Watkrrllg S Ç V) -.'- ' Î, O in 9O T Ff LEEDS Utulsotu October,2015 No.409

w41 .s$ or, wAtKrrllG s ç v) -.'- ' î, o IN 9o t ff LEEDS Utulsotu ocToBER,2015 No.409 TODAY'S lryALK FROM Kippax Leisure Centre we walk up Station Road and join a footpath which fatls through fields to cross Kippax Beck. It then rises past Brigshaw School and falls to Allerton B¡nvater, crossing the former Garforth-Allerton Bywater railway now a bridleway called The Lines Way. Along the lane (from Castleford) we turn through a wetland area to meet the floodbank of the River Aire, our lowest point at 49 ft. a.s.l. Further upriver, we skirt Lowther Lake and the vast St Aidan's Nature Reserve, a former opencast coal mine, now reclaimed and leased to the R.S.P.B. There are long views towards the river, Oulton and Woodlesford. We see 'Oddball', a gigantic dragline excavator, remaining there as an industrial archaeological monument. Meeting Astley Lane, we cross to a field-path which enters Great Preston. We climb through the village (note short cut!), fater turning along Whitehouse Crescent (later Whitehouse Avenue) to take a track which cuts through woodland and continues between hedgerows as it falls to regain Astley Lane. We meet and follow the Leeds Country Way up and into Little Preston where we pass the Hall, once owned by the Lowther family who also lived at Swillington Hall. Hall Road rises to meet Goody Cross Lane. We cross to a footpath which passes through frelds and emerges by the A642 (Garforth-Wakefìeld road) and we soon enter a picnic area at its junction with Whitehouse Lane, our highest point at 246 ft,. Enclosed footpaths lead to Brecks Lane and Brecks Farm from where a descending track passes Brecks Wood, re-crosses Kippax Beck and rises to meet The Lines Way again. We leave the L.C.W. as we turn towards Kippax, soon reaching Townclose Hills Nature Reserve where a slanting path rises to the hilltop (230 ft.) from where there are wide viewsl A descending path skirts woodland and finally crosses a freld, returning us to the Leisure Centre about 3.30pm. CONTENTS PAGES2-5 : THE LAST WALK PAGE 6 : JOKING APART PAGE 7 z IVTAKE IT A DATE IVHAT'S YOUR VIE\ry? PAGE 8 : THE NEXT \ilALK 2 THE LAST WALK TTIE KIRKLEES LTGHT RAILWAY, SHELLEY, UPPER CUMBER\ryORTH, DENBY DALE, THE DEARNE 1VAY AND CLAYTON WEST (5 % miles) CLICKETY-CLACK, CLICKETY-CLACK CLICKETY-CLACK. The slow, steady rh¡hm of the little railway coaches provided an almost soporific accompaniment to the lovely sunlit scenery which was steadily passing the open windows. We were aboard the t 1.40am train on the Kirklees Light Railway, having just left Clayton West station and we would spend the next half-hour relaxing and enjoying the atmospheric journey along the3Vz miles to Shelley on this narrow-gauge line. The occasional nostalgic smell of steam and smoke wafted from the little locomotive, 'Owl', to complete the experience. Clayton West railway station was located at the end of a branch line of the main Huddersfield-Penistone line and the line also served the large Park Mill Colliery. The railway closed in 1983 and the track was removed in 1986. However, along came Brian and Doreen Taylor, who had already built a miniature railway in Halifax, and in l99l they opened a lS-inch narrow gauge section from Clayton West to Cuckoo's Nest. This was extended to Skelmanthorpe in 1992 and to Shelley (ust short of the main line) in 1997. ln 200ó the railway was bought by Stately Albion, a company specialising in parks and leisure. In common with most locomotives, each of the engines on the Kirklees Light Railway is named. They are Badger, Fox, Jay, Hawk and Owl and each one is painted in a different livery. Ours was black and red. Earlier, fourteen of us (including children Jessica and George) and two dogs had gathered in the station's large car park. After a misty start it had been rather overcast and cool but, as if on cue, the cloud gradually parted and the sun came out in all its warmth as we walked down to the station buildings. After purchasing our tickets in the shop and cafë area we filed onto the platform where our train was just arriving from Shelley. The locomotive was repositioned at the other end of the train and we climbed aboard the 'cosy' coaches. At frrst, it was the views across the wide valley of Park Gate Dike which held our attention, the green and golden fields, and patches of woodland, rising to Emley village and the Emley Moor Mast, the latter strangely bisected by a layer of cloud remaining from the earlier valley mist. In a few minutes the cloud had risen to obscure the top of the mast, and later still the ¡nast became completely clear. The guard amusingly imparted interesting information over an audio system as we rode along. ÌWe passed through'Cuckoo's Nest' (a hatt) and Skelmanthorpe (another halt) and views also increased on the other side of the train towards Lower Cumberworth, especially as much of the track was elevated upon embankments. Some, however, was in a cutting, lush with ferns and other greenery and a later sect¡on was through a tunnel which was pitch-black. The guard joked that he would put the lights on if he coulcl find the switch. He did! All too soon we drew into Shelley station. The locomotive was uncoupled from the coaches, turned arot¡nd on a turntable and shunted to the other end of the train for its return to Cla¡on West after a ten-minute break. We alighted and sat for our lunch at picnic tables. By now 3 the day was warm and sunny with small, summery clouds drifting across the blue sky and it was extremely pleasant sitting there overlooking the rural scenery around us. Shelley village seemed distant from the station, perched above the intervening valley on the opposite slopes. The station's facilities included a children's play area, open and covered (marquee) seating areas, toilets and a café. We had watched'our' train leave (with a whistle) at l2.20pm and another one arrived at l2.50pm just as we re-grouped to start the return walk to Cla¡on West. We set offdown the slanting station access track and joined the Shelley-Upper Cumberworth lane, turning immediately under two railway bridges, the first being the branch line and the second being the main line. A short way along the lane we entered a hayfìeld over perhaps the trickiest stile of the walk! The field-side path accompanied a low wall over which there were more valley views. An easier stile took us onto a 'private' driveway which passed a bungalow and private garden and issued onto a quiet access lane, part of the Kirklees Way which fell past other properties into a dell where it split two ways. We took neither but followed a marked footpath which left the lanes and meandered through a sun-dappled wood. We emerged into rising fields and followed their boundary walls uphill, aiming for the ridge ahead upon which stood silhouetted houses of Upper Cumberworth. This was our longest sustained plod of the walk but upon reaching the line of houses we were well rewarded by an impressive retrospective view which included Shelley, Kirkburton, Farnley Tyas and even Castle Hill near Huddersfìeld. It was a wonderfully wide rural panorama of hill and dale, despite these villages and the Emley Moor Mast which stood prominently on the opposite ridge. We had attained the highest part of our walk (at 833 ft.) and we walked between the houses, entering Upper Cumberworth village by the church and turning along the lane which passed the primary school and cottages. We came to a crossroads (the Aó35 Holmfrrth-Barnsley road) and crossed to another minor lane. Soon, a track bore away to the left and we started descending, at frrst amongst cottages then between fields, into the small valley of Park Dike, a tributary (headwater) of the River Dearne and here we met the Dearne Way - a trail which we would follow almost all the way back to Clayton West. We left the walled track and aimed towards woodland across a meadow, entering the pleasant woodland (Stephen Wood) where we followed a weaving path amongst the trees a little way from the stream to our right. The path gently descended and later crossed the stream (by a small ford) in a clearing, then continued through more open woodland. Just before arriving at a small lake the path temporarily left the trees and followed the woodland boundary, entering the wood again to cross a rustic footbridge which spanned the infant River Dearne. Stone steps climbed the opposite banking to a field and we crossed its slope diagonally to enter the woods of New Park, a short ascent through the trees delivering us near to its upper boundary. A level path took us along the top edge of this wood where we approached a small herd of cattle which blocked our exit at a gate. They moved aside obligingly as we approached but we had to pick our way through the only mud (?) of rhe day! we spilled out onro a descending laneby Wood Farnr and walked beneath a 'tunnel' of overhanging ancient trees, a shaded section giving us so¡ne respite from the increased \¡/armth of the su¡r. The distant 4 drone of traffic became louder and we joined the 4635 (Holmfìrth-Barnsley) at the bottom of the lane, near to its junction with the 4636 (Denby Dale - Cla¡on West road), The latter road was busier so we easily crossed to the level pavement and followed it above a former mill set in the valley.

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