Leeds to Low Moor 17/04/17

11.2 miles, via Holbeck, New Wortley, Upper Wortley, Tong, Westgate Hill, Birkenshaw,
 East Bierley, Cliff Hollins, and Oakenshaw.

The long Easter weekend nearly turned into a complete washout, after promising such a good start with social beveraging in Hebden Bridge and a visit to Batley Mill on the return trip to invest in new boots from Mountain Warehouse (pair #6 not being needed just yet, and will this be introduced in due course), with Saturday's trip then being lost to a heavy chest cold and Sunday needing a refocussing of my energy to get myself going on Easter Monday morning. So plans are revised down extensively, and I convince myself that I feel fit enough for a 4 hour burn, starting my trail from Leeds at 9.05am just so we might get an early finish and plenty of recovery time afterwards, setting a course to the southwest as it is the sole remaining trajectory out of Leeds that hasn't been explored all that much, leaving the station via the South Entrance to see the morning sunshine falling on Granary Wharf. Pass over the canal junction and around the old canal warehouse that is still my favourite industrial building in the city, heading west along Water Lane and next to the Hol Beck, still adoring the industrial heritage of the district and pointing my camera at buildings already photographed a dozen times, heading on past Tower Works and onto Globe Road and it's only once we've passed under the high railway bridges do I remember that this wasn't the way I wanted to travel today. Not going to turn back to pace Springwell Road instead, pressing on to Whitehall Road to pass the Central Viaduct, head under the railway again and past the walled off passage to the old Holbeck stations, and also the railway goods shed that has failed to catch my attention so far. It turns out that my route of choice was a non-starter anyway, as the Sutton Street foot tunnel, the old access point to Holbeck High Level station, has been fenced off due to demolition work going on around the Polestar Petty printworks, so that way will have to have another day, and we press on to Spence Lane and onto the A643 to pass under the railway for a final time and loop around onto the footbridge that rises above the Armley Gyratory, dropping us down by the gasometer at the top of Wellington Road.

Granary Wharf, the Canal Warehouse and Bridgewater Place.

The Entrance to the Holbeck stations, Whitehall Road.

The Wortley Gasometer, Armley Gyratory.

This has always struck me as one of the oddest roads in the city, setting off into New Wortley at double width with great purpose but never actually getting anywhere, as projected traffic through this district of cleared terraces and many low rises and tower blocks never quite appeared. Soon enough, we are upon Tong Road, to be walked again for the second time this year, and the B6154 will provide a lot more company than it did on my circular tour, as we'll be riding it all the way to its end, so familiar sights are taken in from the old cinema fronts and the places of worship, St Bart's Armley still being a favourite, and noting the impressive façade of the old Co-Operative store before we pass the end of Wesley Road and head into the unknown. Soon pass over the railway, as the day's sunshine comes to a premature end, noting that the width of the cutting meant that the GNR formation was once wide enough for four lines, and then its onwards into Upper Wortley, along a stretch that looks surprisingly forgotten about for such a major artery in this city, pondering the memory that this might be where my Brother in Law almost had a horrifying motorcycle accident. First impressions may not be good but the passage of other wide lanes across Tong Road invite the idea of further exploration in this district (a former colleague has almost dared me to walk in Lower Wortley), and the feeling that the city boundary ought to be close comes on soon as we approach the point where Sliver Royd Hill splits off to the left and almost takes the footway off with it, sure enough passing The Brick and some old mills has us descending down towards the valley of Wortley Beck and the Ring Road. Still can't put a name to the district down here, but the way forward is well advertised as Tong Road burns a straight line up the opposite side of the valley, getting the best views of Wortley Reservoir as we pass over its dammed end, and crossing the A6120 to head uphill to get many looks at the variety of council houses constructed in a very small area before passing into the countryside and gaining an evolving view over West Leeds as we look back from the rise.

Wortley Tower, various, New Wortley.

The old Co-operative, Tong Road.

The Brick, and old mills, Upper Wortley.

Wortley Reservoir.

The changing appearance of the city from Bramley round to Armley shouldn't come as a surprise as it was noted the last time I travelled this way, and we're shadowing that route as we leave the city behind, taking the corner by Beulah Farm and meeting The Beulah (at Farnley) to pass that trail and note that the pub appears to be back in business this year. A downhill tilt follows, as views over towards Pudsey emerge again, and the way forwards becomes obvious as the line of Tong Road is again visible uphill on the high ground between Pudsey Beck and Tong Beck, dropping down past Farnley Cemetery, that odd cluster of suburbia at the top of Troydale Lane, and meeting the group of farmsteads and apartment buildings attached to the mill at Roker Bottom. Enter Bradford district as the road rises again, largely contained between walls of hawthorn bushes, to hide the caravan sites, perhaps, and its a pretty harsh slog uphill, with a local jogger burning me off very slowly, but interest is maintained by looking off to the north towards Pudsey as South Park mill and the Fulneck Moravian settlement grab the attention across the valley, distracting me on the long drag up to Tong Village. The impression that is easy to get of Tong is that it must surely be unique in being free of Suburban Sprawl, having not grown hugely in scale like its neighbours Gildersome, Drighlington and Birkenshaw, but a closer look will see that there is still a lot of relatively cotemporary development attached to it, but all done in way that keeps the village feeling small and appearing certainly rural. Definitely a good place to wield the camera though, taking in the cricket field, the Greyhound public house, the village hall, the 18th century St James's Church and the lane to Tong Hall, a notable house from the late 17th century, the lords the manor of which having done their very best to keep the village unchanged for the better part of 300 years, strange to think that the local Holiday Inn has never before dropped on my radar, though.

Tong Road presents a view back to West Leeds.

Above Troydale and the view towards Tong.

The View over Pudsey Beck to South Park Mills and Fulneck.

St James's church Tong.

After an early lunch we push on to the west and get that burst of elevation that gives us a view to Rombalds Moor and the Chevin off to the north, and later all the way back to a city of Leeds panorama, from a point on the horizon that would surely be hard to pick out from the reverse perspective, passing Tong Garden centre, another place still not visited, and following the lane as it twists its way to the Lane End, home to the farm shop and luxury cattery, before meeting the farm with the horse carousel, by the 6 Acre pub and the Nawab's curry house at Westgate Hill. That's the top of the day, as we meet the A650 roundabout and set a new path down into Birkenshaw, down Cross Lane and through an industrial estate where the Speedibake bakery dominates, and then we find the GNR Ardsley - Laisterdyke line, and the site of Birkenshaw railway station occupied by the TNT depot, and suddenly we're somewhere we've been before, as well as finding ourselves in Kirklees district along the way. The path by the hedge leads us to Moorlands Road to bring us suburban terraces and semis, and an illustration of how village development has gone down in so many West Yorkshire villages before dropping us out on the A651 and the feeling of Kirklees being Legion is illustrated by the sight of Emley Moor mast off to the south, that's despite this being only our second footfall in the district in the three years of the ABTS odyssey. A rare off road section comes next, passing off Bradford Road between the bungalows to make a track across the field on either side of Moor House equestrian farm, before returning to the suburban splurge on the edge of East Bierley, meeting a path that leads us past the duck pond, the Methodist chapel and across the village green with stock before meeting South View Lane again, still remembered for the fine view that comes to the south, naturally, with the best situated cricket field in the district. Continue on through the suburbia and past the New Inn, but won't be continuing on into Bradford this time, taking the turn onto Cliff Hollins lane to gain an elevated views over the fields below Dudley Hill and Bierley, and also right across the Kirklees and Calderdale panorama to the south, a fine spot for the views amongst what would appear to be a rural landscape of rough fields and equestrian farms.

Tong Lane presents a view back to Leeds (and Beyond!).

Moorlands Road, Birkenshaw, has terraces and semis.

East Bierley duckpond.

Cliff Hollins Lane has a view to Holme Moss and Meltham Moor.

However, that would do a disservice to its history as this was once a landscape littered with coal and ironstone pits, linked by tramways and inclines to the Bowling Ironworks south of Bradford, relics that take some spotting as many have been out of use for a century, but the line up to Wheel Pit #5 is still traceable, whilst extensive spoil heaps reside at the valley floor at Toftshaw Bottom, and the best survival is the Eight Horse Incline, still enduring as a farm track visible past Upper Chatts farm. It's also a good spot to gander over to the railway previously walked, noting the ascent up from Low Moor that was not clearly felt when on the ground over there, and our declining lane sets us off in the direction of Oakenshaw, snaking down towards the suburban growth at Woodlands and meeting the path of the Kirklees Way, of all tracks, as it drops us by the waterworks at the top of Hunsworth beck and then sends us up under the M606. Hello again to the Richardson's Arms and St Andrew's church on the side of Cleckheaton Road, keeping to the path previously seen as we ascend Wyke Lane up past Oakenshaw Cross and the many suburban farmsteads to the hilltop where the Spen Valley Greenway runs through Oakenshaw tunnel. Don't use that as my final path, instaed descending Green Lane to take in some more atrractive terraces and meet the path into Victoria Park by the War Memorial, following the cycle-friendly track in the direction of the station, and taking in the scale of the old railway embankments that cannot be acknowledged when walking atop them. So final steps take us among the shed of Transperience once again, arriving on the platforms of Low Moor station at 1.15pm, delighted with my timekeeping and delighted that the stamina, lungs and knees have given me enough of a burst today to make the rest of my Rural Bradford circuit plausible for the coming weekend. (Of course good feelings for a Monday lunchtime are somewhat put aside as this is written a day later, as a 4 hour trip in less than warm weather has proved to not be a good idea at all, and my lungs are toiling harder than ever, and I'm probably looking to a couple of days NIW to recover...)

A landscape of railway, tramway and mining remains, also Equestrianism.

The Richardson's Arms and St Andrew's church, Oakenshaw.

Victoria Park and the War memorial, Oakenshaw.

Transperience Tram shed, Low Moor.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2694.5 miles
2017 Total: 129.5 miles
Up Country Total: 2450.2 miles
Solo Total: 2439.2 miles

Next Up: Low Moor to Shipley again? but this time it's the Alpine Version!