Alone Beneath The Sky: Morley to Halifax 25/07/15

13.5 miles, via Gildersome Street, Birstall, Gomersal, Drub, Hunsworth, White Chapel, Scholes, Wyke, Norwood Green, Hipperholme & Shibden.

Despite trail the idea of a trek to the Irish Sea coast at the very start of the season, it has taken quite a while for it to actually come into my plans for the year, with the decision not being made until after the completion of the Wakefield Way, when it should have dropped immediately into my plans on the seafront at Hornsea. So two months on from meeting the North Sea coast, the trail leads in the opposite direction, a bright day coming on as I blaze my second trail in the direction of Halifax, using a completely fresh route to boot, starting out from Queen Street at 9.05am, and cutting west through the Windsor Court shopping parade and Morrisons car park to Corporation Street, and departing the town via the council estate on Wynyard Drive and up Bruntcliffe Road past the cemetery and the secondary school. Off the A643 at the crossroads and onto a familiar track along the A650, past the industrial estate and checking out the few old remnants of the hamlet Gildersome Street that have endured since most of it was obliterated by the construction of Junction 27 of the M62, an intersection so large it takes 10 minutes to traverse it as I follow the A62 to Birstall Retail park. Onwards onto Kirklees after shadowing the regularly taken route to Ikea and Toys R Us, following the roadside through more industrial estates, passing below the abutment of the L&NWR bridge of the former Birstall station on the New Leeds Line, but missing the crossing that I made the last time I came this way, eventually meeting the A643 again, and passing the offices of the solicitors who handled my flat purchase all those years ago before rolling into Birstall town square. This village makes the most notable claim on Joseph Priestley, 18th century natural philosopher and Christian radical, it being the town of his birth with his statute watching the comings and goings in the surrounding streets, all very nicely laid out and appreciated before I press on down Low Lane, to take a detour along Kirkgate and around St Peter's parish church before re-joining the main road again. Hit the long haul up Church Lane, and its a rise I should have seen coming because there are many wrinkles in this landscape, rising out of this valley and on towards Gomersal up on the ridge, a village that I'm still not entirely sure has an actual centre but along the A651 has a prime trio of interesting buildings, the Jacobean Pollard hall, the Red House museum and the Neo-Classical public hall, but seriously, where are the shops?

No obvious way to make detour to check out Gomersal Tunnel, hidden below the village, so hit the alleyway that leads over to Drub lane which offers fine country vistas to the west as we slip down into the Spen valley, arriving in the hamlet of Drub, where elevenses are taken in the war memorial garden and it's shocking that such a small community could have suffered so many casualties in the First World War. A shady walk leads the lane down to a beck crossing, and then up to the side of the A58 in Hunsworth, and we could follow this all the way to Halifax, but variety demands a more engaging route, which isn't immediately found among the industrial estates along Whitechapel Road, but as we avoid heading into the bulk of Cleckheaton and start to rise again out of the Spen valley, things do get more interesting, passing under the Spen Valley Greenway on the old L&Y lines, and finding the eponymous chapel that names the district hidden away in its overgrown yard. This also a much more forgiving rise out of the valley than the path previously walked, arriving at the M62 crossing without my calves screaming at me and soon enough we're off the B6120 in order to get in a bit of actual walking on grass, taking the path that leads into Scholes across the local playing fields and the common land. Arrive on Towngate, and take the path past the church of St Philip and St James, and odd mix of Victorian body and 20th century spire, and a good reason to warm to Scholes is that fact that the pub on the crossroads is called the Walkers Arms, the path beyond following Westfield lane and a surprising amount of residential sprawl, including the oddly named Proposed Road, which leads all the way to the A58 again. Cross over by Harry's Carvery, and make a short trip into Bradford District, passing through the residential streets of Wyke, checking another town off the list, crossing the village green and getting a close look at the church of St Mary the Virgin having seen its spire on the horizon many times. Green Lane leads over the A641, and a quiet lane leads down to the site of Wyke station, down from the portal of the still active Wyke tunnel, complete with trains, on the L&Y's Bradford - Halifax line, and the paths into the woods around Royds Hall Beck seem tempting, having previously escaped my notice, but we are soon into Calderdale district, passing the site of Pickle Bridge junction and riding to the bottom corner of Norwood Green, last seen on the Calderdale Way, and the memorial garden will be a good spot to stop for lunch, though a shandy in the Pear Tree would be equally appealing.

Rookes Lane leads out of the village and through bucolic scenery before meeting the A58 again, and there's no choice but to follow its side if we are going to make a passage through Hipperholme, and the pull up to Lightcliffe isn't much fun with the traffic thundering by and ne views are to be had of the railway viaduct over Coley beck, hidden away in the golf course. Hipperholme is a familiar site from all the rides made along the A58, and it's a pretty proud settlement for a crossroads town, the spired church actually being the junior site to the less impressive Christ Church at the junction, the memorial garden is extensive, and if you had wondered why the road out of Leeds is called Whitehall road, it's because it leads to the White Hall tavern at the crossing of the A644. Again, the A58 could lead all the way to finish line, but my choice has me hitting the route of Halifax Old Road, and down to the bottom of Shibden Dale, passing the site of Hipperholme station and wondering why here and Wyke have not been part of WY Metro's plans in recent years, and once we have passed under the railway the bucolic scenery resumes and every farmstead looks desireable. Of course, the hills get more challenging and from the bottom of Shibden Dale its a long haul up the other side, which does meen you get views as you go, north to Queensbury and Northowram, but temptation to drift into Shibden park, to get a closer look at the eponymous Hall or tunnel portal are tempered by the knowledge of a completely unnecessary descent. So stick to the road and feel the incline top out as you find yourself level with Claremount but Halifax sitting way down below you, and being on foot means you can take the direct route downhill, passing away form the quarry, warehouses and motor garage that sit oddly atop the hill, moving down to Godley Branch road to Beacon Hill Road and the steep cobbled path that descends all the way down to the bottom of Southowram bank, a slightly slick surface which requires care and one which must be no fun at all for the dog walkers coming the other way. Still, that;s going to be the flavour of Calderdale for the next leg, plenty of up and down, but for now a quick trot on to the Railway station is all that remains, and I'm mildly surprised how quickly the last section of the day went down, as I roll up to complete the day at 2.20pm, with just enough time to catch the train that I was certain I would miss!

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 1822 miles
2015 Cumulative Total: 419.8 miles
Up Country Total: 1662.3 miles
Solo Total: 1610 miles