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Leeds Country Way

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Coordinates:53°52′16″N1°35′35″W/ 53.871°N 1.593°W/53.871; -1.593
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Leeds Country Way
LCW waymarker nearWike
Length62 mi (100 km)
LocationLeeds,West Yorkshire,England
TrailheadsCircular walk, accessible by bus or train at many points
UseHiking, Running
DifficultyEasy: some short hills and can be muddy in places
SeasonAll year
HazardsCrosses some busy roads

TheLeeds Country Way(LCW) is a circularlong-distance footpathof 62 miles (99 km) aroundLeeds,West Yorkshire,England.It is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from the city centre of Leeds, but is mainly rural with extensive views in the outlying areas of theLeeds metropolitan district.It follows publicRights of Wayincluding footpaths, bridleways and minor lanes, with a few short sections along roads.

History

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A route was first devised by Fred Andrews of theRamblers Association,and then developed byWest Yorkshire County Councilin the early 1980s.[2]This council was abolished in 1986, and the path is now under the care of the Countryside section ofLeeds City Council.The Leeds Country Way was realigned in 2006, using a route devised by Bob Brewster, to bring it entirely within the boundary of theLeeds metropolitan district(previously it crossed the boundary intoWakefield), and the path was officially relaunched on 26 September 2006 with a revised set of map leaflets (see external links) and improved waymarking.[3][4]

The path extends to 62 miles (100 km) in an orbital route around Leeds (it is suggested that it is undertaken in a clockwise direction from Golden Acre Park), and the path is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from the city centre of Leeds.[2]

Route

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The path is waymarked in both directions and can be started at any point, but is described hereclockwisefrom theA660 roadatGolden Acre Park(grid referenceSE267417), divided into parts and sections which correspond with the official map leaflets.[3]

Part 1: Golden Acre to Barwick-in-Elmet

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Golden Acre Park

Section 1:The path crosses Golden Acre Park and passes theYorkshire Wildlife Trust's Adel Dam Nature Reserve, following the route of theMeanwood Valley Trail.It coincides briefly with the Leeds link to theDales Waynorth ofEccup Reservoir,before crossing theEbor Wayand entering theHarewood Estate.Here there is a glimpse of what looks like a small village, not marked on any map, but which is actually the set for the TV seriesEmmerdale.[5]Walkers may also seered kiteswhich have been successfully reintroduced in this area.[6]

Section 2:After crossing theA61,the path passes north ofWikeand reaches the village ofBardseywith its Anglo-Saxon church tower and the Bingley Armspublic house,which claims to be the oldest in England.[7]The path turns south, crossing theA58,toScarcroft.[8]

Section 3:The path continues throughThorner,crossing theA64before enteringBarwick-in-Elmet(SE398376) with England's tallestmaypole,[9]a Normanmotteand anIron Agefort.[10]

Part 2: Barwick-in-Elmet to Carlton

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River Aire at Swillington

Section 1:From Barwick the path passes the southern corner ofScholes,then crosses theM1 motorwayand entersGarforth.[8]

Section 2:It leaves Garforth along the disusedGarforth-Kippax railway line(part of theNorth Eastern Railwayand earlier theLeeds, Castleford and Pontefract Junction Railway[11]), then approachesSwillingtonand passes Little Preston Old Hall. It skirts St Aidan's Country Park, and crosses theRiver Aireat Swillington Bridge. The path follows the river downstream, past the marina at Fleet Bridge.[8]

Section 3:The path continues along the river, here forming theAire and Calder Navigation,toMickletown,and then turns south toMethley.[12]It swings eastward, crosses theA642and continues toCarlton(SE337272), heart of the West YorkshireRhubarb Triangle.

Part 3: Carlton to Cockersdale

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Woodkirk church

Section 1:From Carlton the path crosses fields before briefly joining theA61and recrossing theM1south ofRobin Hood.It turns south across theM62,follows the valley of Dolphin Beck, and reachesEast Ardsleyon theA650.[13]

Section 2:From here the path skirts south ofWest Ardsley,and reachesWoodkirkwith its historic church, on theA653.It passes the ruins of Howley Hall (built 1590 for Sir John Savile)[14]before dropping down to reach Scotchman Lane.

Section 3:A track through Birkby Brow Wood, just inside the Leeds-Kirkleesboundary, leads to theA643,which is followed to recross the M62. The path's longest section of road walking follows the A650 throughGildersome,then a series of field paths leads toCockersdale(SE233297), on theA58nearTong.[15]

Part 4: Cockersdale to Golden Acre

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LCW near Horsforth

Section 1:The path follows the valley of Cockersdale, and then goes alongTongBeck, belowFulneck Moravian Settlement,skirting the south ofPudsey.At this point Tong Beck forms the Leeds-Bradfordboundary. The path crosses the Leeds to Bradford railway and meets the busyA647atThornbury.

Section 2:Passing playing fields and old quarries, the path crosses the Woodhall Hills and follows Fagley Beck to cross theLeeds and Liverpool Canaland theRiver AireatApperley Bridge,then follows the river pastWoodhouse Grove Schoolbefore climbing up to meet theA65south ofRawdon.

Section 3:From here the path skirtsHorsforth,follows for a time the southern boundary ofLeeds Bradford International Airport,and goes round the northern edge ofCookridge,before crossing Breary MarshLocal Nature Reserve[16]to return toGolden Acre Park(SE267417).

Practical aspects

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As the route is circular it can be started at any point, but the description in the official leaflets starts and finishes atGolden Acre Park,going clockwise. These divide it into four parts each split into three sections, but walkers can choose to divide it in various ways as there are many bus routes and several railway stations (Woodlesford,Garforth,New PudseyandHorsforth) on or near the path.West Yorkshire Metroprovides information about bus routes serving the path and train services in the area.[17][18]

TheOrdnance Surveymaps covering the route are:

  • Landranger 1:50,000 sheet 104 (Leeds:covers almost the whole route) and 105 (York:needed for a short distance near Garforth)
  • Explorer 1:25,000 sheets 289 (Leeds:Golden Acre Park clockwise to Scotchman Lane) and 288 (Bradford:Scotchman Lane clockwise to Golden Acre Park).

The route is waymarked with an owl symbol, taken from theLeeds coat of arms.[1][19]

The original route of the path is used for an annualtrail runningrelay raceorganised byKippax Harriers.[20]Teams of twelve, with two runners taking each of six sections, complete the route in about seven hours.[21]

References

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  1. ^ab"Long Distance Walkers Association".ldwa.org.uk.Retrieved28 June2024.
  2. ^abCharlton, Peter, ed. (14 January 2012). "Obituaries - Fred Andrews".The Yorkshire Post.p. 12.ISSN0963-1496.
  3. ^ab Leeds City Council (2006).Leeds Country Way (4 leaflets in folder).Leeds City Council: Learning and Leisure, Parks and Countryside.
  4. ^"BBC Leeds report of path relaunch 2006".Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2008.Retrieved20 September2007. (With link to audio file)
  5. ^Harewood Estate."Location filming".Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2011.Retrieved9 August2011.
  6. ^"Red Kites".Harewood House.Archivedfrom the original on 19 August 2011.Retrieved9 August2011.
  7. ^"History of the Bingley Arms".Bingley Arms.Archivedfrom the original on 9 August 2011.Retrieved9 August2011.
  8. ^abc"289" (Map).Leeds.1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015.ISBN978-0-319-24486-9.
  9. ^Northern Traditions."Barwick Maypole".Archivedfrom the original on 12 September 2007.Retrieved23 October2007.
  10. ^Historic England."Barwick in Elmet hill fort and motte and bailey castle (52862)".Research records (formerly PastScape).Retrieved9 August2011.
  11. ^"Castleford to Garforth".Lost Railways West Yorkshire.Archivedfrom the original on 18 July 2011.Retrieved9 August2011.
  12. ^"South Leeds: Mine landscape restored".infoweb.newsbank.com.24 September 2015.Retrieved29 June2024.
  13. ^"Weekend Walk: Ardsley Reservoir & Leeds Country Way".infoweb.newsbank.com.9 January 2016.Retrieved29 June2024.
  14. ^"Howley Hall Golf Club".Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2007.Retrieved19 September2007. (See "History" page)
  15. ^"288" (Map).Bradford & Huddersfield.1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015.ISBN978-0-319-24485-2.
  16. ^Leeds City Council."Breary Marsh Local Nature Reserve".Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2007.Retrieved22 October2007.
  17. ^"West Yorkshire Metro".Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2013.Retrieved20 September2007.
  18. ^West Yorkshire Metro."MetroTrain timetables and routes".Archived fromthe originalon 11 October 2007.Retrieved15 October2007.
  19. ^"Leeds nostalgia: Leeds gets its coat of arms back... in 1985".Yorkshire Evening Post.28 April 2018.Retrieved29 June2024.
  20. ^"Kippax Harriers website".Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2007.Retrieved20 September2007.
  21. ^"Airedale in third after late revival".infoweb.newsbank.com.6 September 2007.Retrieved30 June2024.Organised by Kippax Harriers, it is raced by club teams over six legs ranging from 9.7 to 11.8 miles. Athletes run in pairs with timings based on the last of each pair passing the change-over point. After a narrow victory last year over Airedale Athletics, Leeds City AC were tipped to be going for the record in the Open category which they set themselves in 1995 in 6hr 26min 38sec.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toLeeds Country Way.
  • Leeds City Councilinformation about path
  • Leeds City Council PDF files of guides to the route, published 2006 and archived on 30 August 2012:
Each downloadable map/guide covers approx 15 miles and is split into 3 sections of approx 5 miles each. Each map/guide prints out to two A4 sheets of paper.

53°52′16″N1°35′35″W/ 53.871°N 1.593°W/53.871; -1.593

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