TPW 6 – HARE HILL to BINGLEY
1. Walk past the Grouse Inn.
2. Continue down the road less than 200 yards beyond the pub, and take a gate on the right.
3.
Head down the wallside to
emerge onto another road,
4. Go left a few yards to descend the sunken access road immediately below.
5. At a fork bear left to the side of Street Head Farm, and take a stile by a gate.
6. Continue slanting away from the house on a path down through a newly planted strip of woodland.
7. The old way of Street Lane takes shape towards the bottom, and amid mature trees reaches a ladder stile behind a side stream.
8. Advance a little further to a junction of ways. Ignoring the woodland clough on the right, opt for the stile just in front.
9.
Resume downhill at a more
genteel angle, now as
10. A grassy section between old walls precedes a more hollowed descent onto a concrete road.
11. Cross straight over and resume down the field alongside the winding, sunken course of the old way.
12. At the bottom corner pass through a gate to reach the river Worth.
13.
Turn upstream the few yards to
the waiting
14. Initially above Sladen Beck, to a stile. The old way resumes its sunken nature to climb between long crumbled walls, but part way up spoils itself and it is necessary to escape into the field edge.
15. A ladder stile at the top admits to the environs of a house, Oldfield Farm.
16. Turn right up the old sunken drive to climb onto a road at the base of Penistone Hill.
17.
Go left on the footway, and at
the edge of
18. From here a flagged path runs through the fields to enter the village alongside the Bronte Parsonage.
19.
Continue on the cobbled street
past the former school (where
20.
Descend the cobbled
21.
At the bottom cross Rawdon Road (B6142) and descend the broad, stone setted
22. At the bottom of Butt Lane turn right on Belle Isle Road, joining Bridgehouse Lane (B6142 again).
23.
Go left on the bridge over the
railway (good view into the often busy yard) and bear immediately right on
24. This immediately swings left to start climbing, but leave it just as quickly by taking a few steps up to a stile on the right, and a flagged path heads away.
25. This path runs on the field bottom to join the long-drained course of a former mill-cut.
26. Before long the path bridges the old cut and runs on with it to its demise, where the path forks.
27. One branch drops down to a footbridge on the now adjacent beck, while ours runs straight ahead (featuring some old flagging) to an old house.
28. Take a stile opposite and cross the field bottom to a gate into a garden.
29. Pass along the front of the house, and at the gate as the drive heads away, the path turns down to the right to rejoin the beck.
30. The next few yards, as far as a lovely stone arched bridge, are a ‘permitted’ path linking two rights of way.
31. Don’t be tempted to cross the bridge, but continue pleasantly up stream to a stile just before a simpler footbridge on the beck.
32. Through the stile, leave the valley floor at another stile on the left, and climb the wallside to a stile onto the A6033 Keighley-Hebden Bridge road.
33. Turn left for 150 yards to a bend, and take the bridleway up the far side of Royd House.
34. This cart track climbs steeply to Upper Royd Barn, then swings right.
35.
Another drive is absorbed to
rise onto
36.
Cross straight over
37. Ignoring any branches left this improves into a sandy track between heathery verges to emerge onto Black Moor.
38. Take the broad path slanting right to run a largely level course across this pocket heather moorland.
39.
Pass close to the edge of a big
old quarry on the left before resuming on to a gate onto
40.
Go briefly left on
41. After passing Copperas House on the right, take an old kissing0gate on the left just before the tiny stream (not as per map).
42. Head away with the wall, and at the end another iron kissing-gate accesses an enclosed grassy way to reach Field Head Farm.
43. Pass left and on through a private-looking gateway, to pass left of another house and out onto the busy A629 Keighley-Halifax road at Manywells Height.
44. Cross straight over to a gate left of a house, then descend to a stile from where a grassy path enters the beginnings of the side valley. The path crosses the tiny Milking Hole Beck (with a small aqueduct just upstream) and descends to its bank.
45. A glorious stroll into woodland beneath a noteworthy gritstone edge. Passing under a canopy of oaks the lovely path reaches a wall-stile, after which a tract of dense undergrowth leads out into the open.
46. Here the path forks. The unofficial left branch keeps level to pick up the route across several pastures.
47. [The right of way slants down to the right, through some gorse to run downstream outside the wooded beck]
48. A path junction is reached at a bridge at the bottom.
49. Bear left, rising back up the field to a stile at the top.
50. Head away with a wall on the right, over which Hewenden Reservoir is fully seen now backed by Hewenden Viaduct.
51. At the end an enclosed green way takes over, a pleasant ramble to run on past a small old quarry to join a farm track/
52.
Advance along to the farming
hamlet of
53. After the short row on the right, double back a few yards down an access track, then turn left to descend the wallside away from the farm.
54. Before the corner take a stile/gate in the wall and cross the next field corner to a stile in front of the wooded embankment of the old railway.
55. Follow the wall around to pass under the penultimate arch, through a gate and continue on.
56. As the wall swings away, cross the field to the left of a clump of trees, and from the stile follow the wall left around the fieldside to a stile onto the B6144 Haworth-Bradford road.
57.
Turn right down the welcome
footway to
58. As the footway ends take great care crossing the bridge.
59. Thirty yards up the other side escape at a stile on the left and cross a small enclosure to a stile into undergrowth.
60. A path climbs to the top of the bank then heads along it, encountering brambles and nettles.
61. At the end an open bank makes life easier, overlooking this wooded side valley before the final enclosure is crossed along the bottom of a replanted bank.
62. A stile at the end admits onto a drive in front of the former Hallas Mill.
63. Advance a few yards up the drive to a bend, then take the path left, descending to pass the very side of the mill wall to the rear, then heading away downstream.
64.
Within a minute a junction is
reached: turn left down to
65. Without crossing, take the path which sets off downstream on a delightful amble by the wooded bank of Harden Beck, deeply enclosed in the trees of Goit Stock Wood.
66.
After a small waterfall the
main feature,
67. This lovely walk resumes downstream to enter a caravan park.
68. Keep straight on the road out of the site, where it bridges the beck.
69. This now runs downstream through largely wooded surrounds.
70.
The road becomes
71. Turn right to cross Harden Beck alongside the Malt Shovel.
72.
Across the road quickly bear
right off a dangerous section of
73. The main road is rejoined at a garden centre, whose car park makes safer going.
74. At the car park entrance cross the main road to a stile, and a slim path descends the field to cross tiny Wilsden Beck.
75. The path runs across another field to a gap stile to enter the wooded environs of Sandy Bank.
76. Here a broad track is met. Don’t join its zigzags but turn right up the wallside path, and when the track doubles back in, remain on the path which rises through an old gateway.
77. At this fork climb left briefly, to resume on a higher level parallel path.
78. The path rises gently and runs a delightful course through the bracken floor of the woodland, with a wall on the left.
79. At the end of the trees the path becomes enclosed, now almost on the edge of the village.
80.
Immediately through the gateway
take a stile by a gate on the left, and stiles by gates lead along the same
wallside through numerous fields to emerge onto
81. Go left 25 yards and take a stile/gate on the right.
82. Head away with the wall, and in the corner a surprising enclosed way curves between the fields.
83.
Emerging, bear right to a
gap-stile near the far end, and continue through the last field to a corner
stile into the trees at
84. A good path drops away through the wood, merging into a broader way to run to the right briefly
85. The path soon turns down the slope, a steeper and stonier sunken old way before again running right to a wall stile out of the trees.
86. A thin path slants down the right side of this big pasture, through some low outcrops.
87. A stile in the fence on the right sees us onto Shipley golf course.
88. Bear left down through the course, a series of white painted rocks aids route finding.
89. When these end, the way runs left across a fairway towards some houses.
90.
It leaves the course here to
become enclosed as it bridges Harden Beck, to emerge alongside a converted mill
onto
91. Go right on this rough road to almost immediately reach Beck Foot.
92. Don’t cross the tempting bridge, but take a stile on the left to head on through the field.
93. Rising past a solitary house into trees, the path runs on and descends to a large open space before crossing the Aire by a substantial iron bridge.
94.
Our way turns left on the
riverside walk to
95.
Meeting the B6429 Bingley-Harden road at
96.
From the White Horse Inn
briefly go along the cobbled
97. Cross the A650 Keighley-Bradford main road with care and turn down the oddly named Treacle Cock Alley opposite.
98.
The footpath burrows beneath
the Airdale railway and up as a snicket past
allotments onto the
99. The towpath leads left to quickly arrive at the celebrated Five Rise Locks.
100. Resuming, the towpath with its many moorings leads by the houses of Crossflatts to a swing bridge at Micklethwaite Wharfe.
101.
Here vacate the canal and turn
right up
102.
Most of the traffic is lost at
the first junction, and the footway leads pleasantly up into the straggling
103. Continue straight up its full length.
104.
Above the upper, sloping green,
the road leaves the village as
105. After the last houses on the left, but before the de-restriction sign, there are two adjacent gates on the right.
106. From the upper one Hill Top Lane (a concrete drive) climbs away.
107. Leave this well before the first house, on a quickly improving green way to the left.
108. This old track steeply climbs a colourful, moor-like enclosure.