16.7 miles, via Houghton on the Hill, Ingarsby, Billesdon, Rolleston, Illston on the Hill,
Burton Overy, Great Glen & Stretton Magna.
Down Country as per tradition at the end of March, to offer company to My Parents and to make myself useful around the house now that My Dad is rather less mobile than he was, so a Sunday lunchtime carvery trip followed by a good afternoon of yardwork gets us off to a good start, but as Spring finally arrives on the calendar it's time to get back on the trail, and as it's been a lot of short trips around so far this must be a cue to get some good miles under my boots. Leicestershire is good country for piling on the forgiving mileages, so another village circuit comes together, almost off the cuff, and deliberately aligned to overlap with my previous circuits of the east of the county, so start out from the yard of the Old Black Horse in Houghton on the Hill, dropped off by My Mum at 9.35am, with it all looking much the same as it did last October, right down to the uninspiring weather. Head northwards up Main Street to the crossing of the A47 and thence out into the countryside along Ingarsby Lane, to take the shortest possible route to my favourite lost village, spotting the burgeoning static solar energy field developing above Houghton village, and this might be the popularist lane in this quarter today as it's here and only here that other wanderers are to be found on these tracks. Rise on the bridleway to the lost village, still as lovable as it ever was, and the lack of vegetation cover this time around means I can see the viaduct over Ingarsby Hollow, the major bridge relic of the GNR Leicester extension line, and that's a nice spot, not seen last time. Eastwards then, on the bridleway that feels like a lane that dropped from the landscape along with Ingarsby village, for some muddy going with attention focused towards Coplow Hill, the distinctive hill in these parts, prominent without being all that tall, hidden away by behind the woodlands of Botany Bay Covert, passed through before arrival on Tilton Lane, running close to the top of the hill. Unfortunately, the wood on the hill top offers no permissive walks of any kind, so a gaze into the trees is all you can offer as the roads skirt around the hilltop, which feels somewhat frustrating as a viewpoint up here would be most welcome to get views towards the city or to the majestic Quenby Hall.
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Sunday, 13 March 2016
New Pudsey to Otley 12/03/16
9.1 miles, via Calverley, Apperley Bridge & Guiseley.
Onwards to test more socks and to put aside the often repeated idea that 'March means Serious Business', only fancying modest distances whilst the boots still need breaking in, and my physical eagerness is somewhat lacking. No trouble with the mental enthusiasm, though, getting my route planned and me onto the train that drops me off at New Pudsey station at just after 10am, where I get spotted by my colleague AS, and her husband PD and I suppose it had to happen eventually, what with me traveling county wide for the last 4+ years! First steps are made away to the edge of the Ring Road, a rather in auspicious start for a day that will turn out to be remarkably rural and leafy, going as far as the footbridge that crosses over to Priesthorpe School, and then the Priesthorpe Lane bridleway can lead us off into that rural space that has endured between Leeds and Bradford without development encroaching upon it, where even the old roads are largely un-adopted. The Woodhall Hills golf course has been a useful buffer to keep this land as Green Belt, but it's still a surprise to find working farms out here, as well as uninterrupted views down into Airedale, especially once Shell Lane is met to slip over the rise towards Calverley. It's all to easy to think od Calverley as a street in Leeds, rather than a place in its own right, but it's pretty substantial, still separated from Leeds and Bradford, and looking like the sort of place where a Victorian merchant might once his fortune was made, at least judging by the quarter of the town which we first meet. It's grown a lot since then but remains immensely characterful, and impressions remain good as we move from Woodhall Lane and onto the A657 Carr Road to pass St Wilfred's church and note that even the local Day Nursery has an impressive period building. All the way we go to the top left corner of the town, not tempted by the bridleways through Calverley's wood, because I want to walk down Calverley Cutting, found at the end of a long tree-lined avenue and cut straight through the rock out crop high above the Aire, I'd always assumed that it was an industrial tramway or incline, judging by its steepness and heavy engineering, but in reality it's a product of Victorian residential speculation proving that not all entrepreneurs of that period were blessed with the vision thing.
Onwards to test more socks and to put aside the often repeated idea that 'March means Serious Business', only fancying modest distances whilst the boots still need breaking in, and my physical eagerness is somewhat lacking. No trouble with the mental enthusiasm, though, getting my route planned and me onto the train that drops me off at New Pudsey station at just after 10am, where I get spotted by my colleague AS, and her husband PD and I suppose it had to happen eventually, what with me traveling county wide for the last 4+ years! First steps are made away to the edge of the Ring Road, a rather in auspicious start for a day that will turn out to be remarkably rural and leafy, going as far as the footbridge that crosses over to Priesthorpe School, and then the Priesthorpe Lane bridleway can lead us off into that rural space that has endured between Leeds and Bradford without development encroaching upon it, where even the old roads are largely un-adopted. The Woodhall Hills golf course has been a useful buffer to keep this land as Green Belt, but it's still a surprise to find working farms out here, as well as uninterrupted views down into Airedale, especially once Shell Lane is met to slip over the rise towards Calverley. It's all to easy to think od Calverley as a street in Leeds, rather than a place in its own right, but it's pretty substantial, still separated from Leeds and Bradford, and looking like the sort of place where a Victorian merchant might once his fortune was made, at least judging by the quarter of the town which we first meet. It's grown a lot since then but remains immensely characterful, and impressions remain good as we move from Woodhall Lane and onto the A657 Carr Road to pass St Wilfred's church and note that even the local Day Nursery has an impressive period building. All the way we go to the top left corner of the town, not tempted by the bridleways through Calverley's wood, because I want to walk down Calverley Cutting, found at the end of a long tree-lined avenue and cut straight through the rock out crop high above the Aire, I'd always assumed that it was an industrial tramway or incline, judging by its steepness and heavy engineering, but in reality it's a product of Victorian residential speculation proving that not all entrepreneurs of that period were blessed with the vision thing.
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Bramley to Bramhope 05/03/16
8.8 miles, via Newlay, Horsforth Woodside, Ireland Wood, Tinshill Moor & Cookridge.
So the travelling to new lands starts here, fortified with new socks, because if Mountain Warehouse are going to keep giving me money off vouchers, I'm going to keep on shopping there, and wearing my new woolly pair, it's off the train at Bramley just before 10.30am, hopeful that I'm going to miss the worst of the weather that has been projected, and that the snow that fell yesterday hasn't left any awkward going between here and the Wharfedale fringe. So northwards, across Stanningley Road, and letting Hough Lane guide me along its kinky course among Bramley's terraces to crest the hill by St Peter's parish church, with its notable landmark spire, and to meet the A657 Low Town Street just above the Bramley Shopping centre, and a fine view over the Aire towards Leeds could be had here, only if you could gain that extra bit of elevation. Hit the main road for a stretch, spotting the old bits of Bramley that were here before the city consumed it, before finding the convenient alleyway that cuts the corner over to Broad Lane, and the day starts to warm through as Newlay Lane brings a more suburban aspect, and once over Leeds & Bradford Road, Pollard Lane provides an altogether leafier aspect on the descent to the riverside. Bramley Fall Park seems a tempting location, offering rough paths among the woodland and former quarries, but I'm heading over the canal, railway and river, cramped together at Newlay, where the Aire is looking pretty busy with post-snowfall runoff as it churns below Pollard bridge. Newlay Lane on this side gives an altogether more expensive face, and that's the story along much of this quarter, the expensive Victorian villas standing on the rise away from the river, and across the A65, Outwood Lane is a bit more modest in scale, but no less desirable, hung above the deep wood cleft of Hawksworth Clough. Press on through Horsforth Woodside, where extensive residential development never quite put an end to the many local woods, clinging to hillsides just that bit too steep for building upon, and pass across the A6120 Ring Road and onto Low Lane before hitting the rough path down to Old Mill Beck, which is also having a fierce churn with wintery runoff.
So the travelling to new lands starts here, fortified with new socks, because if Mountain Warehouse are going to keep giving me money off vouchers, I'm going to keep on shopping there, and wearing my new woolly pair, it's off the train at Bramley just before 10.30am, hopeful that I'm going to miss the worst of the weather that has been projected, and that the snow that fell yesterday hasn't left any awkward going between here and the Wharfedale fringe. So northwards, across Stanningley Road, and letting Hough Lane guide me along its kinky course among Bramley's terraces to crest the hill by St Peter's parish church, with its notable landmark spire, and to meet the A657 Low Town Street just above the Bramley Shopping centre, and a fine view over the Aire towards Leeds could be had here, only if you could gain that extra bit of elevation. Hit the main road for a stretch, spotting the old bits of Bramley that were here before the city consumed it, before finding the convenient alleyway that cuts the corner over to Broad Lane, and the day starts to warm through as Newlay Lane brings a more suburban aspect, and once over Leeds & Bradford Road, Pollard Lane provides an altogether leafier aspect on the descent to the riverside. Bramley Fall Park seems a tempting location, offering rough paths among the woodland and former quarries, but I'm heading over the canal, railway and river, cramped together at Newlay, where the Aire is looking pretty busy with post-snowfall runoff as it churns below Pollard bridge. Newlay Lane on this side gives an altogether more expensive face, and that's the story along much of this quarter, the expensive Victorian villas standing on the rise away from the river, and across the A65, Outwood Lane is a bit more modest in scale, but no less desirable, hung above the deep wood cleft of Hawksworth Clough. Press on through Horsforth Woodside, where extensive residential development never quite put an end to the many local woods, clinging to hillsides just that bit too steep for building upon, and pass across the A6120 Ring Road and onto Low Lane before hitting the rough path down to Old Mill Beck, which is also having a fierce churn with wintery runoff.
Sunday, 28 February 2016
Morley to Cross Gates 25/02/16
11.3 miles, via Middleton Park, Hunslet, Cross Green, East End Park, Osmandthorpe,
Halton Moor & Primrose Valley Park
Long weekend due, with My Parents visiting for the first time since Dad was discharged from hospital, and as they'll be my shopping transport for the coming days, it makes sense to get out before they arrive, and Thursday offers me the best day of the four, and this should be my last wander away from Morley for this year, so you can stay in bed until 15 minutes before you need to start walking. No surprises on my initial steps, a 10am start down Queen Street and up Chapel Hill, taking in New Bank Street as the new route, still feeling the absence of the former Wesleyan Chapel destroyed by fire last year, passing the progressive development out to Daisy Hill and re-joining known paths out to Broad Oaks farm, keenly guarded by an exuberant dog, and thence on downwards to the old footbridge across the railway. Surprised I have never come this way before, as it clearly presents the quickest route to the White Rose Centre, and those who don't wish to shop can take the woodland walk around the perimeter, or they would if the installation of level access for the neighbouring business park had not blocked the path, so paces are taken back to access the car park, to head back in the right direction. Down by the 'lakeside path' and the channel of Mill Shaw beck before popping out onto the A6110 Ring Road Beeston, and find a lack of paths on the short route over to the A653 Dewsbury Road, and my path starts to get loopy as I rise to cross the railway by Stank Hall barn, choosing to not attempt the rough path over the golf course this time. Instead take the hard path that slips around the back of the Park Wood estate to follow one of the really lost railways of the county, the GNR Beeston Junction - Hunslet Goods line (1899 - 1967), whose alignment endures as a green space around to Ring Road Middleton, where the bridge tops remain and the line is nicely memorialised, before vanishing. Join Gipsy Lane to pass the Cockburn school, and to meet the best route up through the Golf Course, ascending into the woods of Middleton park, hopeful that the path I seek will be obvious, but manage to cross it beneath the shade of the woods before descending back to get onto it, you'd think a tramway would be more obvious. This isn't some leisure tramway though, this was the Leeds Tram route, operational from 1925 to 1959, where the shortest route up the hill to |Middleton was through the wild woods, just like the former colliery line on the other side of the park it is an absolute delight to discover and walk in the wintery sunshine.
Halton Moor & Primrose Valley Park
Long weekend due, with My Parents visiting for the first time since Dad was discharged from hospital, and as they'll be my shopping transport for the coming days, it makes sense to get out before they arrive, and Thursday offers me the best day of the four, and this should be my last wander away from Morley for this year, so you can stay in bed until 15 minutes before you need to start walking. No surprises on my initial steps, a 10am start down Queen Street and up Chapel Hill, taking in New Bank Street as the new route, still feeling the absence of the former Wesleyan Chapel destroyed by fire last year, passing the progressive development out to Daisy Hill and re-joining known paths out to Broad Oaks farm, keenly guarded by an exuberant dog, and thence on downwards to the old footbridge across the railway. Surprised I have never come this way before, as it clearly presents the quickest route to the White Rose Centre, and those who don't wish to shop can take the woodland walk around the perimeter, or they would if the installation of level access for the neighbouring business park had not blocked the path, so paces are taken back to access the car park, to head back in the right direction. Down by the 'lakeside path' and the channel of Mill Shaw beck before popping out onto the A6110 Ring Road Beeston, and find a lack of paths on the short route over to the A653 Dewsbury Road, and my path starts to get loopy as I rise to cross the railway by Stank Hall barn, choosing to not attempt the rough path over the golf course this time. Instead take the hard path that slips around the back of the Park Wood estate to follow one of the really lost railways of the county, the GNR Beeston Junction - Hunslet Goods line (1899 - 1967), whose alignment endures as a green space around to Ring Road Middleton, where the bridge tops remain and the line is nicely memorialised, before vanishing. Join Gipsy Lane to pass the Cockburn school, and to meet the best route up through the Golf Course, ascending into the woods of Middleton park, hopeful that the path I seek will be obvious, but manage to cross it beneath the shade of the woods before descending back to get onto it, you'd think a tramway would be more obvious. This isn't some leisure tramway though, this was the Leeds Tram route, operational from 1925 to 1959, where the shortest route up the hill to |Middleton was through the wild woods, just like the former colliery line on the other side of the park it is an absolute delight to discover and walk in the wintery sunshine.
Sunday, 21 February 2016
Morley to New Pudsey 20/02/16
8.3 miles, via Gildersome, Cockersdale, Tong, Fulneck & Pudsey.
Second walking day of the year is always glummer than the first, and this one proves to be no exception, and whilst I know I have plenty of fresh trails to blaze in the territory of West Leeds, getting away from Morley on paths not walked before is getting a lot more challenging, especially in this direction, with only three possible places to cross the M621. So first steps away from Queen Street at 10.30am, lead me behind the town hall and on past the leisure centre, and on Scatcherd Lane, all a case of so far so familiar, until I detour into the residential streets of East Park Street and The Roundway, located beyond the Sports clubs and their fields, just because they lead to the footpath that skirts the perimeter of Bruntcliffe Cemetery, all sought because it's a different route up to the A643/A650 crossroads. Over the M621 on the Wakefield Road once again, but detour into the Gildersome Spur industrial estate to seek the other remnant of Gildersome Tunnel, the uncapped shaft and smokestack that still endures in the yard of one unit, dressed in brick it strikes an incongruous and yet pleasing sight, largely because the west portal was needlessly landscaped away near the Showcase cinema at Birstall. Back to the trail and on along a different path across the industrial estate, which is overgrown, muddy and rather too well hidden as it sneaks between walls, fences and undergrowth, but it does provide a tiny smidge of the GNR's former Ardsley - Laisterdyke line's embankment on the approach to Gildersome Street station. Emerge dirty and prickled on the A62, and another path is made into Gildersome, again between industrial units before meeting the playing fields' perimeter and a dirt track behind a variety of council houses. Gain pavements on Vicarage Avenue, and then Finkle Street leads to Street Lane, a familiar corner and its on past the Friends Meeting House once again before turning onto Church Lane, where the parish church hides modestly and the Baptist church makes a much bolder statement.
Second walking day of the year is always glummer than the first, and this one proves to be no exception, and whilst I know I have plenty of fresh trails to blaze in the territory of West Leeds, getting away from Morley on paths not walked before is getting a lot more challenging, especially in this direction, with only three possible places to cross the M621. So first steps away from Queen Street at 10.30am, lead me behind the town hall and on past the leisure centre, and on Scatcherd Lane, all a case of so far so familiar, until I detour into the residential streets of East Park Street and The Roundway, located beyond the Sports clubs and their fields, just because they lead to the footpath that skirts the perimeter of Bruntcliffe Cemetery, all sought because it's a different route up to the A643/A650 crossroads. Over the M621 on the Wakefield Road once again, but detour into the Gildersome Spur industrial estate to seek the other remnant of Gildersome Tunnel, the uncapped shaft and smokestack that still endures in the yard of one unit, dressed in brick it strikes an incongruous and yet pleasing sight, largely because the west portal was needlessly landscaped away near the Showcase cinema at Birstall. Back to the trail and on along a different path across the industrial estate, which is overgrown, muddy and rather too well hidden as it sneaks between walls, fences and undergrowth, but it does provide a tiny smidge of the GNR's former Ardsley - Laisterdyke line's embankment on the approach to Gildersome Street station. Emerge dirty and prickled on the A62, and another path is made into Gildersome, again between industrial units before meeting the playing fields' perimeter and a dirt track behind a variety of council houses. Gain pavements on Vicarage Avenue, and then Finkle Street leads to Street Lane, a familiar corner and its on past the Friends Meeting House once again before turning onto Church Lane, where the parish church hides modestly and the Baptist church makes a much bolder statement.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Morley to Bramley 14/02/16
7.8 miles, via Gildersome, New Farnley & Troydale.
Once the Superbowl weekend is done and in the past, the Early Season can get underway, weather permitting as usual, and the first good day to come along is Valentines Day, and what better occasion could there be for reacquainting myself with something I love. Not wishing to push things too hard when I have new boots to break in, the initial stretches will all start from home, allowing me to not lose precious hours of daylight with travelling, and so the first steps of the day are made away from the familiar corner on Queen Street, in front of the Town Hall just before 10am. Routes northwards are getting less clear after so many trips made in the direction of Leeds, and so steps are made across the apron of Scatcherd park, passing below the war memorial and among the posh houses on Gladstone Terrace to the unfamiliar cluster of bungalows that have been dropped in off Bright Street, completely misreading the cul-de-sacs to arrive three-quarters of the way down the cobbled causeway that drops out by Hillycroft Fisheries by the A643 at Morley Hole. Avoid the most direct route to Gildersome, by taking Nepshaw Lane rather than the more recent Asquith Avenue, wandering down this older lane until new builds arrive where the motorway severed it, and drift back to cross the M621, and taking a sneakier detour in the slanted Dean Wood to pace the half mile or so above Dean Beck and the BMX tracks to get a look at the surviving east end of Gildersome Tunnel, formerly of the L&NWR's New Leeds Line of 1900-1965, and now a heavily flooded portal hidden away from view deep in the woods, finally seen in person after an article first posted in 2007 piqued my interest. Depart the way I came in, leaving the private land that is still very popular with local dog walkers, crossing the main road to enter the more accessible half of Dean Wood, where a right of way has developed along its southern edge, muddily making its way in the direction of the Gildersome Spur industrial estate, before meeting a sounder path that takes us over to the A62.
Once the Superbowl weekend is done and in the past, the Early Season can get underway, weather permitting as usual, and the first good day to come along is Valentines Day, and what better occasion could there be for reacquainting myself with something I love. Not wishing to push things too hard when I have new boots to break in, the initial stretches will all start from home, allowing me to not lose precious hours of daylight with travelling, and so the first steps of the day are made away from the familiar corner on Queen Street, in front of the Town Hall just before 10am. Routes northwards are getting less clear after so many trips made in the direction of Leeds, and so steps are made across the apron of Scatcherd park, passing below the war memorial and among the posh houses on Gladstone Terrace to the unfamiliar cluster of bungalows that have been dropped in off Bright Street, completely misreading the cul-de-sacs to arrive three-quarters of the way down the cobbled causeway that drops out by Hillycroft Fisheries by the A643 at Morley Hole. Avoid the most direct route to Gildersome, by taking Nepshaw Lane rather than the more recent Asquith Avenue, wandering down this older lane until new builds arrive where the motorway severed it, and drift back to cross the M621, and taking a sneakier detour in the slanted Dean Wood to pace the half mile or so above Dean Beck and the BMX tracks to get a look at the surviving east end of Gildersome Tunnel, formerly of the L&NWR's New Leeds Line of 1900-1965, and now a heavily flooded portal hidden away from view deep in the woods, finally seen in person after an article first posted in 2007 piqued my interest. Depart the way I came in, leaving the private land that is still very popular with local dog walkers, crossing the main road to enter the more accessible half of Dean Wood, where a right of way has developed along its southern edge, muddily making its way in the direction of the Gildersome Spur industrial estate, before meeting a sounder path that takes us over to the A62.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Out of the Dark Season and Onwards!
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| New Boots (#5), Subtly Different from the Old Boots (#4) |
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