HARLAND and EBOR WAY

Easy-going 5.5 mile walk which can be tackled at any time of the year. He walk is mainly on hard-core cycle tracks quiet roads and wide tracks. There are no stiles or hills on the walk which makes it a pleasant stroll in any season (even if wet!).

Start point – Retail Park, Walton, near . LS23 7FE

Thorp Arch Trading Estate occupies major part of a former Royal Ordnance Factory, (ROF) ROF Thorpe Arch close to Wetherby. The trading estate is now divided into industrial and retail space. There is still much evidence of its former use around the site. The Royal Ordnance Factory was built to supply the British forces with munitions during the World War II. The site was ideal, it had a railway running adjacent to it (the Harrogate to Church Fenton line), open space and the site was not in a supposedly strategic bombing area. The railways were expanded and sidings built (these are still evident in certain areas of the estate) and buildings constructed around them, many with the flat concrete roofs. The retail park is still set in semi-underground bunkers, with grassy banks running up the sides of the buildings. The Royal Ordnance Factory closed completely in 1957. However with a boom in the construction trade and many others in the immediate post war years, the site found many new industries requiring the space it could offer. George Moore (founder of Moores Furniture Group) bought the site in the 1960s, converting it into a trading estate. A major development on the estate (and certainly the biggest employer) is the lending division. This is the British Library's second site, the St Pancras site in Central London is the main site the British Library , as it is known, is housed in a large eight story concrete building (with windows set in narrow slits to avoid light damage to the books).

From the retail park, turn right along Avenue D and at the end; turn right to join National Cycle Route 66 – the Wetherby Railway Path (Harland Way). Continue along the cycle path for ½ a mile to reach a road.

In 1992 the disused railway between Spofforth and the outskirts of Wetherby was converted by Harrogate Borough Council into a path for walking and cycling, and in 1993 it was extended into the former railway 'triangle' in Wetherby by Wetherby and District Lions Club (the route being named after the late Peter Harland, Lion President). In 2003 City Council built the route eastwards from Wetherby to Walton Gates and it was continued by and to the Thorp Arch Estate and Retail Park in 2007,guided by the Wetherby to Thorp Arch Railway Path Forum.

Sustrans is the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity, working on practical projects so people can choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. The charity is behind many groundbreaking projects including the , over 10,000 miles of traffic-free, quiet lanes and on-road walking and cycling routes around the UK. On reaching the road, cross over and turn left walking towards Thorp Arch Village Church. Immediately after passing a house called The Firs turn right along Dowkell Lane to pass White Gates House. Continue along the road walking towards Thorp Arch village and just after passing Lady Elizabeth Hastings Primary School on the left, at the T junction, turn right towards Walton. Follow the road for ½ a mile (caution – this road has now sidewalk) and then turn left at the Ebor Way signpost towards Wetherby, to join a wide farm track. Follow the track for about ½ a mile and at the end of the track, on reaching a tarmac farm road, carry on straight forward towards Flint Mill Grange Farm. At the end of the farm, ignore the yellow way-marker ahead and follow the road as it bears right at the side of a corrugated shed. Now follow this road for about ¼ of a mile to join a main road (B1224). At this point, turn left to walk along the grass verge for a few yards before crossing the road to a bridleway heading towards Wetherby Race Course.

Horse racing in Wetherby first took place on Scaur Bank (now officially known as King George V playing fields although still most commonly referred to as 'Scaur Bank' or 'The Ings'). In 1891 racing moved to a new site situated off Road. From the 1920s to the 1950s the racecourse was served by railway station. In the 1930s the first terraces were erected, a new two tier stand was erected adjacent to this in the 1970s and then in 1999 the new Millennium Stand was opened, providing the racecourse with executive banqueting and conference facilities. Up until 1963, Racecourse Specials ran to Wetherby railway station from Interchange on race day, as the station on York Road had closed many years before. For decades the only rail access was via the station on Linton Road at the other end of Wetherby from the racecourse. Wetherby Racecourse is the only racecourse in that hosts only National Hunt jump meetings, although there are plans in the pipeline to build an additional all-weather track to cater for horse racing in the winter months, when many Wetherby meetings are cancelled due to adverse weather conditions

Continue along the bridleway towards the race course and on reaching the Wetherby Railway Path (66 cycle route), turn right towards Walton Gates. Keep on the cycle track for ½ a mile to reach B1224 again. At this point, cross over, where indicated by signs, to continue along the cycle track for almost one mile towards Thorp Arch Retail Park. On reaching the next road, go straight across to follow the cycle path and from here you will now be backtracking the earlier part of the walk for around a further mile to your original start point at Thorp Arch Retail Park.

Except where explicitly stated, all rights are reserved, and content should not be copied, adapted, redistributed, or otherwise used without the prior written permission of Harry Bratley the author. The author permits the use of this document for the purpose of following the walk.