Sandal to Glasshoughton 15/04/22

11.1 miles, via Oakenshaw Junction, Barnsley Canal, Heath Common, Heath, 

 Kirkthorpe, Newland Hall, Calverley Green, Altofts, Lower Altofts, 

  Wakefield Europort, Whitwood, Ackton Pasture, and Cutsyke. 

Having taken a weekend out to visit My Good Friends in Calderdale, and to get in my first night out on the town since the Covid Pandemic started, in Manchester, we can return to the trail feeling socially recharged, which is just as well as the long Easter Weekend is next on the slate, right at the cusp of the year starting to be warmer, and we’ve gotten a trio of routes to cram into the four days, from starting points around greater Wakefield aimed at railway stations that have yet to act as finish lines on my travels, and that’s what we have in mind as we ride out in the Good Friday sunshine. Alight at Sandal & Agbrigg station at 9.40am, and our route starts southeast, through the car park on the western side of it, to find the cycleway that follows the former railway spur that linked the GNR-GCR main line to the North Midland main line off to the south, rising over what feel like a mile against an already sharp natural gradient, to drop us down below one of the many Oakenshaw junctions at the northern edge of Walton village, which we turn away from to follow Oakenshaw Lane north, to soon see an Azuma making shot work of the ascent on its London-bound passage south. Passing north we can look to Wakefield on the horizon, and find a pony loose in the road before we choose to make a brief detour to trace the Barnsley Canal’s section that we didn’t examine in 2015, the channel that meanders north towards Agbrigg, still in water and reedy, forming its own sort of nature reserve with a developing right of way along the tow path, followed as far as the channel remains up to the allotments before overgrowth stops progress and we are compelled to go back the way we came, listening to the sound of the diesel trains making slow progress south on the railway. Back on the lane we spy the viaduct on the canal, and befriend the horses in the fields of Oakenshaw farm as we pass around it, to pass over more railway lines, the Crofton line and the spur to the North Midland line, which seems to be theme in this district as branches and links abound, before we are angled around to meet Heath Common and the A638 Doncaster Road, both of which are passed over, the former on an isolated stretch of former road among the rough grass and gorse bushes, and below the horses grazing the pasture to the south, with the remains of Heath Old Hall on the immediate horizon. 

The path from Sandal to Walton.

Oakenshaw Lane bridge.

The Barnsley Canal, looking towards Agbrigg.

The Barnsley Canal, looking towards Walton.

Passing around Oakenshaw farm.

Heath Common.

Across the A655 Black Road, we join the old Kirkthorpe Road as it swings its way across the north edge of the common and up towards Heath village, which is more village green than residences, with all its buildings scattered widely, where a bench offers an elevenses spot across from the King’s Arms inn, and beyond the old school and Cobblers Hall, we can pass across the wide green space between Heath House and the new Heath Hall, both impressively scale piles, with the wall of the latter being traced with the road onward, pushing us away from the city as the East Moor estate lingers on the northern horizon. Beyond the Hall farm, the lane traces the perimeter of its fields, all the way to Kirkthorpe village, where the Freiston Hospital almshouse and the stocks catch the attention before we shift down Half Moon Lane by the old Cheesecake inn and join the footpath that takes us directly behind the church of St Peter, dropping us down under the railway line betwixt Wakefield and Normanton, and into the landscape that surrounds this reach of the river Calder, one of many tracks of uncertain accessibility and a feeling of post-industrial blight despite the greenery and the riverside location. Historically, there was coal mining to the east of here, while the far bank of the river is still home to Wakefield’s main landfill, accessed via the concrete bridge that we pass below before we seek the path up to Newland Hall, never too sure if we are on a right of way or not, but it seems tramping and cycling by the public around here is a given as we pass through the woods up to the main housel site, of which nothing remains as we pass directly through it, though its farm and stables block endure, albeit in an advanced state of decay. 

Heath Village.

Heath 'New' Hall.

Kirkthorpe village, hiding in plain sight.

The post-industrial path to the Calder's banks.

The Welbeck Landfill access bridge.

The Newland Hall stables block.

Legal paths are located as we pass onto Newland Lane, noting that Parkfield House is also boarded up, as if the estate’s destiny is to go to seed, and meet the Trans Pennine Trail link route as is pushes north over the parkland, passing us outside the walled boundary ahead of a sharp right turn onto the path that takes us across the lofty fields, offering a wide horizon around as we head towards Altofts, which is met beyond the allotment gardens and the lodge house as Patience Lane angles us in amongs the terraces of Calverley Green. High Green Lane is met by Lee Brigg school, and followed up to where we resume the eastward press with Church Lane, taking us past Martin Frobisher school, named for the Elizabethan explorer and ore importer who was a local boy, which gives the settlement a vintage that is now rather diminished by being a suburban expansion of Normanton, off to the south of us, as our path takes us along the local pub crawl route, passing three as the Horse & Jockey, the Poplar and the Miner’s Arms as they give some interest to the landscape, among which the church of St Mary Magdalene is the other notable. The M62 bridge is met at the village's end, and passed under as the landscape usage starts to shift, despite Lower Altofts trying to maintain a residential identity between the playing fields and the site of Altofts & Whitwood station on the Normanton – Woodlesford line, as the West Riding & Silkstone collieries once dominated this landscape, now replaced by the distribution depots of Wakefield Europort and all sorts of light industry that give the historic country lanes a peculiarly ahistorical feeling as the negotiate a way among them, squeezed in between railways, canal and river. 

Tracing the tracks beyond Newland Park.

Patience Lane, Calverley Green.

The Horse & Jockey, Church Road, Altofts.

The Miner's Arms, Church Road, Altofts.

The railway terrace, Lower Altofts.

Among the depots and industry, Altofts Road.

Whitwood village seems like it got lost as industry grew around it, with pubs now isolated beyond the railway line into Castleford, and its suburban ribbon replacing the old settlement along its eponymous lane, with its church now lost and post-industrial Lego housing development filling in the open space ahead of us meeting the A655 Whitwood Common Road, where the Rising Sun inn and the former Mexboro Arms display their colour schemes well, as we cross over into the edge of suburban Castleford, as Wood Lane directs us between terraces and the neighbouring council estate. The continuing growth of the town is met at its corner as suburbia spreads onto Ackton Pasture, though a green corridor is maintained at its southern edge for us to travel along, accompanied by local cyclists and dog walkers as we head over to Aketon Road, which is passed over as we continue our path through the urban vinatges as Westwood Road and Green Lane take us among Cutsyke’s council houses and beside the vast yards of Atkinson’s Fencing before Flass Lane is met, taking us by the recycling yard, at the edge of the part of town that is still redeveloping since the Wakefield Way last brought us here. Take a right by the Cutsyke Junction level crossing and shadow the railway along a cycle path that passes under the A6539 bridge and traces the edge of Mickle Hill, which was once Glass Houghton colliery’s spoil tip, now getting the urban and industrial revival that can’t quite squeeze out the grimness brought by its scrubby grass and gorse bushes, as it looms over the contemporary development of Xscape and the retail park across the way, which Glasshoughton station exclusively exists to serve, where the brutally long level-access ramps are noted as we rock up at the excursion’s end at 1.45pm. 

Not much left of vintage Whitwood.

The (former) Mexboro Arms, Whitwood Common Road.

The Green Path, Ackton Pasture.

Green Lane, Cutsyke.

Cutsyke Junction Level Crossing.

The post-industrial path to Glasshoughton.

That’s a poorly placed arrival for the train services (hourly and arriving simultaneously), but does provide a good window for an 80 minute shopping visit to the Junction 32 retail park, where the bank holiday crowds are braved so that we can look for a bargain or two at their four outdoor goods outlets, which naturally returns a pair of new walking trainers from Mountain Warehouse, and the mental note to consider this location at the next time I’m looking at having a spree, as also having Regatta, Black’s and Craghoppers in a single location could prove very useful when I feel like I need a kit upgrade, and have money to burn. 

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 5422.7 miles
2022 Total: 139 miles
Up Country Total: 4947 miles
Solo Total: 5092.1 miles
5,000 in my 40s Total: 4017.5 miles

Next Up: Traversing the city and seeking out a rather obscure finish line.