Honley to Ossett 19/10/19

14 miles, via High Royd, Farnley Hey, Farnley Tyas, Anchor Wood, Birks Wood, Woodsome  

 Bridge, Dogley Lane, Highburton, Linfit, Flockton Moor, Lepton Edge, Grange Moor, 

  Briestfield, Thornhill (Edge Top, Overthorpe & Combs), Mill Bank, and Healey.

If you can recall the first half of this season, before we settled into trails around the Holme and Colne valleys, we were traversing the many potential routes across the eastern half of Kirklees, and one path got left over from those days, and so that's where we'll heading today, as the late season and its autumnal weather start to take hold, but at the very least we've been spared the worst of the changeable weather at our weekends, with the weather looking mediocre at worst today, probably due to the Pennines Proximity problem once again. So it's all a bit grey and grim as we alight at Honley station at 9.20am, as we continue to make our best attempt to make multiple uses of all of Kirklees's railway stations, with our projected path sending us off to the north-east as we rise away from the Holme Valley up Northgate, behind Honley High school and among the villas old and new that have parked themselves up here to get the best of the views, rising over the railway and briefly mixing it up with our 2014 path before aiming up among thick tree cover that obscures most of the available panorama to the west. The only hamlet of sorts that we meet on this ascent is High Royd, encompassing only a handful of buildings among its open fields, where no fresh aspect can be gained beyond its largest house of livery stables, and thus rise on past Westwood House, slightly annoyed that the Holme Valley isn't going to give us a reveal before we've met the merge in with Hey Lane, on the level edge behind the declining bank of Farnley Hey wood, where possibly the most 1970s contemporary house in the county dwells. These elevated fields take us beyond the next hamlet-let on the trail, Farnley Hey, which sits at a slight remove from the lane, with Castle Hill rising beyond it, and hopefully that upland lump will reveal its previously unseen angles as we angle ourselves uphill towards Farnley Tyas, while feeling grateful that we've got a footway along Honley Road for the whole trip up, as Raw Gates farm passes at the immediate roadside and School Wood thickly coats the hill crest ahead. The western greyness looks like it's worsening as we land by the village school and make our third pass along Butts Lane between St Lucius's church and the Golden Cock inn, enjoying the pleasingly remote exclusivity that Farnley Tyas's hilltop location gives it (which might well be spoiled by the burgeoning developments on Field Lane and Manor Road), and now that we've completed the first ascent of the day, it's immediately time to head down again, joining Woodsome Road and descending past the short ribbon of suburban dwellings that clings to the hillside edge and passing down below the tree laden side of Farnley Bank wood.

Honley Station House.

High Royd Lodge, Northgate.

Farnley Hey, and Castle Hill.

Farnley Tyas.

Once we've gotten an open view to the north west, we get a reveal of the south-eastern aspect of Castle Hill, the one that has largely eluded our gaze so far, though keeping to the wrong side of the lane to get the views over the Lumb/Rushfield Dike valley seems unwise as the traffic that passes this way seems to use this slope as a dragstrip, and so care needs to be exercised as we carry on down past Hunter Nab farm and into the damp cover of Anchor Wood, where slick leaf mulch and mushrooms coat the roadsides, and beyond which we find an even better look towards Castle Hill and down the valley, with Almondbury Common in its midst. Pass the top of St Helen's gate and the way over to Almondbury, and soon head into Birks Wood with the road on a much leveller path, which doesn't get it feeling any less dangerous as fragments of crashed cars can be found at the roadside, ignored or forgotten by recovery crews, and so we get to feel safer once we come around to some more open sight lines as we descend to the next valley over, arriving opposite Fenay Bridge and Lepton as we come down past Woodsome Hall as it hides away among the rolls of its golf course. More tree cover obscures the views as we slip down to meet the small house cluster around the former corn mill site at Woodsome Bridge, where we cross over Woodsome Beck (the Shepley Dike channel wearing yet another identity hat) and then carry on to meet the side of the A629 Penistone Road, turning south to pass between the industrial works that sit on the side of Beldon Brook (including Paxman 'Pioneers in Scalp Cooling') and then head on through the loose association of cottages, villas and remarkable Congregational chapel that form the hamlet of Dogley Lane. It's a longer push than anticipated before we meet the corner by the White Swan inn, where we turn off the main road to ascend up Far Dene into the concealed mass of Highburton, the hilltop village that has gained a mass of growth that has almost completely merged it with its neighbour Kirkburton up the valley, where our passage take us through where my ancient E288 map still advertises a long-gone bridge on the former railway branch, which only the well trained eye might spot along the way of the climb. It's a sharp climb up to the main village, getting the internal heat up to mask whatever chill might be felt from without, and getting a nicely rural-cum-industrial weaving feeling among the cottages and terraces on the way up to the end of Towngate by the Smith's Arms, where a rest by the Market Cross feels in order as we are squarely at elevenses time, and peer up the valley over the rooftops draws the eye towards Huddersfield, with the distant horizon showing that there is actually some nice weather out there as sun shines down on the wind farm on Ovenden Moor.

Castle Hill, and Almondbury Common.

The view to Fenay Bridge and Lepton.

Dogley Lane Congregational Chapel.

The missing Kirkburton branch, Highburton.

The Smith's Arms, Highburton.

The old village doesn't stretch too far along to the east, petering out past the village store and the bus terminus, and beyond the village school, Moor Lane has one face of suburbia against a rural one opposite, where the farmsteads have resisted the spread of dwellings northwards, while our route has us aiming towards the Emley Moor masts, poking into the diminishing clouds above the rise of hills at the heart of the district, where we'll be headed soon enough, after we've taken a look back at all the wooded wrinkles to the west, where the mast on Fixby Ridge to the north of Huddersfield reveals itself prominently. Beyond Highburton, the feeling is that the climb ought to start to earnest up to the next watershed ridge, but the route is actually downhill along Linfit Lane past the Harry Bower corner, as we bottom out by Manor Mill, and its eponymous cottages and farm, on a branch off the upper reaches of Beldon Brook, before we start our ascent, up through the extremely loosely associated hamlet of Linfit (which is also Linthwaite's abbreviated pronunciation, confusingly) with rural terraces and cottages placed at intervals up the rising lane, with one farmstead demonstrating the muddiest pig sty that I've seen so far. It may have no centre but it maintains a footway up past Linfit Fold farm and beyond the pronounced road kink at Linfit House, where a look back has the sunshine breaking through to illuminate the sight lines back to Castle Hill and Farnley Tyas, and the idle eye could easily mistake the angled and rising fields to the west to be those of the Holme Valley rather than the valley that precedes it, and thence it's open road walking to reach the notional top of the settlement, Linfit Hill, where we get the closest approximation of a village centre. Maybe it being wiser to consider Linfit to be three settlements is the idea to ponder as we settle into the high fields of Flockton Moor ahead of us, where we can look south to the Emley Moor masts and north to the revealing middle Calder valley as we tramp on to Linfit Lane Top and take a turn onto Paul Lane to press northwards, getting more grand views to the west and coming up past a country pub that's enjoying a second life as a remote Indian restaurant, with a farmstead next door that houses the Beaconsfield Gallery, which are both odd things to find up here on the watershed with the Dearne valley to the south-east. The final press of this ascent is up past Far Cockermouth farm, and on to Lepton Edge, where the A642 Wakefield Road completes to rise away from Huddersfield, and the views to the west, blessed with a lot of overdue sunshine, makes this trip, basically plotted to cross blank spaces in the district, entirely worthwhile, as the western horizon thrills once more, with a bunch of familiar sights elevated in a slightly different order.

Moor Lane directing us towards Emley Moor.

Manor Mills, Linfit Lane.

Linfit Hill.

Becsonsfield Gallery and the Cinnamon Lounge, Flockton Moor.

The Western view to the path just travelled, from Lepton Edge.

Landing ourselves back on the red route across the south eastern mass of Kirklees has us retracing steps from the early season, through the woodlands at the southernmost reach of Whitley Park and coming up to Grange Moor roundabout, with its motor garage, Italian restaurant and pub at the top of the A637 and then we hit another familiar track from the Spring as we cut north again, past the industrial estate that has grown on the old colliery site at the hilltop, pacing along Liley Lane to meet Grange Moor village, switching onto Briestfield Road by the green, and its own Indian restaurant in the old pub. Beyond the village store, we find that this curious satellite suburb has that rarest of things, a new pub, the Grange, located beyond the bowling green, and among these short streets of semis, admitted well located to commute to any of the three major towns around-abouts, we meet the village chippy and the old Methodist chapel, and then drop out of the village as signs welcome us to Dewsbury district and we start our path into the branches of the River Calder, illustrating the complexity of this landscape that could be so easily overlooked. We descend away, among the fields, stray cottages and building plots in various states of completion, with the lane angling us towards Thornhill and a view to the east, which reveals only that only three of Ferrybridge Power station's eight cooling towers still sit on the distant horizon after its partial demolition, a loss to the orientational landscape to someone with a gaze like mine, a sight that is lost as we descend with the passage of Briestfield Beck, into a quietly concealed landscape. More cottages and modern out of town houses scatter along the side of this absurdly quiet lane, where we meet a large plot being prepped for development before we meet the old chapel by the Rakes farms, which sits at quite a remove from the main village, which is located once we've pounded our way down a very tight and green passage to where the lane bottoms out, and then hit the sharp rise up beyond, meeting the settlement beyond Holt Lane Head farm. This is one of those village that feels like the modern world has only just started taking notice of it, as development has only just started arriving on the plots opposite the Shoulder of Mutton, and even if it became the latest desirable village in the district, it's still stuck on a hillside at the converging end of a bunch of awkward lanes, away from straightforward traffic links, while for me it presents a good place to stop for a late lunch, right when the middle day's heat seems to be passing, grabbing a spot in the local memorial garden before press on for the last few miles, setting off among the farmsteads to the east, with Thornhill awaiting.

Grange Moor Garage.

The Chippy and former Chapel, Grange Moor.

The descent towards Thornhill, Briestfield Road.

The old chapel, and Rakes farm, Briestfield.

The Shoulder of Mutton, Briestfield.

It sits atop the next hill along, but there's another descent to do to get there, steeply down the lane toward Howroyd Beck, which sits at the bottom of the valley that runs below Thornhill, with our route taking a distinctly twisting route to get the the valley bottom, before we turn up sharply by Mithroyd Green farm and then angle ourselves up the slope of Thornhill Edge, getting into the well situated suburban houses that parked here to make the best of the southern aspect, the residences being as desirable as they come, whilst also offering a view towards the parish church in Whitley Lower, one of the few in Kirklees that I haven't seen up close. The smart suburban edge draws us up to Thornhill Edge Top, where we land on Edge Top Road, by the Black Horse inn, where the urban landscape changes completely, with semis and the large council estate covering a large part of the hilltop, a complete change on environment after many miles in the countryside with its enclaves of upscale living, and this continues until we come up to Overthorpe Park, the green space of the village where our early season walking brought us back in May, and the older portions the village are thus met as we process down to The Cross, with its farmstead on the traffic island. Cross The Town lane by the Ridley Rewcastle memorial drinking fountain, and join the terraced face of Combs Road, which overlooks the view to the north, Thornhill's aspect that is somewhat less acknowledged, looking over the lower Calder horizon from Earlsheaton to Ossett, terrain that hasn't been seen since the early going of the year, and this quiet lane isn't just pretty view as it also offers the old church schools and one of the oldest buildings in the village, with a 1661 date tablet on its garage. Descend through the sometimes vintage suburbs that have grown with this view to come down the crossing of the B6117 Church Lane at the Combs corner, and set off with great purpose down the driveway towards the Thornhill Cricket and Bowling Club, mistaking it for Hall Lane and not realising my error until we acknowledge that the derelict (and now mostly burnt out) former school is on the wrong side of the lane and that I can't see Rectory Park at all, but the tennis players at the club can direct me off the site without having to go backwards, which send me over the infilled cutting of the former MR Royston to Thornhill line. We land on the bridge that once ran under the deeply muddy Hall Lane, and the Kirklees Way route would invite us on towards Healey if my curiosity for a bit of railway architecture wasn't so strong, which leads us alongside the railway along a farm track for a short trip in the wrong direction, to meet the underbridge through the embankment that the tramway from Combs colliery down to the L&YR line and the staithes on the canal used to run.

The descent to Howroyd Beck, and the ascent to Thornhill.

Edge Top Road, Thornhill.

The oldest house in Thornhill, Combs Road.

The Thornhill Cricket & Bowling Club.

The Combs Colliery Tramway bridge, under the MR Royston - Thornhill line.

These are the sorts of features that you's never put into the landscape if you didn't know to go looking for them, and after doubling back to find that path that leads down below the Mill Bank to the side of the Calder & Hebble Navigation at Mill Bank Lock we find another minor railway line of the colliery complex running beside it, which operates as a bridleway these days, taking us on a muddy way along the brown waters' side down to Midland Junction bridge and back to Hall Lane on a sometimes waterlogged route before we cross Lady Anne's bridge to get back on the Kirklees Way route again. The towpath leads to Figure of Three Locks, where the footpath splits off to make its muddy and damp way along the side of the River Calder and under the contemporary railway bridges at the western end of the former Healey Mills marshaling yard, a path that seems popular with local people who aren't fully prepared for the treacherous conditions underfoot, as if they hadn't quite anticipated the conditions, and we are led to the north side of the river via the footbridge, landing us in Healey between the Kerry Foods plant and the Calder Vale mills complex, where Ossett brewery and the Brewers Pride inn seem to be the local commercial draws. Ossett lies ahead, as we return to Wakefield district after quite a few months away from it, hitting the sloping Healey Road as it leads up past the former town gasworks site and up to the suburban edge, without presenting any complex route to get over the elevated edge that sits along so much of this side of the Calder hereabouts, passing long runs of terraces at a remove from the mills at the valley floor and also the rag warehouse that's now home to local St John Ambulance (and has that organisation lost it possessive 's, or did it never have it?). Rise on through suburbia to meet The Green, with its smart villas and hotel, which ought to lead us up to our convenient end point, if it wasn't for the fact that Ossett station, and its railway line, has been lost since 1964, and all that remains by The Tap inn is the foot tunnel to the platforms, along with the station house, which is largely hidden from view and is best seen from the garage yard at the bottom of Southdale Road, which takes us up past Southdale gardens the close that has completely consumed the site. So on, to Station Road, where the elevation of the road above the houses and the former goods yard to the north, over a now lost bridge is the only remnant of the GNR's metals that could have taken me on a ride back to Morley Top, the lane now having to take us on to Ossett town centre, where it's market day and the crowds need to be avoided by heading up Prospect Road behind the town hall and the shopping precinct, to land at the bus station, in good time to land an overly complex ride home at 3.05pm.

Midland Junction Bridge, over the Calder & Hebble Navigation.

The contemporary railway crossing the Calder, at Healey Mills.

The Brewers Pride, Healey.

The Rag Warehouse (former), Healey Road.

The subway to Ossett station, from The Green.

Station Road crossing the former bridge over the former Ossett station.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 4242.1 miles
2019 Total: 591.7 miles
Up Country Total: 3779.1 miles
Solo Total: 3927.9 miles
Miles in My 40s: 2835.9 miles

Next Up: Colne to Calder, plus tallying 600 miles in 2019, Weather Permitting!
     EDIT: Weather does not permit, and Sunday walking will keep our mileage modest.