundary with Kirklees. In

Barugh Green Barugh Green (locally pronounced as Bark Green or occasionally mis-pronounced as Bart Green) is a semi-rural commuter village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Barnsley Metropolita ...

there's a small junction where the B6428 terminates. The road continues through Barnsley to Doncaster where it merges with the A638.

1960s Moors murders

The road became infamous because of its connection with the 1960s Moors murders. The grave sites of victims are located adjacent to the road above Greenfield, close to an area called Hollin Brown Knoll, which overlooks the 3 reservoirs: Dovestone, Yeoman and Greenfield.

August 2015 road closure

A section of the road at the Manchester end had to be closed in August 2015 after it collapsed following unusually torrential rain.

References

External links

Pathetic Motorways - A635(M)
Roads in England Roads in Yorkshire Roads in Greater Manchester Transport in South Yorkshire Transport in West Yorkshire Holme Valley {{England-road-stub