Cragg Vale is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, located south of Mytholmroyd on the B6138 road which joins the A58 and the A646.

Flints, not native to West Yorkshire, have been found on Blackstone and Midgley Moors – implying movement of peoples and long-distance trade by this period at the latest.

Later flint spear heads and arrow tips, hunting weapons, have been found in quantity over Manshead and Rishworth moors.

Although prehistoric and later peoples were responsible for extensive tree felling and land clearance this did not create the peat moors above Cragg Vale.

We know from place naming and language conventions that ancient Britons (the Brigantes tribe), Anglo Saxons, Vikings, and Romans had a large input into the area of Cragg.

The Romans left little except their (disputed) road over Blackstone Edge as evidence – but there would have been extensive forced population relocation as the engineers and troops pushed forwards.

We know the Romans made a pact with the Brigantes tribe, and that this whole area of West Yorkshire – the centre of the ancient kingdom of Elmet – was ruled by them.

Leading into the Medieval period The primary industry was agriculture, but iron was smelted too, good timber and charcoal was produced, and grain was milled.

The water driven mills that flourished at Turvin, Marshaw Village (by the Hinchliffe Arms pub) and on Elphin Brook (down Cragg Vale) posed no real threat to local farm based weavers at that time.

Next down Elphin Brook were Castle, Paper (opposite the Robin Hood Inn), Cragg, Hoo Hole, and Scar Bottom mill (Mytholmroyd).

[10] Although Cragg Vale is a small linear village, it has two pubs The Robin Hood Inn and the Hinchliffe Arms, and a Caravan and Motorhome Club Site.

It is located at the start of arguably the longest continuous gradient in England (after perhaps Pishill in The Chilterns)- 968 feet over 5.5 miles[11][12] There is an annual bike race up it; this is a hill climb and normally run by the Yorkshire road club.