Morley to Sandal 28/05/23

13.6 miles, via Gilroyd, Burn Knolls, Topcliffe, Tingley Common, Black Gates, East Ardsley,

 Jaw Hill, Kirkhamgate, Bushey Beck, Lodge Hill, Shepherd Hill, Low Common, Ossett Spa,

  Spring End, Hall Cliffe, Horbury, Horbury Junction, Broad Cut, Calder Park,

 Pugney's Country Park, Sandal Castle, and Castle Grove Park.

Three rest days later, and after some extra fortification thanks to a whole family get together lunch at the Booth Wood inn on the Ripponden & Oldham Road (which looks like it could become a regular tradition), we ought to be ready to go again as we find ourselves back at home on the middle day of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, with the prospect of a filled slate for the month for the first time this year, and the marker of 100 miles on the year finally falling into view, which prompts us to Sunday walking despite the gloom gathering once again, to reveal that all those bright days still haven't heated the aits all that much. Left to my own devices once more, there's no impetus to get going at a hurry, as we return to the business of finding new trajectories out of Morley towards every railway station within reasonable walking distance, not getting going until we've seen what's happening at our own local development, where work continues on the new platforms and footbridge, with new lampposts being added to the mix, before our trail starts, southbound for a change at 10.30am, rising up the steps flight to Albert Road, noting that some recent tree felling has revealed a new angle on the Miners Arms that hadn't been seen previously, before we strike off, along Clough Street, between terraces and semis down to Middleton Terrace. We seek the path among the local green spaces among the developments on the Gilroyd Mills site and among the closes around Magpie Lane, passing in leafy seclusion across Peacock Green and down to Topcliffe Beck before we start the sharp rise up Topcliffe Lane, towards Topcliffe farm, where much heavy agricultural machinery is arriving, and on around the West Ardsley colliery site, with its tramway embankments still visible, before we pass through the Capitol Park office complex again, dropping down to meet the A653 Dewsbury Road which is crossed by the Highway Agency maintenance depot and the site of the lost Tingley station.

Rumination: Spring Jollies & Planet Spotting

Blogging with a View, in Scarborough.

Sometimes, the value of a week away from home really cannot be understated and before we press on into the High Season, it's worth pausing for a brief moment to contemplate just how good getting away from it all has been for me at the end of May, completely breaking away from all that's going on in my regular life and work in Leeds, and putting some considerable mental and physical distance between it and me, allowing me to properly unwind after some testing weeks and to allow me to get back into a creative mindset that had almost fallen way to the point of irredeemability, restoring my belief that I will be able to continue pursing the hobbies that I've invested so much into over the last decade. Peace and Quiet is wholly under-rated need in this age of almost constant activity, and we really managed to find that on this break away, keeping away from all the disturbances that you might expect when staying in a seaside town, which we were only just doing, as our let was to be found about three miles out from Scarborough town centre, right on the edge of the Throxenby and Newby estates, and looking over the hillsides of the North Yorkshire Moors, where the River Derwent and Scalby Beck rise, on an urban country lane where there was little traffic to be had outside of commuter hours, allowing us all the silence that we needed to allow us to unwind. Thusly, across all my days off the trail, we had time in the mornings and evening to get busy with catching up on almost two months worth of blogging, which you wouldn't know from the timestamps on these posts, but anyone who's been following me for a while should know that my time-keeping is a complete tissue of lies, and that I work better when away from my own desk, despite it being set up for my needs with an appropriately adjustable chair, leading me to conclude that I do my best work when sat at a dining table with an uncomfortable seat that needs to be padded with random cushions, working in a posture that surely couldn't be doing my back, neck or arm joints any favours. 

Doncaster to Elsecar 17/09/22

16.4 miles, via The Rookery, Westfield Park, Balby, Warmsworth, Butterbusk, Nearcliffe Wood,

 Minney Moor, Conisbrough, Burcroft, Denaby Main, Town End, Mexborough Castle, Mexborough, Roman Terrace, Manvers, Gore Hill, Wath upon Dearne, West Melton, West 

 Field, Rainsborough Lodge, Tingle Bridge, Hemingfield Colliery, Elsecar Green, and Stubbin.

It's the End of Summer weekend already, and it's going to be a long one too, the second one of the month, thanks to a Bank Holiday being declared for the day of the funeral of HMQE2, and my patriotic response will be to carry on doing what I do, as being outside to make new experiences in the British  countryside is a much more valuable use of my time that reflecting on a life coming to an end after 96 years, and a career in the public eye concluding after more than eight decades, as that will always be the way that I express my love for this country, pushing the field of Walking Experience that bit further abroad. To Doncaster we travel, on this bright and chilly morning, getting away from the station once all trainspotting opportunities have been exhausted, and exit to the plaza at 9.15am, passing the 'Built for Speed' memorial to notable locomotives and horses before we seek a path south-ish, among the railway associated building to the pavements of The Rookery, taking us by the Railway and the Leopard inns before Saint Sepulchre Gate West is joined to lead us to the old GNR goods yard and St James's church, naturally, and on to the side of the A630 Cleveland Street, past the town's tower blocks and along the railway-side to the Balby Road bridge, and passing over the southern end of the Hexthorpe Triangle. Beyond the entanglement with the start of the A18, we set off south-westerly down the Balby Road, to see much more of the residential city than we saw on our previous visits, passing between the terraced faces and the open space of Westfield Park before we cross to find the ginnel by The Rec club, as it leads us down to the end of Lister Avenue, famous as the setting for the BBC sitcom 'Open All Hours' where Beautique hairdressers doubled as Arkwright's store (with Nurse Gladys Emmanuel's house across the way), to be fondly regarded before we return up to the reach the A630 as it leads on past a view over the rooftops north to Cusworth Hall and along to the old Balby village, at the top of the A60. A plausible jaunt to Leicestershire, across the length of Nottinghamshire, could be started from here, away from the White Swan inn and the parish church of St John, as we carry on above the High Road - Low Road division, encountering the Plough inn and the Luxaa apartments before the swing of Warmsworth Road takes us past Scared Heart RC church and uphill, past the shopping parade beyond and into a tree clad passage among the estates that form the boundary between the Balby and Warmsworth suburbs, with The White Church, of St Peter, being met across the way from the Horse & Jockey inn, where the local roads go high and low again as Warmsworth is approached, or avoided.

South Elmsall to Conisbrough 23/07/22

14 miles, via Moorhouse Common, Hooton Pagnell, Brodsworth, Brodsworth Park,   Marr, Marr Wind farm, Ox Pasture, High Melton, Cadeby, Conisbrough Viaduct,

  Cadeby Tunnel, Cadeby Cliff, Kingswood, Conisbrough Castle, and Burcroft.

As Saturday rolls up, the heatwave conditions already seem like a distant memory as the 39C peak experienced in Leeds on Tuesday (on Britain's hottest day on record), has since seen a welcome regression to the mean as temperatures dropped by 20C to get us back into a much more manageable walking climate, so we can thankfully progress without having a repeat of the Summer of 2018, and instead experience something like the same week of last year, where mid-July spiked hot before slumping into a really rather mediocre second half, as low cloud and chilly rain washed all the way across the Summer holidays. We have a nicely large time window for the plans for today, with a good cluster of points of interest at the end of the trip, really not all that far away in the Don Valley as we alight at South Elmsall a little after 8.50am, finding the day a little brighter than projected as we rise to High Street and drop down to the junction by the bus stand and the end of the main shopping street, hanging a left onto the B6422 and following the Doncaster Road as it leads off to the southeast, passing St Mary's church and out through the surprisingly narrow suburban band at Common End, soon landing in the shadow of Frickley Colliery park as we enter the countryside, not that we get much sight of its spoil tip's heights as it hides behind a bank of trees. Passing over Frickley Beck takes us out of West Yorkshire after less than a mile, entering Doncaster borough and losing the footway as Elmsall Lane moves on to pass through the embankment of the H&BR Wath branch, where we cross the Wakefield Way route and note the house of Moorhouse & South station, before the road starts its rise across Moorhouse Common, where more cyclists seem to be out than drivers as it presses uphill, revealing the local reverse horizon, with the Next depot and quarry marking its eastern edge as we push up past the woodlands of the Ashes and take a turn with the lane across the hill crest to show up the western horizon.This would guide the eye towards the distant Dearne Valley views, if it wasn't for the haze, and instead we have to look down towards the landscape of Frickley Park, which occasionally reveals itself beyond the thick hedges and wheat fields, mostly being obscured by Hooton Pagnell wood before the Hall is revealed briefly, as we land in Hooton Pagnell village, perched on the edge of this minor upland and bringing the picturesqueness along with the views, still maintaining its vintage rural flavour and some of those hints of a Cotswolds style as the cottages and farmsteads hang on around the market cross and All Saints church on its bluff, which are passed as we come below Hooton Hall, with its imposing gatehouse and high walls.

Pontefract to Wakefield 02/04/22

11.1 miles, via Pontefract Castle, Pontefract Park, Park Hill, North Featherstone, 

 Snydale Villas & Streethouse, Sharlston Common, Brand Hill, Bracken Hill, 

  Heath Common, Belle Vue, Fall Ings, and Wakefield Bridge. 

There's only one day of Walking to be had whilst Down Country, as there's also three days of labour to be done around My Mum's house, and a sudden downturn in the quality of the weather to be contended with before we instead return to this season's regular stomping grounds in search of one of the few remaining trajectories in West Yorkshire that hasn't been traced, which involves installing Pontefract as our probable launch point for trails in many directions for the year, alighting at 9.30am again at Monkhill station, with all of the sunshine of two weeks ago, but none of the heat to go with it. To head westwards, we first fall and rise with Mill Dam Lane, past the Railway inn and the Hope & Anchor to arrive below the bailey of Pontefract castle, tracing it around Beech Hill and Castle Chain to land beneath the keep, and its quatrefoil donjon, before rising to the town up Micklegate and Horsefair, noting just how many tower blocks have been built up the hillside without spoiling the ancient aspect of the town centre beyond the Town Hall, along  Market Place to the Butter Cross and St Giles church, and down Beastfair to the war memorial. Split off Cornmarket by the old Courthouse, and descend off the hill via Sessions House Yard and Colonels Walk, between Haribo factory and Leisure centre to find the way down to the railway, which is passed under via the foot tunnel by the playing fields of Pontefract Collieries FC and the urban enclave that has developed around them, rising past Tanshelf station and over the A639  by the gates to Pontefract Park, joining Park Lane as it propels us along the suburban ribbon at the town's west end, past New College and up Park Hill, arriving below the prominent water tower. Having risen with the B6134 to a modest height, a westward view emerges, to the county's distant southwestern horizon, with Woolley Edge and Emley Moor re-sequenced ahead of it, giving us something to look at across the fields of blooming rapeseed as we work our way along the perimeter of Pontefract Golf Course, offering no views north through the hawthorn hedges until its full length has been passed, revealing the look over Glass Houghton and Castleford, and the look towards Leeds, peeking its highest towers above nearby hills, and showing the Aire-Wharfe watershed ridge bounding the city to its west and east.

Hebden Bridge to Nelson 04/09/21

15.2 miles, via Calder Holme Park, Wood End, Lee Mills Bridge, Midgehole, Shackleton, 

 Walshaw, New Laithe Moor, Alcomden Bridge, Greave Pasture, Greave Clough, The Sod, 

  Hey Slacks, Boulsworth Hill (Lad Law & Abbott Stone), Bedding Hill Moor, Will Moor, 

   Deerstones Moor, Upper & Lower Coldwell reservoirs, Walton's Monument, Castercliff, 

    Marsden Park, and Netherfield. 

August Bank Holiday Monday also gets dropped from my walking schedule, not solely because of the mediocre weather, but due to the fact of being laid up in bed for 10 hours of Sunday with an absolute bastard of a headache behind my eyes, as if all the experience of the preceding day out overwhelmed me completely, completely blowing the already busted flush that was August 2021, and so as we head into the final third of this year, we have to start looking to force in the walking long walking days on the High Moors, regardless of the conditions, just to get them paced before the days get too short. That's where we find ourselves as September starts, alighting at Hebden Bridge at 8.15am, and setting out northbound, trying to find footfalls that haven't been made through this town already, which means passing through Calder Holmes park on the north side path and rising over the canal via the bridge into the formal garden by the Picture house, and thence crossing the A646 New Road to head up Bridge Gate, where the marketeers are already breakfasting in the many cafes and our path takes us over Hebden Water via St George's Bridge, the 1510 packhorse bridge that's one of the most enduring structures in the valley. Take a left onto Hanging Royd Lane, behind the town hall complex to trek on among the terraces and factory units that occupy the only significant area of flat ground in the town, which leads us up to another crossing of Hebden Water via the Victoria Road bridge, and another twisting turn or two among th terraced streets that start to stack up on the hillside, feeling puzzled that a riverside path in the town does not exist, only located at the end of Spring Grove where the Foster Mill packhorse bridge leads us across again and into the green passage upstream. The local cricket field is hidden in this riverside glade, as are some allotment gardens and the village bowling club, all crammed onto whatever flat ground they can find upstream from the town, alongside the river that churns away over the riffles and pools that have been contained by built-up walls along both banks, clearly trying to manage the flow of the many valleys that feed water into this single channel and into the Calder, a feat to be admired as we we move our way up to the Lee Mill bridge, where a suburban enclave has been developed on the mill site.

Mirfield to Berry Brow 10/11/19

8.9 miles, via Lower Hopton, Upper Hopton, Dransfield Hill, Houses Hill, Whitley Willows, 

 Fenay Bridge, Birks, Almondbury Common, Bottoms, The Lumb, Castle Hill, Catterson, 

  Lower Park, and Robin Hood Hill.

The last walkable Saturday of the year also gets dropped from the schedule, but not because of seasonal rain, rather a projected maximum temperature of 4C gets me feeling that I'd rather be in bed on such a day, but as we still have a 3+C warmer Sunday to use before my birthday week of being NIW, so we head out for another rail replacement bus ride that seems to be a regular fixture of the mornings at present, taking us out to Mirfield for a tilt at a viewpoint as my planned finale route got walked a fortnight ago. Hop off the bus at the Huddersfield Road bus stand at 9.20am, five minutes walk away from the station, and thus only ten minutes later than a ridden rail would have gotten me out to the heart of the middle Calder valley, but as we set out along Hopton New Road the intense cold of the morning air is felt in the lungs and the view across the fields to Holme Bank Mill and the woods beyond reveals the wisps of a morning mist that has only recently dissipated, and there's frostiness on the pavements too as we arrive at Hopton Bridge to cross the River Calder. Once on the end of Granny Lane, and passing the Flower Pot inn in Lower Hopton, we find ourselves on a familiar path, retracing steps up the suburban ribbon up Hopton Lane at a predictably slow rate thanks to the pitch of the climb, as the alternative field walk seems seasonally unsuitable, meeting the turn to the main body of Upper Hopton with Hopton Hall Lane, passing the old manse and Park farm on the edge of the suburban estate that surround them, getting views over the reverse to the middle Calder as we go. Land by the long wall that contains Hopton Grange and soon come up past St John's church and its vicarage, ticking another Kirklees church off the list, and then come past Hopton Old Hall with its timber framed wings that suggest a lot of vintage, opposite the hall farm, and the arrivals of a late 20th century vintage, joining Jackroyd Lane as it rises on, past the old village school and the last suburban outliers, heading south as we come up level with the woodlands that cover the southern bank of the Calder. Pass Hopton Green farm, and the Clough terrace that sits at an odd remove from the village, and to avoid a twisting road detour, we hit a short and rising field walk between Covey Clough and Benroyd farms on the shoulder of Dransfield Hill, a choice that proves challenging as the waterlogged soil and icy covering make for some hard going on the elevation up to the B6118 Liley Lane, dirtying up the boots something proper as we take our last looks over the middle Calder for this year, territory that still needs further investigation even after 8 years of walking.

The Huddersfield Circular 12/10/19

15.9 miles, from Lockwood, via Crosland Moor, Milnsbridge, Golcar, Leymoor, Longwood, 

 Quarmby, Oakes, Lindley, Birkby, Fartown, Woodhouse Hill, Sheepridge, Deighton, Dalton, 

  Waterloo, Greenside, Almondbury, Castle Hill, Newsome, and Lockwood Scar.

The Autumn weather for this trip looks a bit more favourable than that which we've seen over the last couple, while still feeling far removed from the Summer that we still had in the air only three weeks ago, and before the season stats to grip hard, we ought to get the next Urban Circular off the slate, as Huddersfield has been waiting for it for far too long, and we'll start this trip from Lockwood station, one of the town's few suburban stations and the last one on the Penistone Line that has still to be visited, despite having passed though it about 20 times over the course of the year. So we alight at 9.15am (having enjoyed an all too brief ride out on a 158 Super Sprinter unit, meaning that the days of the 142/144 Pacer units might finally be numbered in West Yorkshire), landing by the station that surely landed her on the hillside betwixt Holme and Colne due to the industrial plant that still operates up here, such as the Prospect Iron Works, which is the first thing we meet past the station yard, and also the Park Works, operated by Santasalo nowadays but once home to the other factory of David Brown of Meltham, which we can locate up Park Road to the northwest, at the top of Yew Hill, next to St Barnabas's, the parish church of Crosland Moor. So despite having started out at a previously un-traced location, we are soon enough in familiar territory, exiting the suburbs at the hilltop and coming across Blackmoorfoot Road at the Lane Ends corner, and start off down Park Road West, which leads us down among the high terraces that enjoy a fine view over the Colne Valley, which is looking a lot more inviting than it did a week ago, giving us a fine view or two before we descend down from the bank to Manchester Road. Cross the A62 and pace it up to the Factory Lane corner, where we descend again, to make proper acquaintance of Milnsbridge, which takes us by the long flank of Union Mill and the neighbouring Socialist club, before we emerge onto Whiteley Street, where we are led over the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, and can look over to the enduring block of mills that sit to the east of the village, and also up to Longwood viaduct, carrying the railway up the valley to Standedge tunnel and beyond, with Longwood Tower and St Mark's church rising on the high side, off to the north. That's where our circular route ought to be heading directly, past the Four Horseshoes and up Market Street, over the Colne and under the viaduct, but before we get to the Commercial mill corner, the feeling that we ought to visit Golcar takes hold, and thus we split left onto Scar Lane by Aldi, to set off on the long drag that will add an extra couple of miles and some extra elevation to the day, keeping to the shady side of the lane as far as the Royal inn.

Holme Valley Circular #1 - Berry Brow to Holme 24/08/19

16 miles, via Cold Hill, Castle Hill, Molly Carr Wood, Royd House Wood, Farnley Tyas, 

 Farnley Moor, Height Green, Thurstonland, Haw Cliff, Fulstone, Gate Foot, Hirst Brow, 

  High Brow, Jackson Bridge, Hepworth, Boshaw Whams reservoir, Snittle Road, Bare Bones, 

   Hades plantation, Copthurst moor, Dobb Dike clough, Crow Hill, Riding Wood reservoir, 

    Yateholme reservoir, Holme Woods, and Gill Hey.

Long Distance Trail means Selfies!
#1 at Berry Brow.

It seems that my cursing of this Summer's weather has brought us an exceptionally warm August Bank Holiday weekend, and I'm not going to complain when I've got 24+ miles of walking on the Holme Valley Circular to come, but it's a frustrating contrast to the conditions that I got this time last year when any sunshine on the peaks of Upper Wharfedale would have been appreciated, but we'll take it when it's here even if an early start will need to be in order as the outbound leg of this trip has shown up to be a much longer route than I had anticipated. It seems that the Holme Valley circular is the forgotten route of Kirklees district as no route guide is in print and there's not a single sign or waymarker for it anywhere on the ground, with only the OS map showing up its route on the OL288 plate, and that will have to be our sole navigator as we ride out to Berry Brow station, on the edge of greater Huddersfield and amazingly still not the last station to be visited on the Penistone line, where we alight at 8.20am, surely ahead of all but the most dedicated dog walkers of the borough. So away into the morning haze, and on down Birch Road past the school at this smart outer perimeter of town, with out first destination of the day silhouetted by the low sun, as our trail takes us over Bridge Street and then up Lady House Lane, with its stepped terraces and improbably located suburban outliers along its steep uphill drag, where we soon split off for a field walk, through the damp long grass. We are getting fine views westwards, though, across the wooded cleft of the upper Holme Valley towards Meltham Moor to the fringes of the Colne Valley to the north, and they are views that expand impressively as we gain altitude, up the side of Cold Hill, though the path route is vague as we scratch our way up to the track at the top, which takes us through the cluster of farmsteads at its crest, with a direct line ahead towards Castle Hill. A rougher track ascends us up to Ashes Lane, where small farmsteads cling to the high ridge edge which we have to look down from, towards the spread of Huddersfield below which feels a lot less alien than it did five years back, but still not quite familiar enough, which positively basks in the morning sunshine nonetheless, as does the view to the southwest and the upper Holme Valley, where so many miles will be put down further into this trip.

Stocksmoor to Sandal 23/03/19

13.6 miles, via Thunder Bridge, Kirkburton, Thorncliff, Emley Moor, Emley, 

 Emley Woodhouse, Bretton Common, West Bretton, Great Cliff, Crigglestone, 

  Kettlethorpe, Milnthorpe, and Sandal Castle. 

Spring finally lands, according to the calendar at least, but I'm not really feeling the joys of it just yet, and as my next week off work lands, my plans very nearly get off to a very sticky start as Northern trains decide that despite being freed of strike actions, they can still cancel useful Saturday morning services on a whim, and then run their next train through Morley 20 minutes late so that I have less than a minute to make my connection in Huddersfield, which I do make but still feel irritated that they are making me start late and getting me exercised. Having already made my first acquaintance with the Penistone line, and having multiple unseen stations to visit along its length, it would make more sense to walk to them for a first visit, but after last weeks trip of walking west into the prevailing winds, I'd much rather walk with the wind behind me, which is why first contact with Stocksmoor station is made by rail at 10.30am, certainly one of the quainter ones on this rare line of village halts and only one town of note. We are thus in the western portion of Kirklees, as we strike east, not in the dynamic cleft of the Holme Valley but above the next one along, which doesn't seem to have a clear identity, or even a river with a consistently applied name, and we leave with the village behind us on the high fields of Stocks Moor, putting the village hall and the Clothiers Arms in our wake as we join Birks Lane and hit the long meandering walk downhill below the bare trees towards Thunder Bridge. It's immediately a trek that I'm glad didn't get scheduled for the end of the day, and as we roll up to this hamlet around the river crossing, the rural picturesqueness can be absorbed with joy, as most of my trekking in 2019 hasn't dropped me anywhere this pretty yet, as rural cottages cluster around Thunder Bridge Dike and the Woodman Inn, all dropped in below the high, wooded banks of the valley. A nice spot for a hotel getaway, and not really that far removed from the wider world, is a thought to ponder as we depart it, along the long angled slope up the eastern side of the valley, completely under the cover of trees all the way up to Penistone Road, where we will dash across the A629 by the dynamically shaped road sign and join the lane that leads up towards somewhere we have been actually before in these remoter feeling parts.

Leicestershire Round #2 - Rearsby to Somerby 23/05/18

15 miles, via Thrussington Mill, Hoby, Rotherby (sorta), Frisby on the Wreake, Gaddesby   (sorta), Ashby Folville (sorta), Thorpe Satchville, Burrough Hill, and Dalby Hills.

Long Distance Trail means Selfies!
#2 at Rearsby Packhorse Bridge.

No walking opportunities for Monday or Tuesday, as I'm more useful to aid My Parents on a trip to the hearing aid clinic on one day, and to accompany them to the church lunch club on the other, though the heat and sunshine seem to have retreated once Wednesday comes around, but  the cue to get back onto the trail comes once time is freed up again, through the part of the Leicestershire countryside that feels most familiar to me. So my leg #2 starts, aiming at taking in the remainder of the guide's second and all of the third as I strike into the East of the county from Rearsby village, starting out from by the Packhorse bridge of 1711 as the Parental Taxi drops me off at 8.15am, under glum skies with a sharp wind blowing from the northeast, and the path leads us over the bridge, past Manor farm and up to the Church of St Michael & All Angels, and deciding that I'm feeling under-dressed as I sneak the paths from the suburban enclave of Church Leys and down past the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace convent. The waterproof is donned as a windcheater as we meet Station Road, and I'll wander slightly from the Round path to see the still-considerable remains of Rearsby Station, where the Cross-Country services now run over the level crossing without stopping, and only the mildest of trespasses is needed to get back on the right track, meeting the Round path by the foot-crossing for a field walk in the direction of the River Wreake, well away from the large dairy herd in the fields below Thrussington. Hit the riverbank after passing over three plots, finding the channel can look more like a stagnant ditch in places, but find it looking more active as we approach Thrussington Mill, where a canal-style bridge takes us over the channel of the river and the remains of a lock chamber, evidence of the Melton Mowbray Navigation, which canalised the Wreake from 1797 to 1877, noted before we pass the mill itself, firmly in the grip of a makeover to make it more like its neighbour downstream. From the driveway, it's back to field walking, through bouth cultivated fields and rough pasture, heading upstream and not really getting any aspect that would suggest we are at the bottom of a river valley, and also feeling no joy towards the wind as it keeps the early going cool, as we come up to Lodge Farm, and its enclosure of Christmas trees, which I always seem to forget have to be grown anew every year.

Pontefract to Garforth 06/04/15

12.3 miles via Fryston, Fairburn, Ledsham, Ledston & Kippax.

Easter Monday turns out to be a glorious day, which is why the weather forecasters suggested dark clouds for the duration and I'm dressed in anticipation of wintery conditions as I continue my quest to visit every railway station in West Yorkshire as I disembark at Pontefract Tanshelf station at 9.50am. North, and around the perimeter of Pontefract colliery we head, once again, seeing how redevelopment is starting to nibble on the site, moving onto Skinner Lane, crossing the railway line into Monkhill and seeing new roads have been cut across the spoil tip, following on the perimeter fence next to the housing estate of at least three vintages, before following the bridleway that hugs the site edge, evidence of a much older route consumed by industry. This surprise greenery leads up Ridgeley hill and then sharply down to Spittal Hardwick Lane, which leads under the M62, soon branching off on the bridleway to Fairy Hill Farm, and on into the bottom end of the Townville estate, on the eastern edge of Castleford. Urban walking continues beyond Sheepwalk Lane, through the Fryston Estate, mostly along Kendal Drive and Watling Road, confirming my belief that anywhere can look good in nice weather, but not finding any suggestion of whether Fryston Park is accessible or not. Paths lead me out into the fields and next to the Castleford - Burton Salmon line, dropping down to the side of the River Aire, and then ascending the steps that are bolted to the side of the railway viaduct, once having provided access to the various collieries for Castleford's miners. From the north bank, we are momentarily on familiar territory before heading on up the path between the lakes of Fairburn Ings nature reserve, passing on into the village, and soon out again through Caudle Hill wood to be greeted with a fantastic view the whole way across West Yorkshire, all the way to Emley Moor, Holme Moss and the Calderdale fringe, a wholly unexpected viewpoint at only 40m elevation.

Tadcaster to Pannal 04/04/15

15.2 miles, via Thorpe Arch, Wetherby & Spofforth.

Resuming the trail on the 1848-1964 Church Fenton to Harrogate line, we start out from Tadcaster at 9.50am, and start of along the north bank of the Wharfe, so the first couple of miles of this railway walk will actually be river walking, as the extent formation to the south is fragmented with the river proving to be an insurmountable barrier. Beyond Mill Lane we can get one railway relic in though, the 1849 viaduct built for a projected line to York, which was never completed and hasn't had a proper use since, and then the trail strikes on along the riverbank until the grounds of Healaugh Manor get in the way and Wighill Lane has to be paced as far as the site of the abandoned village of Easdike. Return down to the riverside to skirt the edge of many fields, with the Wharfe at my left, sometimes below the crumbling banks and sometimes hidden behind the flood embankments and piles of accumulated driftwood, this couple of miles eventually past the sewage farm, bringing us back to the railway alignment, and the Thorpe Arch Viaduct, a sad looking mix of tone and steel, which must surely be crying out for redemption as every river crossing in these parts must be considered valuable. Rise onto the formation for a short while before slipping across the rough ground at the back of the Thorpe Arch Trading Estate, descending to the perimeter road to join the Wetherby Railway path, another triumph for Sustrans which we will accompany for the middle part of the day. Cyclepath and bridleway shadow the alignment to the site of Thorpe arch station, where the goods shed is still visible in the station house's garden, before descending to track level through a mile of stone lined cutting, know as Dave's Mile, dedicated to one of Sustran's most committed members, and it is a lovely bit of preservation work. Pass the keepers cottages at the Walton Road crossing, continuing along the alignment as it parallels the edge of Wetherby Racecourse, before passing under the A1 (M) and A168 and moving along Freemans Way and down a short ginnel before the alignment comes to an abrupt halt at the missing bridge on York Road.