The planned two days of walking over the long May Day weekend gets scuppered before we even get to Saturday, as it seems that our impromptu Lakeland Fell climbing excursion has done me some damage, leaving me with sore muscles in my thighs, the ones that usually don't get exercised when I walk normally, which still ache as we press on though the early days of May, and thus cause me to drop plans for Monday and move my main walk on to Sunday in order to get a day's rest in before hitting the trail. So we rise with a plan to do West Yorkshire to South Yorkshire again, and only out of force of habit do I check the train times for my return leg before travelling, and find that there will be no trains at all on the Penistone Line, when they had been plainly advertised just the day before, and as the replacement bus services are running earlier that the normal schedule that means we'll have to do this trail at the hurry up, so as to not endure a too late finish. So onwards to Ravensthorpe, that odd station between Dewsbury and Mirfield that doesn't seem to have a lot of obvious purpose, where we depart at 9.15am, with a route projected to take us from the Calder to the Dearne and the very southern edge of its catchment, the river here hidden by the former goods shed and the enduring industrial plant on its bank, as we rise to join Ravensthorpe Road and set off eastwards, away from the industry that sits on it north side and on amongst the long parades of semis that form the outer reaches of greater Thornhill and greater Dewsbury. Thornhill Lees is the sort of place to really ponder how suburbs develop, especially the older ones that so obviously sit at a slight remove from their neighbours, and despite having paced much of the length of Lees Hall Road on a previous trip it seems deeply unfamiliar as we pace on, between council houses and stone terraces, with the lane feeling extra quiet thanks to it having been closed to all traffic for some serious roadworks. The looming proximity of Thornhill's wooded upland isn't really felt until we've passed the Morton House club and the Thornhill Lees village hall, and the suggestions of the possibility of a bright day is teased as the sun tries to break through the band of cloud above to illuminate the curved terrace on the Ingham Road corner, but frustratingly the prevailing light wind looks like we aren't going to have much more sunshine to walk directly into as high grey cloud rules the day to the west.
Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts then, as it brighten up the view with the rising lane, and we look over the rooftops back up the middle Calder valley and north towards Dewsbury, which is partially obscured by the green rise of Savile Town's hill in the crook of the river, but we do get a good view of the former Midland Railway bridge as we come upon Slaithwaite Road, leading its old route into the Thornhill Goods station over the canal. This brings us upon the road as it comes down from Thornhill on the hilltop above, by the big house that used to be the district council office and we strike south-eastwards on the B6117 between the stone terraces that flank The Common before we meet the green edge of town beyond Park House farm, where no sightlines to the river are available thanks to tree growth, and then land on the Combs corner where a few weavers cottages cluster around the steeply descending stream, with the high suburb sitting far above them. Rise with the lane further, among more terraces clinging to the steep hillside, passing the Dolce Vita restaurant and the Alma Inn, before sweeping around another leafy curve by the Hall Lane cottages and coming upon the considerably sized (and quite far removed from Thornhill) Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, right next to the Savile Arms for all your post-service needs. This bring us upon Rectory Park, where we can be sure we've been before, tracing its perimeter as the Kirklees Way route passes through it before meeting the suburban edge of town, where large front windows are a necessity as we finally spill out into the countryside, with the full stretch of the Calder Valley from Earlsheaton to Horbury advertising itself to the north, a view to enjoy as the day's sunshine finally fails and chilly gloom takes over. Still, we have some wrinkly landscape to entertain as we press on down Hostingley Lane, getting the reveal of the low fields of Emroyd Common flanked by the higher lands of Thornhill Edge and the Middlestown - Overton hillside, over which the Emley Moor masts loom, and we also have the MR Royston - Thornhill line in the vicinity, with a cattle creep in the embankment to spot as we come past Hostingley House farm, and depart Kirklees and enter the City of Wakefield, after a fashion. The way ahead is clearly obvious, as we descend towards Horbury Bridge, with the approach embankment to the viaduct rising above as we come down to the A642 crossing, and those arches of blue brick will always catch the attention as I pass by here, even as they are obscured by the rooftops of the houses down Water Lane as we seek the path that passes the Wakefield Way path by Coxley Beck, and then rises to Netherton Road by the railway route, which has gained a new housing development on it since my old map was printed.
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| The view over Savile Town and Dewsbury. |
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| St Michael & All Angels, Thornhill. |
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| The view over the Middle Calder Valley. |
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| The view to Emroyd Common and Thornhill Edge, from Hostingley Lane. |
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| Horbury Bridge Viaduct looms over Water Lane. |
If I wasn't going against the clock, I'd investigate further to see if the route to the viaduct were still accessible, but there isn't time today, so we have to join the B6117 again as it pushes uphill towards Netherton, enjoying the view back despite having seen it before with less gloom and more sunshine, hammering the way up to prove my legs are back in condition and noting that the old sign that directs us onto Blacker Lane has misspelled 'Grigglestone'. This is the much narrower end of Netherton village, which takes us past the whitewashed cottages that surround St Andrew's church and on through the suburbia that has bloomed here, some of which has done its best to blend with the rustic cottages around, whilst others are those 1970s style bungalows that surely nobody loves, soon passed by as the lane becomes rural again and gives us a sightline directly towards Wakefield, as if our route just want to keep on going towards it, despite my protestations otherwise. We scoot downhill steeply, as this region around the Calder insists on keeping things interesting, to cross Pits Beck which surely provides a reminder of the industry that once thrived in this landscape, and then rise again with the footway feeling like it's not going to offer much protection from any errant motorists, feeling happier once we've emerged from among the high hedges to the next view, forwards to the bulk of Woolley Edge, and down to the Calder Grove viaduct, which sits neatly visible from this appreciably high vantage point. Press on through the Rapeseed fields looking both forwards and left before this old lane drops through the natural level of the ground, feeling so narrow that contemporary traffic might still be gouging outs its route from the soils, shifting downhill as we espy multiple former route in the landscape to the south of us, eventually coming upon a pair of stray suburban semis at the field's edge, just this side of the railway bridge on the former L&Y Horbury west curve, where we've passed before, where access to both the British Oak Colliery site and the Caphouse Colliery tramway could be gained. We press on though, up to the A636 Denby Dale Road, and cross by the British Oak public house, continuing on up Blacker lane as is passes under the railway line down to Barnsley, and rising up through the trees beyond steeply before we arrive in Great Cliff, the very edge of suburban Wakefield, which we won't be venturing any closer to as we turn to Cliff Road by the converted chapel with the large parking garage in its undercroft and pacing among these terraces and suburban outliers down towards the Station Pub in search of that bench where I can take elevenses and take stock on my progress so far.
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| St Andrew's and the Vicarage, Netherton. |
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| Blacker Lane's startling descent to Pits Beck. |
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| Calder Grove Viaduct hiding beyond the Rapeseed. |
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| Passing under the Horbury West Curve (former). |
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| The Chapel and Sunday School conversion, Great Cliff. |
I've been going pretty quickly, it seems, which is fine as the big climb of the day is due to come next so being ahead of a decent pace is just fine for now, which we start by joining Dennington Lane, which takes us briefly through its eponymous hamlet, a curiously isolated pair of terraces which might have been related to the network of collieries that were once worked in these parts, before it rises on alongside the M1 which we cross via a bridge with aggressive traffic calming measures on it, as if it wasn't actually built strongly enough for the traffic that would use it. It's a straightforward uphill pull from there, joining Woolley Low Moor Lane as it rises with a footway all the wat to Woolley Moor farm, which is a residential home these days, and then have to brave the rest of the climb without a footway, with the sharp tree-fringed Woolley Edge ahead of us, with expansive views over Dennington Hill, and then middle Calderdale and Wakefield city emerging before we arrive in the last remains of the once extensive Bimshaw Wood. Rise on to meet the high lanes, beyond the few houses at altitude, and immediately enjoy the view west, across the Dearne's valleys to the long, high flank of the northern Peak district beyond, and choose to seek oot the actual summit this time around, as we didn't see it on our previous visit, rising to the top of the woodland fringe with the bridle path to see the very limited view to the east before picking a path though the trees southwards, a way that many have paced before it seems. The 176m Beacon Hill trig is pretty obvious, on a rocky plinth that's just a bit of a scramble to get to, and it once commanded a lofty view over the Dearne Valley and beyond, but it now mostly concealed by the branches of many gnarly trees, but it's still a summit to claim, having falsely bagged it five years back and from there we descend to the road on the gradually declining path, emerging by Rose Farm, where the benefit of a feature garden and big viewing window are well demonstrated. It's a fine view to see again, with the High Hoyland bank rising in front of what I assume is distant Bleaklow, and we can espy our way forwards, rising into the next valley down from up here too, and after gaining all that height we have to lose it again, by joining Haigh Lane to shed nearly 100m of altitude as we go carefully against the traffic, and the cycling gang that has chosen this route for their hill climb. We'll not be tempted away by the promises of paintballing in Savin Royd Wood, and keep going down to meet Haigh hamlet, which is little more than three staggered terraces that stretch uphill at the roadside, built as accommodation for the miners in the nearby collieries, I'd assume, but enough of a place to warrant a station on the Wakefield - Barnsley line, the house of which can still be seen after we've passed under the railway bridge, tracking the path of the Wakefield Way, once again.
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| The curious hamlet of Dennington. |
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| The ascent to Woolley Edge. |
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| The Beacon Hill Trigpoint, Woolley Edge. |
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| The way forward to the Dearne and the Cawthorne Dike valleys. |
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| The colliery terraces of Haigh. |
At the bottom of the lane, the crossing of the River Dearne is so well concealed that it's actually possible to not notice the watercourse at all, and we next have to tangle with Junction 38 of the M1, by passing around the southern side of its roundabout before the footway doesn't lead us to the side of the A637 and instead leads us around the back of the Barnsley borough road gritting yard, and on to the stub of the old road alignment by the Old Post Office steakhouse, which might have always been remote to the surrounding farmsteads. The Huddersfield - Barnsley turnpike rises as we join it, away from the Dearne and giving us a backdrop view of the Woolley Edge upland, adding the Woolley Grange colliery redevelopment to the landscape before terminating at suburban Barnsley, and taking us up Swithen Hill and past the impressively made-over Swithen Farm, gradually degenerating the footway up to the lodge house until we're forced to switch sides to look west and the try to make some sense of these fields and woods to the south of Bretton Park. Eventually spy the path we took over the high fields towards High Hoyland, and then descend with the lane, as it sweeps around the parklands of Birthwaite Hall, the sort of pile that you don't really expect to find in a landscape so thoroughly scoured by colliery workings, and that will sit to the north of us as we join the Ballfield Lane up towards Kexborough's estates, where the Delta Academy of Darton dominates the wooded and quarry-scarred hillside that it sits atop. Urban Kexborough doesn't quite bring the prettiness, but there sure is a lot of it, spread down many parallel streets as we crest the hill down to the takeaways corner and the White Bear, which has been boarded up since we last passed this way, and meet Churchfield Lane, which we join past Jacobs Hall farm and the Y-Pas chippy before angling away into the unknown by the Spar to descend Bence Lane in front of the suburban fringe. The view over the Cawthorne Dike valley isn't as distinctive as might have been hoped for, with suburban Barnsley laying ahead and things opening up southwards once we pass over the M1 again, as it heads towards Hugset Wood, beyond which our destination lies, and there's no western view at all before houses claim both sides of the lane and we land ourselves on the A637 again by Bence farm. Pace the main road south again, cursing the fact that this corner of South Yorkshire seems to want for obvious off-road route, though staying on the pavements does bring its own benefits as it plainly takes us over the channel of Cawthorne Dike before rising up towards Barugh, where the concluding end of the Barnsley Canal isn't too obvious, though past the Royal Inn and the Primitive Methodist chapel, the route of the former railway branch to Stanhope Colliery is pretty obvious as it crosses the road, if you know you're looking at it.
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| The Old Post Office, Low Swithen. |
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| Seeking a familiar Horizon below Hoyland Bank. |
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| Urban Kexborough. |
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| The Way to Come, from the M1 bridge, Bence Lane. |
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| Spot the Missing Railway, Barugh. |
Our route up the B6428 Barugh Lane takes us away from the industrial route into town, but keeps us on the suburban fringe of Barnsley, rising us past the Crown and Anchor and on along the front of a long line of semis that face the fields filled with many closes of later additions, and the hoped for views west don't come as the road levels off, only giving us a view back to Kexbourough before we run on meet the A635 Cawthorne Road crossing by the Little India takeaway, judged the best in the county in 2016, according to the signs. Past this crossroads of stone terraces we meet the Barugh Green estate, with the rising Higham Common Lane taking us past the village primary school and the plot of Mansard roofed houses that look like their builders had a shortage of bricks but a surplus of timber and tile on site during construction, before the council estate landscape gets a bit more randomly planned as we meet the village of Higham, where cottages still endure among leafiness and the Engineers Arms occupies a prominent road corner. We can look from here directly back to High Hoyland on its bank, now clearly recognisable after a few passages by, but only the faintest view west comes over the tree tops before we enter a parade of council houses once more, with the Methodist church at their heart and the sound of the motorway coming from below not too far away too our right, meeting the top of the common by the lines of colliery terraces opposite Alam's Lounge and the lofty view down towards Barnsley. We then cross the M1 for the fourth and final time, gaining that fine view to the north, and join the green lane that takes us past Lane Side Farm and skirts the unnamed woodland that thickly covers and equally unnamed hillside, which gradually angles us down towards the A628 road that bypasses Dodworth, which we pass under before passing straight under the railway too, and also into the valley of the River Dove, I think, as we land in Barnsley's suburban fringe for the last time. Higham Lane drops us on the Barnsley Road corner, though we are well ahead of schedule and won't have to pace on an extra hour into town, and turn right instead to head up Mitchelson Avenue, right through the heart of the local council estate, where to sound local you must remember that the W in the town's name is entirely silent, pulling us uphill among the brick and pebble-dash to land on Station Road. Our finish line is only a stride away from here, to the station that revived after the closure of the Woodhead route in the 1980s, a modest affair of only a single platform, just below the business park on the vast site of the Silkstone collieries, where we'll wrap at 2.20pm, feeling well warmed by an absurd pace, despite the external cold, with the rail replacement bus a quarter hour distant and lining up well to connect with other services, and get us home in surprisingly decent time.
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| The Cawthorne Road terrace, Barugh Green. |
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| The Engineers Arms, and the High Hoyland view, Higham. |
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| The Colliery Terrace, Higham Common. |
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| Lane Side farm and greenery, Higham Lane. |
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| Mitchelson Avenue, Dodworth. |
5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 3806.1 miles
2019 Total: 155.7 miles
Up Country Total: 3413 miles
Solo Total: 3515.6 miles
Miles in My 40s: 2399.9 miles
Next Up: West to South again, between Two Previously Unseen Stations.
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