Moorthorpe to Pontefract 30/08/15

13.6 miles, via South Kirkby Colliery, Upton, Badsworth, Low Ackworth, East Hardwick, Darrington & Baghill.

August Bank Holiday weekend comes around, but only one day of walking can come from it as I really needed the lie-in on Saturday morning, and the Monday drops from the schedule because the weather looks like utter garbage, again, so the Sunday is the only good day of the weekend, with the restricted transportation options spoiling my original plan, but a small amount of tinkering means it's virtually walkable in reverse. So early trains ahoy for a ride out to Moorthorpe, the other station on the other line in the South Kirkby - South Elmsall conurbation, and it's a 9.25am start once I've gotten away from the confusing mess of ramps and footbridges, heading west along Barnsley Road to the Carr Lane corner and find lot more late 20th century suburbia in the vicinity than I had expected, having anticipated many more colliery terraces in the lands which surrounded the South Kirkby site. Graze the edge of the main sit by the landscaped tip, and meet the path that leads beneath both of the railway lines again, taking care to stay on the correct surface this time, and the ongoing route north will spend a most of its distance shadowing the latter of these lines, and calling it by its original name of the Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway makes a lot more sense than its contemporary name of the 'Dearne Valley Line'. What I thought would be a walk along a field track turns out to be a long trek through a lot more landscaped colliery workings, making the South Kirkby site easily as extensive as the one at Frickley, and it's a popular track with the dog walkers too, a large green space to keep Upton separate from South Elmsall and Kirkby. The arrival by the A6201, post-dating my map, forces me into a bit of guessing to pick the right path into Upton, and once past the old house by the former Hull & Barnsley railway, this coal town reveals itself to be almost entirely suburbia in this quarter, the only notable old buildings be the rough stone Old Shop on the High Street corner, and the farmhouse on Field Lane at the crest of Beacon Hill. The notable feature, visible for miles, is the water tower, concrete and funnel shaped, but an extra trip over toward it seems unnecessary as it hides behind the houses for most of the trip through the village, only showing up well once the walk down the other side of the hill starts. By that point however, attention goes forwards to the vista to the north, Badsworth looking picturesque among the harvesting fields, and Pontefract on its hillsides appearing off in the distance, giving the deceptive impression of us already being close to the day's end.

This track was largely chosen to fit in places that have otherwise avoided my attention, and it was definitely worth coming this way to pass through Badwsorth, easily one of the most picturesque and desirable of villages in the county, new developments blending in sympathetically with the older buildings, and looking more like a Midlands village than any other I have seen in these parts. Honestly, it's pretty remarkable that it has not been affected by any of the mining developments in this district, I guess some places had landowners that saw to it that agriculture would continue to reign, and that's the case here, following the paths that lead north from Ninevah Lane, and finding the path across the fields to the S&KJR has been ploughed out of existence and lacking an obvious destination point, its easier to pick along the field boundary until you meet the hard access track to pass under the embankment, right next to the Hemsworth Colliery branch. Meet Moor Farm and things get more confusing, finding no obvious way across the paddock, and find that the path as illustrated on the map does not relate to the path on the ground, since moved to pass under the railway at the next access bridge, and then a way ahead is blocked by combine harvesting in the field I should be crossing. Fortunately a hard track lead across the fields to cross the River Went, even though the ornamental gate is locked shut to prevent access, it doesn't provide a challenge for me, and anyway, it's better route than the one planned for as it takes us closer to Went Viaduct, the only really notable engineering feat on the whole of the S&KJR. Push up and away from the river, along the shady track into Low Ackworth, another of the corners of Greater Ackworth, and my impression of it along Station Road is that it's kinda anonymous, but the lane name at least suggests a bit of lost history, the village's railway station, of which the goods shed survives, to be found at the side of the rails before passing over the line, finally off the huge embankment that it has been sat upon since the day's start. Signage indicates that I've missed the Hundhill Hall Bank Holiday fair, but I'm making good time as I hit another field walk, to race another combine harvester through the wheat, winning easily and rolling up by the A639 on the edge of East Hardwick, and its next to the village pump that I stop for lunch, before passing through the settlement and leaving the loop of the Wakefield Way, passing along the same course whilst travelling in a completely different direction.

The road walk beyond passes across the Little Went, properly acknowledged after missing it the last time I was this way, and much of my attention is directed to picking out my previous trail in these parts and I do get an answer of sorts to my puzzlement about the savoury scented plants in the area, a bean of some sort. Proper attention is drawn to the ridge that sits at the county's eastern edge, one that has provided a mildly dramatic boundary to a number of the day's views, but bringing something of a disappointment as Moor Lane ascends it without if feeling challenging, a modest rise can appear dramatic in this quarter. Meet the windmill at the top of the rise, crying out for some sails to renew itself as a proper landmark, and eschew the quick route to the finish as I seem to be on a quest to visit every village in the district, and set course in the wrong direction for Darrington, an uncertain distance away down Carleton Road, as it manages to hide from the walker's view by falling off the edge of both the OS plates E278 and E289. It's a pleasant little commuter village, with the church of St Luke & All Saints at its heart, complete with its separate vestry building, but it does not offer me a straightforward return to Pontefract, with the track through Church Farm inaccessible and the one across the fields having been hidden by root vegetables. So a path is made to the very edge of the Great North Road, just at the point where the A1 gains its M, and its a pretty improbable path, one that's surely not much longer for this world, and the road to the end of the day is found along Spitalgap Lane, cut off in its middle when the motorway arrived and not even used by farm traffic these days, rendering it as unadopted lane. It gives some nice views into the flatlands to the east, not seen since spring, and then meet Street Furlong Lane, beyond the crude piles of earth that block off the lane walked, and it's back inside the Wakefield Way loop and along Baghill Lane, to get a close look at the full range of Pontefract's council houses. Over the S&KJR for the last time, and up Midland Road to see Baghill station up close, where I had hoped to start my walk this weekend, one of the least used stations in the country, but the only one in this town with proper buildings these days. So on through the town to pick my finish point, into the centre across the A645 and up Gillygate, and having enough time to make the train, press on away from the bus station down Finkle Street and Back Northgate, identifying the Barracks Gatehouse on the way, and passing under the shadow of the Castle to approach Monkhill Station from Mill Dam Lane, all done after 4.20pm.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 1880 miles
2015 Cumulative Total: 477.8 miles
Up Country Total: 1720.3 miles
Solo Total: 1668 miles

Moorthorpe Station. Built on a line that is somewhat unnecessary, with only one train
an hour in both directions, and it's still one of the best presented stations in the county.

South Kirkby Colliery Terrace.

A Mile further on, beyond two railway lines and the landscaping of the colliery site continues.

Is the Old Shop in Upton old, or just pretending to be? The Magnet Ale sign is definitely old.



Upton Water Tower, rendering the village distinctive from afar.

Badsworth. The Most Picturesque Village in the District.

Went Viaduct, the only major piece of engineering on the S&KJR.

Low Ackworth, dropping points on the prettiness scale for this quarter.

East Hardwick, and the village pump. I wonder if it still works,
I wonder why I didn't attempt to find out.

Darrington Windmill, Carleton, naturally.

St Luke & All Saints, Darrington.

Spitalgap Lane, gradually returning to nature.

Pontefract Baghill Station. Only five trains a day, and barely used by anyone,
but still more substantial and better looking than Monkhill and Tanshelf!

 Next Up: Summer Jollies and three days to the Irish Sea, First Up: Rossendale.