Low Moor to Burley in Wharfedale 06/05/17

14.3 miles, via Odsal, Staygate, West Bowling, Bradford city centre, Valley Parade,
 Frizinghall, Shipley, Baildon (& the Moor), Hawksworth, and Burley Woodhead.

Dropping the May Day Bank Holiday from the walking schedule, as a long weekend of rest feels like in its in order, proves to have been a good decision to make before one of the most testing four day weeks I've ever worked, after which I'm still forcing myself out of the house despite the fact that I'm still tired and we are still in the grip of a cold spell that continues thanks to the persistent north-easterly wind that is now working into its second week. Anyway, an early conclusion to draw for this year is that Low Moor station has been the true gift to the 2017 walking season, as we arrive here for the fourth time this year, with another course across the city of Bradford in mind, our last for the Spring before the high season draws us into rather more remote territories, and despite alighting the train at 10.05am it takes several minutes to get going, having to exit via the footbridge and car park because there is no direct access from the southbound platform to Cleckheaton Road. Our way forwards is immediately obvious, across the main road and between the pubs, the George, and the Black Horse and straight forwards to Railway Terrace, a long parade of houses built to service the old L&YR station, engine shed and goods yard, the latter pair of which dwelt on the site now covered by a nature garden and woodland reserve, through which our path travels, once located. We rise to the other extant end of the Low Moor Junction footbridge and cleave close to the railway as the path undulates through the woods alongside, the tracks eventually dropping away below as we move along the perimeter of the South Bradford golf course, but before we hit the westward turn, we do need to drop downhill, to meet the other local footbridge to get a clear sight of the south portal of Low Moor tunnel, passed through many times but never seen in person, as it were. Get back on track as the fuzzy right of way crosses the golf course, following a local dog walker as he knows where we are supposed to be going, and it's always good to annoy some golfers by crossing their fairways. Drop out on the access lane, passing the local cricket field, but all interest drifts to the site on the other side of the fields and the impromptu fairground, to Odsal stadium, home of four times Super League champions Bradford Bulls, seemingly hiding from view but actually located below ground in a bowl, and it draws most of my attention as we meet it along the A6036 footway.

Railway Terrace, Low Moor, Original L&YR housing!

Low Moor Tunnel, burrowed beneath Bradford's southern suburbs.

Odsal stadium, the Wembley of the North?

A look across the dual carriageway will reveal the Richard Dunn sports centre, large and distinctive enough to easily be mistaken for it's neighbour, and the change from green walking on the golf course to the footway of the link road between the major traffic arteries in this quarter is a bit of a sudden culture shock, as I ponder who might want a smart mid-sized semi on a road like this. Roll on to the Staygate roundabout, passing onto the Ring Road and over the top of the M606 again, still not having the best weather for the view over Bradford's Valley before dropping down to Chase Way and around the Best Western Cedar Court hotel, and then passing into the surrounding industrial estate to really get the feeling of being the only man out and about here on a Saturday morning. A footpath leads us out of this less than appealing dead end, to Parkside Road, and on into the district of West Bowling, following Woodroyd Road past the Woodroyd centre, and on to New Cross Street by the father snazzy Fountain School before changing course slightly to meet Gaythorne Road, noting that is quarter's terraces seem to have a look of being well-scrubbed as the well-dressed stone has not retained a lot of industrial dirt. Along the way we pass the monument to the Newlands Mill disaster of 28th December 1882, when a chimney collapse killed 54 people, two thirds of whom were children and teenagers, a sobering thought to compare to the realities of this age, and our district gets that bit less picturesque as Bowling Old Lane sweeps downhill among the concrete council flats, momentarily offering another elevated view before we meet Ripley Street again. Continue on as our route starts to take a rather twisty course, intentionally plotted to take us past the huge mill conversion on Stone Arches and around the Bridge Tavern, also named after the main memorable feature of the long lost Manchester Road station, sat on the sharp point of Albany Street and a prime sort of location to have a unique sort of boozer, I can't even tell if its in business or not. Twist onwards on quiet industrial roads, among some of the remaining buildings of the Ripley Mills complex before pacing all the way down to the end of Spring Mill Street to see the surviving buildings of the old gasworks, before pacing back to Parma Street to follow the long perimeter wall down to the railway bridge over Ludlam Street, which formed part of the triangle of lines to serve the gasworks and the city's L&YR coal depot, the coal drops still being in situ and in use as industrial units in places along the length of its side along Mill Lane.

Best Western Cedar Court hotel, Staygate.

West Bowling, cleaner and yellower than many of this city's terraced districts.

The Bridge Tavern, another publican fantasy?

Mill Lane Coal Drops, an easily forgotten relic of a bygone age.

Nelson Street puts us on a course to the city centre, home to even more of the old mills buildings that endure in this town, as well as a school complex without an obvious constituency, and Trafalgar House, the Bradford branch of West Yorkshire police, passing over Croft Street and past the Jacobs Well house to note that former L&YR goods depot was so large that the site is now occupied by Santander House, the Interchange bus station and offices, Gala Bingo, the NCP and the ghastly Bradford Hotel. To Hall Ings, and across by the Magistrates Court to roll up on Norfolk Gardens in the shadow of the slightly more domestic-cum-Arts & Crafts-y side of Bradford City Hall, pausing to lunch on the available benches by the donkey statues and the too-large memorial garden to Bradford police officers killed in the line of duty, moving on after Midday with still a lot of miles to go. A new path is made to Broadway, looking a lot more lively than in did in early 2014, no longer home to the Forster Square hole of infamy and now completed by the Broadway centre, and steps beyond could easily lead to the railway station, but we'll push on up Cheapside and Manor Row, uphill down the valley, among more lofty warehouses, former city council legal offices, and townhouses of another age, to meet the Cupula corner at the junction with Hamm Strasse. A downwards jog drops us onto Midland Road, above the railway lines that surely named it and offering more looks about the valley of Bradford beck, but all my interest drops onto the looming mass of Valley Parade stadium, looking much larger than its 25,000 capacity, home of Bradford City AFC since 1903 and probably still most infamous for the fatal fire that killed 56 on 11th May 1985. Hopefully the 2017 vintage can write the own story in this year's League One playoffs, and we move on pondering the ultimate desirability of the surrounding terraces before the road declines, with the air thick with the smell of the local sawmill, soon arriving on the A6177 again, getting a clear look at the Bolton woods hills that have resisted my attempts to make a path among them, crossing to Bolton Lane and heading downhill to Canal Road. We arrive above the ring road bridge, that could so easily be mistaken for a railway structure, and its pleasing to find an actual railway relic down here, alongside the A6037, in the form of Midland Terrace, a long parade of cottages built to house railwaymen in service of the MR in the goods yards and sheds that once lived at the valley bottom, now all gone beneath so much commercial redevelopment, an observation I'm sure I've already shared.

Hello again to Bradford City Hall, from Nelson Street.

Cupula Corner, on the Manor Row - North Parade junction.

Valley Parade, home of Bradford City AFC, finally seen up close.

Midland Terrace, Canal Road, Original MR housing!

The upper valley is the point where I feel like the jets should be hit for a bit of speed along the side of the main road, but this feels like it might be another second gear all day sort of trip, so we don't get any quicker as we pass the finally emerging Bradford Beck and the road sidles its way between industrial units, car dealerships and playing fields, slipping into Shipley's borough as we meet Frizinghall railway station, still not officially landed on my schedule but looking like it has a larger building than most suburban platforms. Further up Canal Road, we get the towering Airedale house, 'home of Onboard Weighing', dominating the horizon, across the way from the waste management depot in the former Dumb Place mills, and as the council flats rise above the rocky crags of Windhill, we get sight of the trajectory of the Bradford canal, which gives the road its rather inexplicable name, passing alongside the beck and slipping under Briggate, another route which probably needs investigating in the future. Rise to pass over the railway line, south of Shipley, where the Valley Road bridge passes over the former goods yard that now has a scrap metal dealer dwelling in it, rising to meet Otley Road and the houses with rather overstated turrets next to the former Oddfellows Hall, also a former pub, carrying on along its side to find the edge of the town centre where the takeouts and restaurants live, where I looked at potential flats at the end of 2006 before I moved to Morley the following year. Pass the Old Hall, nowadays the Conservative club to cross the end of Kirkgate and pass over the west end of Shipley station, and not ending the day here for the third time on an excursion from the south, instead passing on over the A657 Briggate, with its proud shopping parades, and following the A6038 as it passes over the Leeds & Liverpool canal, to provide an attractive post-industrial view before twisting through a rather less inspired contemporary one on the way to Baildon Bridge, over the Aire. We'll be pressing on further north as we shift our season's focus to the next valley up, and so we set course to the B6151 Baildon Road by The Junction, a pub well placed to encourage walker as the long and steep ascent starts, offering views to Idle hill across the valley as we rise, but no view of note back to the way we came, passing St Teresa's RC church and the suburbia that dwells on this steepest of roads, before pausing by the garden of Ferniehurst Dell, not least because I seem to have slowed to a first gear only sort of speed on this climb, and also because it appears that a Star Wars-esque Death Star has landed in it.

The welcome to Shipley borough, Frizinghall.

Valley road and the suggestion of the Bradford Canal course, near Shipley.

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Shipley.

The Junction, where the ascent of Baildon Road starts.

As the road turn to reveal more of Baildon's suburbia and the old town perched much higher up above the Bank, its worth pondering how this town makes so little sense to me, as I've no idea why it was originally planted so high up on the moorland edge, and then was seen as an ideal growth spot for 1930s development, on elevated plots when car ownership wasn't that common, with the late 20th century working to fill in every available space with closes to make straightforward navigation on the ground almost completely baffling. It's fascinating regardless, and definitely a challenging walk as the ascent just keeps on going, sweeping above Baildon Hall, lost in the suburbs, and around the eastern end of Baildon Bank, upon which the Moravian church sits, arriving in the town centre with my legs feeling like they've had enough for the day, but I'll pause to devour the remains of my marching rations before deciding to press on, not tempted by booze in the Angel or the Malt Shovel or boarding the bus back down the hill. There's more old terraces on the ascending Northgate and Moorgate, as well as a mill complex, a fish restaurant and a garage that time forgot, with the town abruptly ending by the cattle grid that takes us onto Baildon Moor, where the moorland grass dominates despite being less than 200m up and still some 80m below the highest point of the hill, rising on a rough grassy track to the viewpoint carpark where that cold north-easterly wind bites hard. The view is worth it though, all the way down the Aire valley towards Leeds as well as offering a lofty vantage point across the valley of Gill Beck and over the rise of Hawksworth Cliff, we also have a tertiary trig point and some rocky crags that I hadn't known about, over which Hawksworth Road drops sharply, but we've got off road paths to follow through the grass and bracken, past the White House and onwards north to the hamlet-let of Potter Brow, little more than a couple of farmsteads and plots where contemporary dwellings have been built, all a bit removed from the Methodist chapel that was built to serve who exactly? Road walking resumes, an a narrow lane that doesn't feel too safe, especially as it twists downhill rather sharply to cross Mill Beck, meeting the Moor Valley motel and caravan park complex at the furthest edge of Hawksworth, and Leeds district, incidentally, rising on a slightly less dubious feeling lane to Corn Mill farm and onwards to  the lane that could take us to the village proper, all the way looking back to get the best reversal angle on Baildon Mill and Hill, altogether more prominent in the landscape than the much larger Rombalds Moor.

Baildon, all multi levels and baffling patterns of development.

The way to Baildon Moor, less than 200m up.

The Craggy north east edge of the moor, looking towards Leeds.

Baildon Moor and Hill, a reverse angle view.

A great viewpoint comes up as we ascend Hillings Lane to the shoulder of Hawksworth Cliff, looking back over Park Dam and Baildon's Hill to find we've gained enough altitude to see all the way back to the Bronte Moors and Boulsworth Hill beyond, also giving us our first proper view to Wharfedale, with Denton Moor and Round Hill as the prominent points, but the face of Bingley moor offers little of interest, and the Reva Reservoir embankment and the modest Reva Hill are the only highlights on Hawksworth Moor. So Rombalds Moor is a bit of a disappointment on this end, and we descend past Hawkwind (no really) and the equestrian farm, as Wharfedale views open up to the Chevin as we track the plantation edge to the Bingley Road junction and soon meet the path travelled in 2013, carrying on along the moorland perimeter away from the possible ends in Menston or Guiseley, over Matthew Dike and finding that the path down from the moorland spine is much further along that was recalled. From there the descent to the valley starts in earnest, and the signs indicate arrival in Burley Woodhead, but there are plenty of scattered farmsteads along Moor Road, with each one suggesting a village centre, and every cottage having a frankly superlative view over Lower Wharfedale, but it's not a good lane to share with traffic, too narrow for comfort with the vehicles moving ridiculously slowly thanks to excessive speed bumping. One cluster of houses is misidentified as where the Dales Way link came up, not via the cleft of Carr Beck, and it's nice to see a stray railway van in use in these high fields as we descend to the house cluster by The Hermit, where we thankfully gain a footway to use, provided to keep Burley's adventurous drinkers out of mischief, finding it's the fourth house cluster that forms the village, as such, home to the old school and green, where I know I travelled in 2013 onto Burley Moor. Moor Lane takes us down to Burley in Wharfedale from here, on a path among trees and down a footway by houses that have very large plots and a feel of Victorian villas to them, aside from the converted reservoir, to the impressive driveway to Stead Hall farm, and the recently converted Moor Lane Centre, a former mental health facility. Final steps go down through the outer edge of the village, past more villas and under the railway bridge to take a turn towards the station, rolling onto the platform at 4.15pm, a good half hour over schedule, but bang on time for the next train, and whilst my stamina remained good, I don't think I quite got out of second gear all day, but for now I'll just blame the cold wind that has chilled me down so markedly as Spring feels such a long way from the air at present.

Reva Reservoir embankment and Reva Hill, Hawksworth Moor.

The Lower Wharfedale classics, Almscliffe cCags and the Chevin.

Burley Woodhead, the centre of a string of Hamlets.

The Moor Lane Centre (former), Burley in Wharfedale.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2737.3 miles
2017 Total: 172.3 miles
Up Country Total: 2493 miles
Solo Total: 2482 miles


Next Up: Over the Top to Lancashire for the Weekend!  Edit: Nah, not happening, sadly.