Rumination: To Coast, and Coast.

After a holiday, a break is usually necessary, a sad cliché that any time out from work leaves you tired enough to need another holiday, and after completing the major plank of my walking plans for the year, some rest, self imposed or otherwise, is a good idea before the final quarter of the season goes down. As it happens, there proved to be no scope for a fourth day of walking as my holidays came to an end, the third rest day being used for a trip to Fleetwood Freeport for some useful retail therapy, and then for a drive back down the Blackpool promenade without actually stopping, surely the best way to experience that town. The only stroll of note coming as I wandered up to the viewpoint at the top of Mellor Moor, 200+m above the Ribble Valley, and only half a mile distant from Finch Cottage, to examine the remains of the Royal Observer Corps bunker and to take in the panorama that encompasses the entirety of the county of Lancashire. With the West Pennines to the south, the Forest of Bowland to the north, inland towards Pendle and Rossendale and the coastal plains spread to the west, clearly this a county to explore further, though my next pair of holidays are already planned for 2016-17, and the Ribble Way might have to wait until 2018 at the earliest. The Saturday than brought the poor weather that we had dared to anticipate for the whole week on the other side of the Pennines, so no opportunity for a dash out with My Sister could be found between the rain showers, and anyways, my nieces had a cycle ride to do in the morning and a school fete to attend in the afternoon, so sociable brews were to be had in Egerton instead. The plotted walks will have to wait for another time then, and there's still plenty of future time to fit in the railway walk between Ramsbottom and Accrington, the Leeds & Liverpool canal between Wheelton and Wigan, or the railway and moorland fringe paths on the edge of the West Pennines. So altogether a triumphant holiday, getting in plenty of sights around Lancashire, a county which all of the family could use to spend more time exploring, not least because My Parents still haven't managed to visit Rivington Park in more than a decade of travelling this way.

Leyland to Southport 10/09/15

17.6 miles, via Moss Side, Bretherton, Sollom, Mere Brow & Long Meanygate.

Second rest day, has a lot more rest than the first, the only trip out going to Whalley Abbey in the afternoon before lethargy takes hold, and we retreat back to Finch Cottage so I can chill out before the final push comes on, hoping the mileage to come is not going to psych me out. Fortunately, the coming day is of a completely different profile to those that preceded it, just like the last day to the North Sea coast, level going and heavily drained agricultural land, though this quarter of Lancashire lacks a distinctive name and identity like Holderness. Anyway, back to Leyland by the Parental Taxi, resuming my walk from the railway station carpark, starting out at 9.30am and giving myself a 7 hour window for the long day ahead, passing over the West Coast Mainline and down to the town centre, along Chapel Brow and Hough Lane, and having seen the smarter parts of town yesterday, we now pass through the more ordinary quarters, and they are to be expected in a place that it synonymous with the motor industry, its name still attached to vans and buses worldwide, and at the bottom of Thurston lane we find the British Commercial Vehicle museum in its natural home. Press on westwards, Towngate and Lancastergate suggesting that they ought to be the oldest part of the town, but aren't despite being host to the civic centre of South Ribble district, and we lead out of the town past the duelling Seven Stars pubs on the Leyland Lane - Fox Lane corner and on out over the River Lostock, which is surely a completely different channel from the one I encountered yesterday. Dunkirk Lane crosses the bypass and the remains of surely the oldest building in town in the Dunkirk Hall pub, and on into the suburb of Moss Side, and altogether more pleasant corner than its namesake in Manchester, all 80s suburbs with a couple of old building hidden in among. Thence we are out into the countryside, following the B5248 as it kinks its way through the fields, and even with the amount of traffic on it, it's preferable to anymore field walking, as we are deep into the harvesting and harrowing season. Pass over the Preston - Ormskirk Line, and the bridge provides the most challenging rise of the day, as we are soon below the 15m contour and among some remarkably flat lands, the long straights of the road giving me plenty of cues to dive out of the way of traffic before we finally find a footway at Four Lane Ends, and after observing the Ribble Valley as being the hotbed for Lancastrian cycling, this quarter is revealed to be the place for the Senior riders.

Haslingden to Leyland 08/09/15

18.5 miles, via Haslingden Grane, Pickup Bank, Hoddlesden, Darwen, Sunnyhurst Wood, Roddlesworth Reservoirs, Withnell, Brinscall, Wheelton & Whittle-Le-Woods.

First rest day of my jollies features catching the Tour of Britain cycle race, and the Roman remains in Ribchester, as well as me feeling deeply tired after Sunday's excursion, but I'm going to have myself prepped for a big day as the plan for Tuesday is one of those routes in which I might well have over-reached myself, such is my desire to cross Lancashire in only three days of walking. Inspire my parents to get me out early and down the A680 for a start at the main crossroads in Haslingden at 9.20am, departing down Warner Street and Grane Road, immediately noticing that we are going downhill, a good start when you know there's a lot of uphill to come, passing below the A56 and the former L&Y line that ran up the valley between Ramsbottom and Accrington. Grane Road continues, rising into the Valley of Haslingden Grane, past cemetery and the Holden Arms, where I break off from the road to meet the path over the dam of Holden Wood Reservoir, following the path up towards Tenements farm and then rising over the rough grass to the elevated path which will lead us up the valleys side. A decent surface and clear waymarking of the Rossendale Way means easy going as we rise above Ogden Reservoir, with the steep slopes up to Musbury Heights off to our south, and sight of the windfarm on Oswaldtwistle Moor to the north, continuing above Calf Hey Reservoir which seems to be a popular spot for joggers and dog walkers. Slip into the woods and traverse a couple of stream crossing before getting a confusing moment as we start to rise up the valley head as the path has been moved from its location on my map. The clear route is the correct one though, leading through stickiness at a clough crossing and around some romantically ruined farmsteads before a grassy rise takes us up to Edgerton Moss and the remnants of quarrying, where I manage to completely lose the correct path.

Todmorden to Haslingden 06/09/15

My Faithful Companion of 5+ years,
Dead but not yet Buried.

Late Summer Jollies come around at last, and I might have started with a eulogy for my green walking hat, my near constant companion over the last four years of rambling, badly damaged in the laundry after having finally gotten too disgusting to wear, but it's still coming with me despite two severely frayed seams and significant shrinkage, it deserves to see both coasts in 2015, as well as my tilt for 2,000 miles before I'm 41. So load up with My Parents, and spend Saturday heading over the top to Lancashire, and making a surprisingly short trip to Finch Cottage, Primrose Hill, near Mellor high on the edge of the Ribble Valley, conveniently placed for three of my drop off points on the trail to the Irish Sea coast, but not really well placed for the start. Fortunately, a ride can easily be obtained back to Calderdale from Blackburn, thanks to the reinstatement of the Todmorden West Curve and the atlternative route to Manchester Victoria, so my folks don't need to have a long early morning odyssey back to Yorkshire before I can get going again.

11.4 miles, via Todmorden Moor, Bacup, Rossendale & Rawtenstall.

Halifax to Todmorden 08/08/15

14.1 miles, via Savile Park, Sowerby Bridge, Sowerby, Boulder Clough, Mytholmroyd, Erringden Grange, Eastwood & Cross Stone.

A weekend drops out because of the challenges of Summer working, but now we have another bright day for the trail to the Irish Sea, maybe the most benign weather I have ever encountered in Calderdale, and let's face it, it's been a while since I ventured into this quarter on foot, nearly two years since my high moor explorations and even longer since I started walking it laterally, so 9.25am in the sunshine is our start time, and this is gonna be a long one as the district knows how to bring the challenges even when not venturing to moorland altitude. Setting out along Church Street and Prescott Street has Halifax bringing me more surprises in its styling, the warehouses still standing proud in the Hebble valley, and building such as the County courts and the swimming pool suggesting an enduring civic pride that I might not have expected, and my route of choice along Savile Road is a long parade of proud Victorian town houses and apartment buildings, many falling into the compass of the Calderdale Royal Infirmary these days. Altogether, I've probably picked the best and prettiest axis through this town, and it continues as our path swings down through the terraces that border onto Savile Park, the town's major open space, sitting above the river valley after the first uphill drag of the day and filling up for the local carnival as we pass. My trail leads to the A646 crossing an into the woods around a forgotten graveyard to get an up close look at Wainhouse Tower, the 84m tall tower/folly/chimney of 1874 that is a standard candle for these parts and on that I have never encountered up close, worth a look to see just how eccentric the late Victorian industrialists could be. Descents then follow, with views into Calderdale from Wakefield Gate, slipping among the terraces on Upper Washer Lane and then steep drop down to the A6026 follows Washer lane as I ponder exactly where the break between Halifax and Sowerby Bridge might actually be. Canal Road crosses me over both Canal and Calder, naturally, with leafiness and industry enduring at the riverside along Holme Lane, which brings me up on the railway station, almost unexpectedly, and slip beneath it via that deceptively heighted bridge. Station Road is the familiar corner of the town for me, and it is soon departed as the roads diverge on their different tracks to the south, with us taking Sowerby New Road for a long steady ascent out of the town, soon rising above Calderdale for some fine views west towards Luddenden Dean and Midgeley Moor, whilst suburban growth sits on the upper side of the road, providing an aspect worth purchasing.

Morley to Halifax 25/07/15

13.5 miles, via Gildersome Street, Birstall, Gomersal, Drub, Hunsworth, White Chapel, Scholes, Wyke, Norwood Green, Hipperholme & Shibden.

Despite trail the idea of a trek to the Irish Sea coast at the very start of the season, it has taken quite a while for it to actually come into my plans for the year, with the decision not being made until after the completion of the Wakefield Way, when it should have dropped immediately into my plans on the seafront at Hornsea. So two months on from meeting the North Sea coast, the trail leads in the opposite direction, a bright day coming on as I blaze my second trail in the direction of Halifax, using a completely fresh route to boot, starting out from Queen Street at 9.05am, and cutting west through the Windsor Court shopping parade and Morrisons car park to Corporation Street, and departing the town via the council estate on Wynyard Drive and up Bruntcliffe Road past the cemetery and the secondary school. Off the A643 at the crossroads and onto a familiar track along the A650, past the industrial estate and checking out the few old remnants of the hamlet Gildersome Street that have endured since most of it was obliterated by the construction of Junction 27 of the M62, an intersection so large it takes 10 minutes to traverse it as I follow the A62 to Birstall Retail park. Onwards onto Kirklees after shadowing the regularly taken route to Ikea and Toys R Us, following the roadside through more industrial estates, passing below the abutment of the L&NWR bridge of the former Birstall station on the New Leeds Line, but missing the crossing that I made the last time I came this way, eventually meeting the A643 again, and passing the offices of the solicitors who handled my flat purchase all those years ago before rolling into Birstall town square. This village makes the most notable claim on Joseph Priestley, 18th century natural philosopher and Christian radical, it being the town of his birth with his statute watching the comings and goings in the surrounding streets, all very nicely laid out and appreciated before I press on down Low Lane, to take a detour along Kirkgate and around St Peter's parish church before re-joining the main road again. Hit the long haul up Church Lane, and its a rise I should have seen coming because there are many wrinkles in this landscape, rising out of this valley and on towards Gomersal up on the ridge, a village that I'm still not entirely sure has an actual centre but along the A651 has a prime trio of interesting buildings, the Jacobean Pollard hall, the Red House museum and the Neo-Classical public hall, but seriously, where are the shops?

Beverley to Kingston upon Hull 22/05/15

11.6 miles, via Beverley Beck and the River Hull.

Having not had to drop any days from my schedule on my Trail to the Coast has left me with a day free for a bonus walk, and it makes sense to make for the East Riding's other coast, and to the big city too, not least because a red route presents itself to guide me through this flat landscape. So get an early start from Beverley station at 9.15am, and I'll allow myself a few moments to admire the canopy roof, signal box and station house before moving away down Armstrong Way, and on to Flemingate, where the former industrial sites are getting redeveloped into a new shopping centre, which suggests that this town is in definitely in good health. This leads me to Beckside, now free of the road works that had blighted it all week (finally allowing view of the statue of a dock worker), and beyond lies Beverley Beck, the tidal channel which brought to outside word to the town for many centuries, canalised in 1802 and fuelling the relative industrial boom of the town in that period. Once even boatbuilding took place along this riverside, but now all the signs of industry have passed, the beck forming a starting point for leisure boating and the warehouse and dock buildings having gone to be replaced by apartments and a mid range waterside redevelopment, 'like Bruges' according to my Mother, but all feeling a bit airless and inert to me. Push on along recently developed path on the north side, under the A1174 relief road and into the countryside, thankfully on the other side of the beck from the anglers but having to negotiate the narrow road between boatyard and council depot, leading on to the crossing of the Beverley & Barmston drain, and passing across the flood lock at the small marina at the beck's end.

Beverley to Hornsea 20/05/15

16.7 miles, via Hull Bridge, Leven, Catwick & Sigglesthorne.

Only my fourth night away of my jollies, and already I'm on the last leg of my Trail to the Coast, which seemed like a serious undertaking when conceived during the winter, but now the sea lies only a few miles away across the flatlands of Holderness (or maybe not, that district might be to the south of my trail for today). A 9.35am start is due at Beverley station, but before the trail turns east, a large section of this town centre ought to be examined, taking my path down Trinity Lane, past the Masonic lodge, and to the bottom of Eastgate for a walk around the Minster Yard, taking a look at the outsize parish church which shows the town's medieval significance, before making my way up Highgate, and past the Wednesday Market Place, still setting out its stalls as we pass. Up the main drag of Butcher Row and Toll Gavel, showing the Georgian face of Beverley's second prosperous phase, passing the Saturday Market Place, and on to the other pair of Medieval relics, St Mary's church, which would be a proud parish church in any other town, and the 15th century brick Toll Bar, still with a main road running through its narrow entrance. Historical touring done, it's time to make for Norwood road, finally setting course for the coast and closing my loop around the town, crossing my previous path and following the passage of the A1035 over the railway and among the outer suburbs to cross the relief road and make my way along the shared use track alongside Beverley Meadows, which still functions as the town's common land. Break off the main road at Hull Bridge, taking the old road alignment to the original site of the crossing of the River Hull, replaced in 1976 after two centuries of use, and we turn to the bankside by the Crown & Anchor, rising onto the flood embankment and passing away for the noise of the roads to enjoy a leisurely, and long, walk at the riverside with fields for company and the town slowly receding from view.

Market Weighton to Beverley 18/05/15

12.2 miles, via Kiplingcotes and Cherry Burton (The Hudson Way)

It's raining, but the fortitude of the hardened walker has me setting out regardless (and wondering when that became the norm), with My Parents dropping me off at Market Hill in Market Weighton for a 10am start, and after a brief tour past the Londesborough Arms and All Saints church, the path is set to the site of the old railway station, where four lines of the NER once converged and now nothing at all remains. The ongoing route to Beverley does endure however, once the 1865 NER line, and in use for 100 years exactly, now forming the multi use Hudson Way, named after George, the infamous railway entrepreneur, MP and criminal, even though this line was constructed long after his fall from favour. Once away from prosaic redevelopment of Aspen Close and its public park, we have a rail trail to follow for most of the day's trekking, immediately setting off into the shade of trees, ideal for keeping the worst of the rain off, and rising gently along Goodmanham Wold, the change of scenery becoming immediately apparent when we meet the Red Lane overbridge. Even a gentle rise feels challenging after 20 miles of level walking, and so note is regularly taken down to Mill Beck and up to the rising Wolds as we pass the natural spring at St Helen's Well and cross over the Wolds Way at the missing underbridge on Goodmanham Dale Road. Tree cover passes, replaced by dense hedges, not offering any view at all of the route previously travelled, but rising hills of rough grass immediately shows up the Wolds profile, feeling like moorland even though we are nowhere near even the 100m contour, and the going distance becomes hard to perceive through this terrain, my inability to check my map because of the rain not helping matters any. Exposed chalk in the Kiplingcotes quarry nature reserve puts some more of the landscape character on display before lamenting the loss of the Southwold farm underbridge and not being able to get any kind of profile on the towering bridge over Goodmanhan Dale Road, but disappointments are put aside once we meet the site of Kiplingcotes station. The planning of the line took so long because of the stalling of the landowners at Dalton Park, only agreeing to its construction after accepting the offer of having their own private station, and thus this halt in the middle of nowhere came into being, still with all station buildings and fixtures, goods shed and signal box intact, a small scenario that really deserves a better day for photography.

Selby to Market Weighton 16/05/15

21.3 miles, via New Barlby, Osgodby, Cliffe Common, North Duffield, Bubwith (& the Rail Trail), Foggathorpe, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor & Shiptonthorpe.

Spring Jollies are upon us, and the latter half of the Trail to the Coast awaits, three days across the virgin territory of the East Riding of Yorkshire and no need to have My Parents driving me out to my start point as I can do that from home and only have to rely on them once I am deep into the lands of no railways. A long day awaits, so a very early start comes calling, off the train in Selby just before 9am and down to the river front to slip across the Ouse and into the remaining Riding that has so far gone unexplored, early footfalls carrying me along the A19 through New Barlby, past its assortment of tall factories and flour mills, and avoid a verge walk along the Barlby bypass by entering the bottom corner of the village and slipping across Barlby Meadows to the A19 and the former alignment of the ECML. A field walk leads over to Osgodby, and the side of the A63, offering a welcome footway as we are lead down to my target for the day, the 1848 Y&NMR Selby to Market Weighton line, forming an almost completely straight route across the flattest sort of terrain, before closure in 1954. The alignment is far from completely intact, of course, so we can enjoy less than a mile of formation, maintained as a nature and wildlife reserve by the local parish councils, before running out at Cliffe Common, were the intersecting county lanes all present the original crossing houses, still in use but all showing later extensions that make you wonder why the residents didn't just seek a larger house. This remote corner of level fields also had a station, which gives you a picture of mid 19th century economics, but the formation beyond isn't easily traceable, so no path is made toward Menthorpe Gate and the insurmountable problem of the river Derwent, instead having to take the verge walk along Lowmoor Road northwards, through many arable fields and past the business park that occupies the home of the former Whitemoor Colliery (once part of the famous and extensive Selby Coalfield).

Knottingley to Selby 11/04/15

14.8 miles, via Beal, Chapel Haddlesey and the Selby Canal path.

Set course for the alternate trail to the coast, disembarking at Knottingley at 9.35am, and choosing my path eastwards carefully so as not to retrace steps through the town, as traced last year, so make for Headlands Lane, crossing the railway at the throat of Knottingley MPD, and turning onto Spawd Bone Lane, shadowing the line and still not giving me a handle on this puzzling of town. Over the level crossing at Womersley Lane, and follow the footpath across rough ground to the Springfields estate, meeting the A645 Weelands Road, to make my way out of this town of glassworks, council estates and hidden farmsteads, crossing the Goole line of the Aire & Calder navigation, and making for Dole Bank Junction, meeting the original alignment of the A&C and setting my sights to Selby. Canal shortly ends at Dole Bank Lock, where the lock-keepers house just call out to be loved, and whilst the rights of way along the flatlands of the Aire seem to suggest routes across the fields, the paths on the ground steer you carefully onto the flood embankment to give you the easiest possible going. Flat lands don't offer the best protection from the wind unfortunately, so pacing comes on to keep the warmth in as attention drifts towards Kellingley Colliery, one of the last pair of deep mines in the county, whilst more distantly eyes fix on Eggborough power station, whose changing perspective will keep us amused during all our time on the Aire banks. Also worthy of note is the flood management schemes, ideal to be inundated and contained when the Aire gets swollen, which it hasn't done in the last 7 years or so. Detour into Beal via the farm track when the path gets too busy with sheep, passing by the Jenny Wren and the Kings Arms pubs to get to see Beal bridge, a rare crossing point, and finding my way back to path by Beal Lock and weir, the lock house here is still occupied. Plough on along the bank, as it winds its way along, cutting one corner when to loops get silly, looking over to Birkin and Kellington churches on the horizon, whilst seeing Eggborough Power station gradually coming closer, and despite some welcome evidence of boating, I'm disappointed that there's none of the advertised water-skiing going on along the straights.

Garforth to Selby 14/03/15

17.3 miles, via Micklefield, South Milford and Bishop Wood.

An early start for a long and glum looking day, disembarking at Garforth at 8.45am, and after poking around the station, we set course east, passing through the council houses to finally get a close up look at St Mary's parish church, and we are soon into the unknown once across Ninelands Lane. Green Lane leads to East Garforth station and the only available footbridge across the railway, and once past the bus terminus, it's out of Garforth and onto a field walk shadowing the railway in its rough cutting and the driveway to the Sturton Grange distribution depot. Across the A656 Roman road, and onto a field causeway down to Micklefield, for only the briefest of visits before hitting the farm track that leads up to the bridge across the A1(M), and the changing quality of the soil becomes evident, less red and more chalky, as field track takes us down under the line to York and through the trees to the neat little valley of Newthorpe Beck, as this is a landscape where only small wrinkles make for a dramatic location. Onwards, out of West Yorkshire and into North, through the hamlet of Newthorpe, and along Gorse Lane before taking the shortcut via the foot-crossing over the line to Selby, and then across the fields to Whitecote Lane on a path that has recently been harrowed out of existence. Follow the lane to South Milford, with the distant and familiar trio of Power stations giving the location context, and the village looks both old-timey and commuter-ready, and seems a lot larger than I had expected.

Outwood to Knottingley 28/02/15

13.2 miles, via Stanley Ferry, Altofts, Normanton, North Featherstone and Pontefract.

Resuming the alternate route to the coast and my trail across Wakefield District, we depart the railway station at 9.00am, passing through these three combined villages of Outwood, Wrenthorpe and Stanley, along the residential streets of Ledger Lane, Bolus Lane and Ouchthorpe Lane before finally finding a field or two to traverse. This leads to a path on a former colliery line, indicating the passage of industry in the area before Normanton Golf course grew on the neighbouring fields, and a trek across and around that eventually leads us to the A642, and the road to Stanley Ferry, Ferry Lane, for my third visit to the marina and another crossing of the River Calder and Aire & Calder navigation. Hitting the rising Birkwood Road, which leads towards Altofts, offers unexpected views across the district and into the nearby city of Wakefield as it goes, and the settlement at the hilltop is much larger and mixed that I had expected, and a lot of it is seen as I make my way to Station Road to cross the railway line between Castleford and Wakefield, passing along the footpath that leads me right past the entrance to Normanton station, before entering the town itself. The Midland railway heritage is clearly visible in the town as I pass along High Street to eventually arrive by All Saints church and to meet a portion of the Wakefield Wheel cycling route, which offers a hard track among the extensive suburbs, before dropping onto a muddy track that shadows Sewerbridge Beck, passing alongside an industrial estate, before heading under the remains of another colliery branch line, crossing the A655 bypass road, and leading onto a field boundary walk over to Havertop Lane.

Leeds to Garforth 21/02/15

8.9 miles, via Richmond Hill, Halton Moor & Temple Newsam.

The original route to the coast resumes, and a fresh trail is burned across Leeds, as per my annual plan, and a bright morning comes on with a 9.10am start, leaving the station via the City Square entrance, to make for the Bond Street - Commercial Street - Kirkgate axis across the town centre, which might be my favourite street in the city, as the history runs thick along it, whilst the throng of shoppers gradually diminishes as you pass on beneath the railway in the direction of the Leeds Minister. Onwards across the Parish Graveyard, and over the Inner Loop Roads, away from the new developments that have grown at this end of town, and on to Marsh Lane, to find the site of Leeds' first railway station of 1834, naturally located near Railway Street, which leads us on to the industrial units and terraces of Richmond Hill, with East Park Road following the deep cutting of the railways heading east. Not venturing into East End Park itself, at the old edge of the city, instead slipping onto Halton Moor road, possibly the last forgotten ancient lane in the city, and now a cycleway leads out of the city in a completed unexpected green space, rising above Neville Hill railway yard and the industrial estates of Cross Green, and grazing the bottom edge of the Halton council estate.

Morley to Outwood 14/02/15

5.4 miles, via Tingley Common & Thorpe on the Hill

An alternate route towards the coast, and a first stride into Wakefield District are needed whilst the days of February cannot offer days without gloom and drizzle, so only a modest mileage is going down as I set out from the Town Hall at 10.25am, heading down Albion Street to follow the bottom half of Commercial Street down between the mill complexes that fired the growth of this town, dropping onto the old route of Wide Lane, before leaving the 1930s council houses behind and crossing the parkland that sits aside Magpie Lane. Then it's onwards among the late 20th century closes following the rights of way that have endured so green spaces can still exist among these developments, and then it's a sharp drop down beyond Peacock Green to cross Topcliffe Beck, before rising on the broken and muddy track up to Topcliffe Farm. The farm lane offers a hard surface over to the Capitol Park East office estate, and across Dewsbury Road we meet the embankment that was once home to Tingley station on the GNR Ardsley - Laisterdyke line, where I'll be sneaking through the trees around the back of the garage and café, to meet the enduring railway formation as it heads towards Ardsley, with the branch off from Tingley East Junction still clearly visible. Clear railway formation, with a path but without a right of way, takes me all the way to the trotting field by Thorpe Lane, and the road has to be followed up towards Middleton as the railway vanishes beneath the local Golf course.

Morley to Leeds 08/02/15

6.1 miles, via Churwell, Beeston and Holbeck

No #Hibernot to start this year, let's get straight to the action and the major themes of the season, and trails to the North and East, ventures across Leeds and the road to the Coast all demand that I set out from Morley to Leeds, where a largely unique rout can still be dug out. Starting out from the new WYMetro sign outside the Town hall at 9.50am, my path goes along Albion Street, to the top half of commercial Street, past the Congregational church and branch Library, and down through the terraces of Zoar Street to drop down to Troy Lane and Albert Road, and down the steep path to Station Road. Beyond the railway station it's up the path to New bank Street, where new development has claimed the equestrian fields seen here two years ago, and then it's out into the fields to fall and rise my way to Broad Oaks farm. A field walk leads me into the back of Churwell, and across Elland Road and to head down Old Road, the original route of the Leeds to Elland turnpike and down through the oldest part of the village before passing out below the railway viaduct to the main road and joining Millshaw, which continues the forgotten route of the turnpike across Ring Road Beeston and sharply uphill to meet the back of Beeston itself.