Morley Far North Circuit 04/07/20

12.1 miles, from Morley Hole, via Bruntcliffe, Gildersome Spur Ind Est, Gildersome, 

 Moor Head, Cockersdale, Nan Whins Wood, Roker Lane Bottom, Troydale, Green Lane, 

  Farnley Hall Park, Farnley, New Blackpool, Far Royds, Cottingley Hall, Millshaw, 

   White Rose centre, Valley Mills, 'City', Scatcherd Park, and New Brighton. 

It's the top of the year already, and while National Lockdown effectively ends today with the revival of the hospitality industry, freedom to travel by public transport still seems to be formally discouraged, and thus we are still keeping the wandering local, but not for much longer as I'm starting to run out of local circuits to do around Morley, this will be my eighth and I can't envisage any more routes that have a substantial element of fresh paths to pace, so we'll be looking further afield after this weekend, pandemic crisis or not. So we launch ourselves out, as June's queer weather behaviours continue into July, with slatey skies abounding as we start out again from Morley Hole at 9.10am, aiming to the north of town by setting off to the southwest with Bruntcliffe Lane, rising with the course of the A643 past the Fielding and Highcliffe Mill site, and barely getting past Morley cemetery before we tick over the 4,000 miles in the North marker, a mere calculation error away from dropping last weekend, and passed in the least auspicious of surroundings, as we carry on past Bruntcliffe Academy to the Toby carvery and Travelodge at the A650 crossroads. Turn onto the Wakefield Road as it leads out over the M621, following a route that always falls as this way out of town, and a route we are only pacing today so that an unseen path might be paced beyond, taking us up Stone Pits Lane as it traverses the Gildersome Spur business park, and wandering through an industrial estate for fun is what we really should be doing to expand the horizons, meeting the grassy path that tracks north between the yard and depot of Downton distribution before we pass over the embankment of the lost GNR line through Morley, still forming a tree-lined perimeter at its top edge. Beyond, we meet the fields that have been levelled with great purpose for a redevelopment that has stalled, leaving a barren landscape to the west, which has also seen the improvement of the public paths in the area and some major work done at the head of Dean Beck too, though the passage out of Dean Wood must be tenuous now, as we join that route paced in 2016 as we rise up the gravelly track up the A62 Gelderd Road, and on into Gildersome via College Road and its mix of suburbia, where its most interesting feature, Turton Hall, is mostly concealed by trees, new build houses and an ancient brick wall.

4,000 miles in the North achieved on the A643 Bruntcliffe Lane.

The Path across Gildersome's expanding industrial estates.

Turton Hall, Gildersome.

We land on the B6126 as it passes through the village as its main road, just ahead of the village green and the War Memorial, and we take a route along Town Street that finally crosses the stretch that all my previous routes haven't seen as we come upon the Mill Lane to Street Lane passage from last weekend, and then carry on up Church Street, past the modern styled replacement parish church of St Peter, the New Inn and the prominently located Baptist chapel, ahead of the Mont Pleasant and booth Square terraces that used to be at the termination point of the village, though there's more suburbia to come as we carry on along another path from 4 years back. We'll stick to the Scout Green lane as we progress on, eschewing the field walk to the northwest, as we carry on northbound among the crowds of semis up towards Moor Head and the New Lane corner, taking the westward turn from a month ago, along with all the local traffic as the upper reach of Gildersome Lane is closed because of roadworks, and thus there's vehicular shenanigans going on as the drivers unfamiliar with this narrow lane run the risk of coming a-cropper as it shifts downhill to the factory and Valley Court mill redevelopment before hitting the steep uphill shift to meet the A58, by the Valley Inn at Cockersdale. Crossing over to hit Dale Road, we are having another blast from the past, retracing old paths from 2016 and 2012, when we did the Leeds Country way, and there's a mile plus of that route to come as we sidle down through this still rather bucolic landscape, which despite some suburban arrivals and repurposings still has the impressive duck pond and apparently overgrown farmstead along the route down to the passage over Tong Beck, where we slip over into Bradford district, onto the field and woodland paths that I recall as being horribly sticky from way back. It transpires that they are still just as bad as they were, with oozing and sticky mud abounding as we progress north, greeting the dog walkers out on this track, and wondering if it's the terrible soil quality, recent dampness or an excess of use that has given us such a horrible surface, one which thankfully ends as we slip back across the beck into Nan Whins Wood, where the surfaces are firmer and suitable for running and riding, like one passing family does as we carry on beneath the canopy of trees, admiring the beck passage as it gouges its meandering passage northwards.

St Peter's Gildersome in the Modern Style.

The Scout Green - New Lane corner, Moor Head.

Bucolic scenes endure in Cockersdale.

Tracing Tong Beck to Nan Whins Wood.

The woodland walk eventually drops us out at the bottom of Tong Lane, right at the Leeds - Bradford border, where we cross to Roker Lane Bottom, by the converted Union Bridge Mills, with the intent of following Pudsey Beck north on its passage up to Troydale, but there turns out to be no access up that path past the dog training field, as it has suffered a bank collapse, and thus we are forced to improvise an alternate route, figuring that a rise with Troy Road is the wisest option, past the former chapel and the farmsteads with views seeking the path that will get us highest, which is soon located across the rough fields and paddock, up to Back Lane. Rise on to the top of the bank above, betting grand views back over the valley of Pudsey Beck, flanked by Tong and Pudsey, landing by the long exterior wall of Farnley Park, which we'll trace north once more, picking up another route from early 2016 as we press on above the Back lane stables and into the thick knot of greenery that lurks below the turn of Green Lane, which we join to feel like we're sneaking along the access driveway of the rather smart houses that grew up here to exploit the view west and their relative proximity to Leeds despite the feeling of being at a certain remove, retracing those 4 years old footfalls to come around to the drop out onto Hall Lane. This presents one of the best views over West Leeds, over Armley, Bramley and Stanningley etc, with the city centre framed off to the east and the heights above the Aire Valley to the north, not quite one to travel for especially, but a good one nonetheless, where we make our turn east, following the wall of Farnley Park as we track along the lane, meeting the couple who look like they have traveled to the roadside bench to enjoy the view, before entering the wooded shroud that covers the Farnley Park fishpond and its nature reserve. We need to detour here, to venture into Farnley Hall Park itself, as we can't trace two of its perimeter walls without going inside, as do a good many citizens of west Leeds, as it's easily the best one they have, and the driveway leads us directly up towards the house, the pile established in the late 16th century, and then expanded in the early 19th by the notable local families the Danbys and the Armitages, with the newer range facing the parklands with the older remnants behind, which also present a garden that's a fine spot to put the benches to good use and break for elevenses at the day's apex.

Tong Road, the old chapel and the unplanned ascent.

The Farnley Park boundary wall.

The West Leeds and City view from Hall Lane.

Farnley Hall, West Leeds's Stately House.

There's a path around the edge of the vast lawn to pace around before we head on, among the local dog-walkers and child-exercisers, around the estate that became property of the city council in 1945, and has managed to maintain much of the feel that it had when a proper country pile, unlike its near neighbours at Western Flatts and Armley, and coming out here for an exercise and a socially-distanced chinwag is a far better use of time than hitting the nearest pub or cafe, and I'll take in all the views about as we brush the woodlands that surround the former parish church, now the Romanian Orthodox St Macarios the Great, before we head back out the way we came in. Past The former Manor House farm, we need to seek the lost village of Farnley, which still exists in the district name but has very little of its form of a century ago, largely swept away by the growth of the council estate around, and along Cross Lane, the only remnants appear to be the faux-half-timbered Nag's Head inn, and the stone buildings that flank the old Co-op store, and beyond the bus turning circle on Whincover Drive, there's the enduring Wheatfield House and the name of Nutting Grove terrace, with everything else having been replaced in the last half century. Thus through the council house on Balm Lane we'll pace, seeking the old lane route that has been equally lost to time, threading a path down the ginnel that leads to the hidden country road of Billey Lane, which sneaks beyond the estate perimeter as a rough track up to the enduring Gilbroid Farm, with the track degenerating beyond as it traces the hillside brow above the estate, before being cut off by the grounds of Cobden Primary School, forcing us down to the estate once more, to follow the pavements of Whincover Road and Cobden Lane to meet the terraces of New Blackpool, which grew here to service the Farnley Iron and Fireclay works which sat to the south of here. They're still traceable below the Industrial park on the site now, and there was also a railway that accessed the site until the 1980s, the embankment of which can be scaled, after a fashion, via a path route that was once an established shortcut route but has since overgrown horribly, so going is not aided at all as brambles have to be fought as we elevate ourselves up to its crest and trace it along to the missing bridge over the A58 Whitehall Road, where we won't be attempting to follow its passage on towards Farnley junction along the face of the residential development of the Dunlop and Ranken mill site.

Farnley Hall Park.

So Little remains of Old Farnley village, Cross Lane.

The view from the hidden Billey Lane above the Farnley Estate.

The terraces of New Blackpool, Cobden Road.

The Farnley Ironworks branch, hiding by Whitehall Road.

We will instead stay away from a route that feels just a bit too awkwardly trespassy, and stick to the edge of the A58 and the A6110 as we track around the edge of the Kirkdale estate, only getting a sense of the proximity of the Beeston Royds - Farnley Wood hillside once we've come around to the side of the Leeds Ring Road and progressed on towards the railway bridge that carries the line to Huddersfield over on a span that seems far too wide for its modern usage, while passing among the many car dealerships that litter the landscape of Far Royds from the smart ranges at JCT600, to the Vauxhall, Mini and BMW traders beyond. Land on the A62 Gelderd Road again, by possibly the most nightmarish crossroads in the city, which is scurried across as we carry on with Ring Road Beeston to pass under the M621 via a much friendly traffic island, to get back into my locality and set an inbound route as we track southwards, past the busy B&Q and B&M at the Junction One retail park, and on to the Cottingley Hall crematorium and cemetery, below the eponymous estate and towers, across from the tangle with Elland road and the Drysalters, which doesn't seem to be booming with lunchtime drinkers after reopening today. On we press, beyond the estate and the Sulzer plant,  to the bottom of the rise to Morley via the A643 and Churwell Hill, which won't be our red route home, as we are instead sticking with the A6110 path as we scoot through Millshaw, pass the JD Gym that hasn't reopened yet and tracking the industrial estate up some pavements new and familiar in the direction of the White Rose centre, finding verges by the dual carriageway that haven't been cut since the start of lockdown that have turned into there own little wild flower meadows, giving come colour to this otherwise grey day. Pass over the entrance to the office park, and then seek the route onto the White Rose Centre's woodland walk, which is secured to give us some cover from the only notable burst of drizzle that we'll be getting up today, as we rise up beyond the overly secured site of Elliott Hudson college to meet the side of the railway, where we can peer into the car parks of the shopping centre that still aren't near full three weeks after normal commercial service was resumed, tracking our way along portions of our early season circuits as we head back in towards Morley from the east.

The railway bridge over the Ring Road, Far Royds.

The Junction One Retail Park.

Wildflowers by the Ring Road, Millshaw.

The White Rose Centre hiding from its Woodland Path.

Coming this way feels like a blast from the recent past as we track along the railside up to the footbridge and the Valley Mills site, spotting the 185 and 158 units on the run into Morley station, which we'll come upon soon enough after tracing a way around our familiar Socially Distancing route around the town gasworks site and up Valley Road, landing above Morley tunnel before starting a circuitous inbound route that has us rising up the steep and long flight of steps up to Albert Road, landing between the Miners fisheries and the Miners Arms, where the patrons of both are admirably keeping their distance. Pass over here to join the bottom of Ackroyd Street and then angle ourselves on along Cross Peel Street, among the terraces of the district that old maps call 'City' to meet Peel Street itself, which leads us between the buildings of City Mills and the former board school as we head into the town beyond Commercial Street, avoiding the shoppers who are patronising the bargain stores that flank this road as we are lead across Queen Street, which appears busier than ever today (but that's mostly because I never normally see it on a Saturday lunchtime). Follow Wesley Street westwards, detouring to see that the mural in Beryl Burton Gardens has been revealed once more, pressing up past the Central Methodist Hall and into a district of terraces that might otherwise have gone unnoticed unless I was questing to traverse every road in town, passing one notably vacant lot behind St Francis's RC church before we find another proud terrace front along Westfield Road, which leads us into the Queensway car park complex, in which the Church of the Nazarene could be mistaken for something else entirely, and the facade of Morrisons dominates behind the Town Hall, as we pass among the shoppers and beyond the bottle banks that notably aren't full at the end of lockdown. Cross Queensway and enter Scatcherd Park, between the skate park and the playground, and track in our route on between the playing fields and the bowling greens, looking up the still dormant leisure centre and the park facing houses that are unnecessarily concealed by trees, before we join Queen's Promenade and Bright Street to seek the other run of ginnels that pass among the bungalows of New Brighton, cutting across Foster Crescent to send us down the causey that lands us at Morley Hole for hopefully the last time in a while, all done at 1.30pm, having now circuited around what feels like every plausible path around this town over the last few months.

Hopefully our last trainspotting episode on the Morley SDC path.

The Valley Road - Albert Road steps.

Peel Street and the old board school.

The Westfield Road terrace, hiding in plain site.

Scatcherd Park.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 4474.6 miles
2020 Total: 208.1 miles
Up Country Total: 4011.6 miles
Solo Total: 4155.3 miles
5,000 in my 40s Total: 3068.4 miles

Next Up: Returning to my Support Bubble for the Weekend.

~~~

Pandemic Thoughts: Week 17

After concluding my own personal lockdown experience a few weeks back, this last Saturday marked the effective end of the national Corona Virus lockdown for much of the British populace as the hospitality industries resume business, allowing folk to return to pubs and restaurants for some social relief, a huge release for many, and also a good reason for trepidation as the containment of the spread of infection that has been in effect for so long ends, throwing a lot of people back into the mix without adequate preparation and instruction on how to take best care in these still confused times. Listen to our esteemed PM sending out deeply mixed messages doesn't help the feeling of anxiety of what could yet unfold, but I'll draw a small amount of hope that no one among my spread of acquaintances are suggesting that their behaviour of the last four months is going to be changing any time soon, even those who I'd thought might aren't, not least because they have relatives who are still shielding, and it suggest that there are still cool heads around, even if they are just among the friends that I have carefully curated, not willing to visit everyone they know in a single weekend and go on their most epic pub crawl ever. Naturally, it will be a while before we know if we've opened Pandora's Box or not, but the release isn't being felt nationwide, as Leicester has gone back into Lockdown after their spike in infections, which means the shops that had only just got opened up are now shut and many office workers are being returned to their homes, with no opportunity at all for more sociable reach for a few more weeks yet, and that looks like how the immediate future might play out, as local authorities assess risks through the summer and act accordingly, and swiftly too, you'd hope. This hasn't affected Mum too harshly though, as her business with her church is still far from resuming, and after filling the Spring with gardening exploits, she's now on with organising various workmen for a lot of jobs that need to be done with the refitting of their manse, which needs to be done ahead of installing a new minister in August, tasks which would have fallen into my Dad's hands in the past, but proving to be one that she has enjoyed so far as lockdown restrictions haven't adversely affected it, though the scale of the task was revealed to her this week as she went out to spend £600+ on 60 litres of paint, which then needed transporting away.

Otherwise, we are back to regarding the world through my eyes, and jamming about as much experience as is possible into my working week, featuring two more days of cover at Seacroft MRL, and travelling out and back on the 6.55am and 4.49pm trains, and finding them still much quieter than I'd expected, especially when compared to the rides that I'd catch when running to a normal schedule whilst on the LGI site for the remainder of the week, as the crowd at Morley has grown to shy of a dozen people in the mornings, and the evening ride away sneaks closer to that 25% capacity of all available seats being occupied, mostly due to the shoppers riding home at commute time. Still, getting back to my usual role, it's two days of audit business and then a day of cover out of the delivery hub, as OPCs start up again, and I can get a new feel for the hospital environment, as well as catching up with more colleagues whom I haven't seen in months, whose perspectives range from having milked the lockdown overtime situation for all its worth to quiet horror at the way 2020 has unfolded, whilst crashing in on my pal OB again has her feeling hopeful that an air bridge might be soon opened so she can visit family in Poland, whilst I'm still feeling anxious about travelling too far abrosd from Leeds district. Holidaying couldn't be further from my mind as I look to a whole year close to my regular locality, absorbing the latest news that full stats on the national infection rates are finally being made available, confirming my impression that the horrify death rate of some weeks ago was skewed by under-reporting of figures, and the bigger picture is useful to have now, albeit rather too late as the time for containment measurement has passed, but it's worth noting that the UK is still topping the table for global infection rates (alongside the US and Brazil, showing up something about having a right wing populist government that has a distaste for expert opinions). But don't worry too hard though, as those who would govern us have a strategy to get us out of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, as it seems that they intend to build their way to renewed health, that familiar old chestnut of investing in infrastructure rather than  in people, a bold plan, coupled to the evisceration of planning laws, which probably result in the construction of houses people can't afford, office blocks which no employer actually needs needs and public transport schemes that no one will want to use; No Doubt, we have a bright future ahead for all...