Alone Beneath The Sky: Leeds to Otley 14/05/15

11.4 miles, via Burley Park, Queenswood Estate, Clayton Wood, Tinshill, Scotland,
Moor Side & East Carlton.

Shockingly, we have only one weekend to fill before my Spring Jollies come along, and not feeling like attempting anything too ambitious, it's back to city walking once again, with the day looking much nicer than we were promised, allowing another late start as I exit Leeds station at 10.10am with the feeling that I'm starting to run out of unique routes to take through the city centre. It's not a huge problem as there aren't going to be many trails blazed to the north-west any time soon, initial footfalls take in Quebec Street, King Street and St Paul's Street before cutting a path across Park Square, where St Paul's House is still Thomas Ambler's masterwork and always worthy of a shot or two despite first being photographed 14 years ago. Across Westgate and its bold traffic island before heading up Leighton Street past the Nuffield Hospital to emerge by St George's, to embark on part of my old route to and from work, passing over the Inner Ring by the Clarendon Wing, and on through Woodhouse Square and Hanover Square, both Georgian attempts at creating a new suburb for the city that never quite came to fruition. The latter looks like it's having a bit of a spruce up, to retain student custom I'd guess, and Denison Hall is still there, gradually getting more and more hidden by foliage at the top of the park, still a good sight to see before I shift to Park Lane, home of the college, and slide down into the land of student apartment blocks that have grown at the town end of Burley Road. Not wishing to step again on my path to Guiseley, the pavements of Westfield Road lead into the bottom corner of Leeds 6, or Hyde Park, the quarter that has largely retained its resident population rather than being filled with transient students, and it's good to have a nostalgic amble along the terrace ends of Alexandra Road, and to find the small park that I had somehow missed along the way. Arriving on Cardigan Road, we are conveniently opposite the footbridge over the Harrogate Line and into Burley Park, a regular haunt back in the day, and not seen in nine years or so, and redevelopment seems to be claiming a couple of fresh sites for student flats, but the bulk of the Beechwoods are unchanged, and it's a rapid drop and rise again along Stanmore Hill before we can have a brief hello to my old house on Knowle Mount.

Meet the edge of the terraced district at St Michael's Lane, but the view back over the city has gone as the privet hedge has grown way higher than my head, and I can then feel momentarily bad for not fitting in the Headingley stadia into my schedule as I head off among the semis of St Anne's Drive, and still ponder the obvious lack of an eponymous church to name this road. Soon pop out at Kirkstall Lane, above Headingley tunnel and station, and Queenswood Drive leads us on, and it's one that's always felt like an old country road, but only dates to the mid 20th century, and a look at the houses that face it reminds you that you are in council estate territory here, albeit one with a pretty decent aspect and the woodlands of Beckett Park behind it. Once again we are closely parallel to our last trip to the northwest but the views are completely different, and there's almost a complete history of Leeds estates going on along its long rise, low rise and high rise, semis and terraces, and once you roll up at Spen Lane, the sight of a stone built cottage strikes you as most incongruous. A short cut through more estate houses Old Oak Drive, to drop us on Butcher Hill by St Andrew's, and enjoy the view in much brighter weather this time, keeping to the grassy track on the edge of the playing fields before dropping to the lane by Abbey Grange to find workmen digging up the road and none of them being sure where to direct me around their trucks and digger. Find the footpath alongside the Harrogate Line again, and find some wooded walking through the last surviving corner of Fillingfir Thick (awesome name!) before waiting for a long time to make the crossing of the A6120 Ring Road, and then it's on into Clayton wood, where the path on the map does not always correspond to the one on the ground. So slip under and over the railway to avoid the risk posed by the former quarry, and find some boggy going and easily startled deer on the path through this ancient woodland that has managed to survive into the 21st century despite the growth of the Ireland Wood and Tinshill, and its ultimately delightful, despite the vague pathways, but sticking to the lineside will eventually bring you out to Silk Mill Gardens and the streets out to Station Road, and Horsforth Station, not really in Horsforth, and a right of way will lead us through the old station goods yard and up to the edge of the city and the field walk beyond, an excellent spot to sit in the shade for lunch as the aeroplanes fly overhead on their approach the Leeds & Bradford Airport.

Afternoon field walking has me getting my amble on, and slow speeds are made on the passage to Ling Bob farm, where makeover work is growing a villagelet, and a clear but uneven path leads on to Owlet Farm and Grange as the equestrian fields get even more challenging when dried hard, and it's hello again to the Leeds Country Way on the path up to Dean Grange farm, and one day I'll learn why this rural corner is known as Scotland. Curiosity is piqued by the icehouse/air-raid shelter at the laneside before hitting the field walk to the coppice by Oaks farm, leading to a track on another field walk, where a farmer on a tractor gives me quite the most confusing directions to avoid his labouring and for me to get to Scotland Lane, and the rural feel almost has you failing to notice that you are on the perimeter of the airprt site, near the overflow carparks. Moor Side is another hamlet barely worthy of the name, where Springfield school hides from site and a curious ruin stands at the corner of Dean Lane, and this leads down to and up from Carlton Beck to the impressively located Headlands farm, and the woodlands beyond seem inviting, so happiness reigns as the path goes into them. The end of bluebell season can be enjoyed as shady passage is made alongside Gill Beck before a long field walk draws us on towards Harrogate Road, and once over the A658 there are more fields to negotiate to get to East Carlton, a hamlet of actual scale and desirability, but my path barely scratches its bottom edge as I head on to the rise towards the Chevin. Another long field walk leads us uphill, but thankfully rewards with a plethora of views over Airedale and beyond on the southern aspect, eventually leading to York Gate plantation where the path signage is strange and there are odd remnants of an outward bounds centre (?) alarmingly hidden among the trees. At York Gate it's field walking again on the downwards side, but the Wharfedale view is worthy of being properly savoured, almost giving a better view than from the top of the Chevin, and there's a lot of land in that apron to the north that I haven't visited yet. I'll forward look to that as we descend to East Chevin Road, and the long roll down into Otley, and it's a lot like the road to the west, predictably enough, but with a better footway, and we pass over the A660 before passing the Auction Mart and letting Gay Lane lead us to Bondgate and the inviting quantity of pubs, but this has transpired to be a 5 hour day, somehow, so it's best to notch a 3.10pm finish at the bus station and ride homewards, knowing I have plenty of available refreshment in my fridge.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2178.3 miles
2016 Total: 163.9 miles
Up Country Total: 1981.6 miles
Solo Total: 1948.2 miles

Park Square and St Paul's House, always worthy of a flying visit.

Hanover Square and Denison Hall, pleasingly leafy in the
Spring, but with a bit too much concealment, methinks.

Alexandra Road, Hyde Park, getting my fix of old Student Land.

Stanmore Hill, Burley Park, having lived on two different roads branching from
it for a combined 10 years, 6 months, it's still a place close to my heart.