A Lunchtime Stroll in Leeds City Centre

Home , Airedale, Ireland Bridge, Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall Power Station, Leeds city centre, Leeds Dock

2 kilometres / 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Accessibility – All this route is on pavements and avoids steps.

A lunchtime stroll in Leeds City Centre

There are numerous bridges and river crossings in Leeds. However, there is only one referred to affectionately as “Leeds Bridge”. This is where our walk starts.

There has been some form of crossing here since the middle ages. The bridge you see today was built out of cast iron in the early 1870's. In 1888 the bridge was witness to a world first. The “Father of Cinematography”, Louis Le Prince, shot what is considered to be the world’s earliest moving pictures from the bridge.

Walk across Leeds Bridge and take a right along Dock Street.

Dock Street began its life as a commercial entity in the 1800's. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, the canal network provided the catalyst for the city's growth. As its name suggests, boats used to dock along Dock Street. A deep dock allowed the loading and unloading of barges into warehouses.

Today Dock Street still looks familiar, but the warehouses have become housing and business spaces. Converted and conserved in the 1980's.

Continuing along Dock Street you will pass Centenary Bridge. This bridge was built in 1993 to celebrate 100 years since Leeds was granted city status. It also created better pedestrian access across the Aire.

Dock Street c. 1930 By kind permission of Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Continue along Dock Street and you will come to Brewery Wharf.

Once owned by Tetley’s Brewery this was once a Brewery museum. Here it offered snapshots of pubs through history, from the monastic hostelries of the 1300's to the austerity of the Second World War. Like a lot of the riverside properties, these former industrial buildings are now restaurants and bars.

Walk through the red tunnel and you will emerge with a view of the river. Follow the Royal Armouries Riverside Walk.

Riverside photographs and walk kindly produced by Abby Carroll from the University of Leeds Carry on walking alongside the Aire towards The Royal Armouries and you will pass Crown Point Bridge.

Crown Point Bridge was the main passing point in and out of Leeds towards Hunslet. Built in 1842 it is a grade 2 listed building. It was designed by George Leather, but attributed to George's son, John Wignall Leather. The pair played a key part in development in the Leeds area at the time, developing the Aire and Calder Navigation, and a series of bridges, including Monk Bridge (1827) and Victoria Bridge (1839).

A great deal more wildlife calls the river in Leeds city centre their home than you may realise. Herons are frequent visitors and otters have been caught on CCTV in the city centre. Once at Crown Point Bridge either duck under the bridge on the river side footpath or take a slight right and pass through the painted tunnel.

Passing through the mural, on the other side you will see artwork by the Canal and Rivers Trust. This highlights influential people in the health, sport, arts and innovation industries who have spent part of their life in Leeds.

Keep walking and we are now at Leeds Dock. The dock was constructed for boats using the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1843. It was primarily used to bring coal from collieries around Rothwell and Wakefield to supply heavy industries in Hunslet and for businesses in Leeds city centre. On the dock you can see this map listing the industries present at Leeds Dock from 1843 – 1990. From here you will also be able to see the Royal Armouries, a national museum that opened in 1996. This contains collections that were previously stored in the Tower of London. Displays include topics such as war, peace and hunting. It was the building of the Royal Armouries in 1996 that kick started the regeneration of Leeds Dock into the contemporary tech, media, and creative industries hub that it is today.

Walk and cross the Knights Way Bridge.

Whilst crossing the bridge its worth standing and taking in the view. The weir before you can be lowered by deflating the huge air bags that hold it up to reduce the risk of flooding to Leeds. To the left you can see a fish pass allowing fish to cross the weir.

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below You might be surprised by what Leeds in 2010 wildlife you can find in the Aire

This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust is reconnecting sixty kilometres of your river with fish passes to enable wildlife to thrive and Atlantic salmon to return.

Some day soon Atlantic salmon will be swimming past you on their way to breed in shallow, gravelly river and stream beds around Skipton. Walk across Knights Bridge and turn left walking back alongside the river towards Crown Point Bridge. Once there go up the steps and cross the main road, turn right and then turn left along The Calls.

Walking along The Calls you may spot the blue plaque honoured to William Turton. William Turton was a corn and hay merchant who pioneered horse drawn tramways across Northern England.

You may also spot Leeds Minster, a Grade 1 listed building. It has existed in some form since the 600's although the current structure comes from the Gothic Revival era in the mid 1800's. If you have longer to explore on this walk, it is worth going over to look at the architecture and interior design. This imitates the English Gothic Style of the late 1300's.

The dramatic gothic style interior of Leeds Minster © Michael Beckwith (cc-by-sa/2.0) Whilst walking along The Calls keep looking to your left to see if you can spot the river. For parts you can divert down to look at the river and come back to The Calls. Unfortunatley there is not a direct path that continues alongside the river all the way along. Keep walking along The Calls until you reach Bridge End, turn Left and you will be able to see Leeds Bridge once again. This is the end of our walk.

Transport links: The starting point of this walk is easily accessible by train and bus, with Leeds station a 7-minute walk away. Car parking is available in Brewery Wharf Car Park or Trinity Leeds Car Park. A yellow water taxi runs between Leeds Armouries and the train station.

We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks. There are ten walks along the river.

Find them and more at www.dnaire.org.uk

With support from 5 kilometres / 1 - 2 hours

Accessibility – Unsuitable for wheelchairs, pushcairs, etc unless sections are missed. See notes at the end of the walk

Water and Industry in Kirkstall Valley

We start this walk on the banks of the River Aire in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey (LS5 3EH). You will find a weir at the southern end of the park.

The river is likely to be one of the reasons the monks chose to settle in this location. A weir built here in the 1100s was one of the earliest built on the river and allowed stone to be floated downstream for building.

This walk takes you between two new fish passes. Before summer 2020 fish hoping to reach the gravel beds in shallower parts of the upland river to lay their eggs were stopped by the weirs at Kirkstall Abbey and Armley Mills.

Many fish need to move within the river to feed, breed and shelter. One of the fish that will have travelled teh furthest is the Atlantic salmon. Salmon will have traveled from the Atlantic Ocean around Greenland to lay their eggs in the shallow upland streams they are born in. These fish pass help connect 60km of river habitat. Their construction will allow salmon to return after an absence of over 150 years.

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010

A view down into Kirkstall Abbey fish pass on the far side of the river. The metal baffles slow the flow of water allowing fish to swim up the weir. Now long gone, two fishponds built to the south of the Abbey towards the river would enabled them to have kept fish. The monks served food from the river to guests alongside their normal humble diet of bread and vegetables. Bones found in refuse pits in the Abbey grounds even included ravens, jackdaws, and herons.

These monks lived there until Henry VIII forced its closure in 1539. The Abbey was left to slowly fall apart until it was given to Leeds City Council in 1890.

Kirkstall Valley played a key role in industrial development in Leeds. An ingenious system of mill races or “goits” were constructed downstream of Kirkstall Abbey between 1760 and 1860 to provide mills with water and power. Many of which survive today. Our walk will follow these.

A keeper would have lived on it on the weir before you in the unusual gothic style cottage. They would have controlled the water flow to the mills using the set of eight sluice gates.

Take the path that leads through the park away from the Abbey and towards the city centre. Photo © Rich Tea (cc-by-sa/2.0) You will pass Abbey Mills on the far side of the goit. This is the oldest and best preserved of three mills that once stood on the Kirkstall mill race. The current mill was built in the early 1800s as a woollen mill but it thought to incorporate parts of an earlier medieval corn mill.

Kirkstall Valley Development Trust hope to convert the mill into social housing and a community hub.

You will exit the park next to the Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Centre. Cross over bridge Road and continue along Commercial Road. A couple of hundred metres after the junction you will see a car park on your right. To the rear of it a gate leads you onto the goitside walk.

Photo © Mark Stevenson (cc-by-sa/2.0) This walk will eventually lead us back to Commercial Road at St Anne’s Mills but it is worth exploring the woodland to gain a view of the river and a number of ruined features connected to the weir.

Development of St Anne's Mill probably started around 1760 when the Vicar of Headingley (Rev. John Moore) leased about 500 acres in Burley and Kirkstall from the Earl of Cardigan. St Anne's seems to have operated initially as a scribbling and fulling mill. These were two easily mechanised processes that could not conveniently be done at home by family weavers working under the domestic system.

From the riverbank you will be able to find a view of the weir, the 1830s St Annes Mill; the remains of a road bridge over the goit from the 1700s (below); and the ruins of an early steam pumping engine that was used to drive the water wheel, supplementing the action of the river. Once you are finished exploring follow Commercial Road until you reach the hand car wash. After this you should see signs for a goitside walk.

Follow these into the woods to get a view of the river and fish pass.

This weir sent water to Burley Mill. A woollen and worsted mill. Now it finds a new use. In 1993 Leeds City Council constructed a platform here so that bereaved Sikhs might scatter relative’s ashes into the river. Unable to travel to the Ganges, Sikh’s believe the ashes of cremated bodies must be scattered in the sea, or in waters that flow to the sea, to transport them to the next life.

The structure you see in the river here is a fish pass. Its is the same as those at Kirkstall Abbey and Armley Mills but smaller. Follow the goit through the woodland until you once again emerge on Commerical Road. 800m further along this turn right on Redcote Lane and cross the River Aire. This lane will take you under the railway line and then go left round the National Grid site.

You will find yourself at Aire Valley Marina. Coal was once delivered by canal here for the Kirkstall Power Station that stood on this site. This dominated the area from 1931 and covered surrounding streets in ash. The station was converted to burn oil just in time for the 1973 Oil Crisis, and the resulting price rise led to its closure in 1976.

Turn left on the canal to visit Armley Mills or right to head back to Kirkstall Abbey. Emerge from the towpath on Wither Lane. This takes you up to Broad Lane. Turn right and then right again across Kirkstall Bridge.

It was here that Royalists thwarted Thomas Fairfax and his Parliamentary Army from retaking Leeds in 1643. By demolishing the bridge they forced Fairfax to travel upstream to Apperley Bridge to cross the river. The current bridge dates from 1912.

Bridge Road takes you back up to the junction with Savins Mill Way opposite which you can turn left and head back to Kirkstall Abbey.

Photo © Rich Tea (cc-by-sa/2.0) Accessibility: This walk is level but includes a number of sections of unmade paths. If yuou avoid the goitside paths it may be suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. Care should be taken alongside traffic on busy roads

Free car parking is available at Kirkstall Abbey and there are excellent public transport links. Regular buses liink you to Leeds city centre.

Refreshments: There are a number of cafes and pubs along the route. The Kirkstall Bridge Inn is one of our favourites.

This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust. We run volunteer programmes to care for the river and school visits to educate future generations about the importance of our great river.

With support from We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Why not tryone the next time you take in some fresh River Aire?

The calm river above Newlay weir is perfect for taking photos on a sunny day

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk 3 kilometres / 1 hour

Accessibility – May be unsuitable for wheelchairs, pushcairs, etc. See notes at the end of the walk

Pioneering women and haunted pubs in hidden Newlay

This walk was written during lockdown 2020 by Mark Stephenson. Mark writes the popular blog, Mark’s History on Facebook. It was a strange time when we were not allowed to visit museums. Not deterred Mark suggests this walk as an open-air museum. We’ve extended the original walk into a loop with help from our own volunteers

It has everything, including a haunted pub.

Start at Kirkstall Forge train station (LS5 3NF). Exit through the rear on the station along the path that leads into woodland. Turn left at the T junction and head towards the canal.

The site we are leaving was once Kirkstall Forge. Metal has been smelted on this site since 1200 by the monks from Kirkstall Abbey. Amongst its many owners, one of the most remarkable was a woman called Betty Beecroft. Despite initial ridicule, Betty transformed a largely derelict forge in 1778 in just four years into a thriving business that laid the foundation for production at the site until 2002.

The noise and bustle of the Forge would once have dominated the valley. The noise of the hammer could be heard for quite some considerable distance. Now it is being reinvented as a desirable suburb with good connections to Leeds city centre.

Little remains of the forge but the Grade II listed hammer mill will form a focal point for the development. At the canal turn right and follow the signpost marked Horsforth.

As you walk along the canal you will pass Hunters Greave. Below you can see a large hut. This all that remains of a National Ordnance Factory here that manufactured shells for the Great War.

The factory was staffed only by men at first, but one day in June 1916, thirty blue-overalled women took their place in the machine shop. This was absolutely unheard of in those days. It caused great discussion amongst the men on how they would ‘stick it’. Stick it they did though, their numbers swelling to several hundred and bringing the total workforce to over thousand. Like many pubs in the area, the Abbey Inn was used as a mortuary from the 1600's until the 1950's. Line up a shot on the pool table and you’re standing in the space previously filled with a mortuary slab. Bodies did not stop customers from drinking . Bodies found in the river or canal were brought here. It wasn't unknown at that time for a body to be pushed further down the river if it would cause a problem.

The Abbey Inn is said to be haunted.

From the Abbey Inn walk down the road over the railway bridge and down towards Newlay Bridge. There have been at least six crossing points of the River Aire at Newlay since 1154. First a ford and then the first stone bridge built for the monks of Kirkstall Abbey.

Today’s iron bridge was once a toll bridge and until not so long ago it was a busy road. The bridge was paid for by John Pollard in 1819 and cost £1500. A toll of ½d. per person raised income of £600 / year.

The local community the 200th anniversary of the bridge’s construction with a street party on the bridge.

If you look to the left, you can see the old and new railway bridges crossing the River Aire. To the right you will see the weir, but you will most likely hear it before you see it.

Eagle eyed visitors will notice the view differs from Mark's photo below. On the right hand side of the weir you will see a new fish pass. This is allowing migratory fish to swim up over the weir. Before summer 2020 fish hoping to reach the gravel beds in shallower parts of the upland river to lay their eggs were stopped by the weir. Salmon will have traveled from the Atlantic Ocean around Greenland to lay their eggs. This fish pass helps connect 60km of river habitat.

Newlay weir was one of the first places Trustees from our charity photographed leaping salmon.

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010

Atlantic salmon leaping at Newlay weir in September 2015 Walk across the bridge and when you come to Rein Road turn right and walk ahead until you see the river on your right.

As you explore along the riverbank and you can see the remains of the old goit which was all connected to the weir at one time dating from around 1690. Water from here went to Kirkstall Forge to power the site.

Follow the track along the riverbank.

As this tracks turns left awy from the riverbank you can see the remains of Newlay Lower Weir. It is understood that a weir was built, along with a mill (St. Helen’s woollen mill), at this location sometime between 1820 and the early 1830s. Ordnance Survey maps in the early 1900s show the weir and suggests it was probably then supplying water to The St. Helen’s Leather Glue and Gelatine Works and the St. Helen’s Chemical Works (on the right bank looking downstream). The St Helen’s Works was demolished in the 1900s and the site is now part of the Kirkstall redevelopment. The weir fell in to disrepair and was demolished in 2015. This reconnected stretches of teh river and provided more habitat for fish and other wildlife.

When the track comes out on Leeds and Bradford Road turn right and head down the hill back to Kirkstall Forge. You should soon find yourself at the entrance to the Kirkstall Forge development.

Accessibility: This walk is level but includes a section of unmade road. It may not be suitable for wheelchairs or buggies.

Paid car parking is available at Kirkstall Forge train station but their are excellent public transport links. Kirkstall Forge train station links to Leeds and Shipley.

Refreshments: If you’re hungry after your walk, Butler's Cafe Bar in Kirkstall Forge provides an excellent range of refreshments. Alternatively pause your walk at the Abbey Inn and risk a spooky encounter with your drink.

Thank you to Mark Stephenson (Mark’s History on Facebook) and Newlay Conservation Society for helping write this walk.

With support from We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Why not tryone the next time you take in some fresh River Aire?

The calm river above Newlay weir is perfect for taking photos on a sunny day

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk

4 kilometres / 1 to 2 hours depending on how often you stop to admire the views.

Accessibility – Not suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs, etc. See notes at the end of the walk

Escaping the city in Saltaire

Our walk starts at Saltaire railway station (BD18 3LQ). On leaving the railway station turn left and head down the hill on Victoria Road. You will reach a footbridge that crosses the river and leads into Roberts Park.

Titus Salt chose to construct his mill and village in the rural Aire valley to escape the squalor of Victorian Bradford. Here, he planned to improve both the physical and moral health of his workers. Work began in 1851 and continued until 1876. Salts Mill was the first building to be complete in 1853. It opened on Sir Titus Salt's 50th birthday, 20th September.

The weir to your right powered machinery in the mill and widened the river. This meant visitors to Robert’s Park could swim and enjoy the river. Rowing boats could be hired from the boathouse on the opposite bank (now a pub). In 1883 a steam yacht, the “Rose” of Saltaire, arrived by rail from Birkenhead to provide trips upstream to Hirst Mill.

The river was a focus for recreation throughout the year. In January 1881 the Yorkshire Post reported that ice-skating was possible on the frozen river. In summer swimming was popular. Large crowds gathered to see both races and exhibitions at aquatic fetes.

The Rose of Saltaire on the River Aire 1909 © Francis Frith Collection The villagers of Saltaire established a fishing club. Its emblem features an alpaca whose wool they spun in the mill. Unfortunately, the pollution from the mills poisoned the river and the weirs blocked the way for migrating salmon.

If you walk down to the weir, there is an interpretation board. This explains Atlantic salmon can return to the river through the new fish pass.

You may have seen pictures of salmon leaping up waterfalls but weirs prove a particular challenge for them. Often they are too steep or the water at the foot of them is too shallow. This means they cannot get the power to get over them.

A fish pass slows the flow of water and allows all fish species to swim over. We're reconnecting 60km of river habitat to give fish space to feed, breed and shelter.

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010 Turn left and take the riverside path through the park and past the cricket grounds. Go through the gate next to the scoreboard and follow the surfaced path alongside the river.

The Higher Coach Road estate (to your right) is named after the former carriage drive leading to Milner Field. This was the grand residence of Sir Titus Salt's oldest son, Titus Salt Jnr. With the mansion gone the drive ends as an overgrown track beyond the edge of the estate.

In Titus Salt Jnr's time there were a few old farmhouses and cottages in the area. However, in the 1950s some social housing was built in this green valley. This was to replace poorer quality housing in Shipley.

The residents have established the Higher Coach Road Residents Group. This group campaigns for riverside improvements like the wildflower meadow you are passing. Carry on along the path until you cross a small footbridge over Loadpit Beck. This leads into the car park of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club. Continue along this riverside path. In several hundred meters you will cross a small footbridge over the aptly named Little Beck.

Notice the effect of the weir which gives the river a canal like appearance which the club need for the rowers. There has been a mill at Hirst Mill on the River Aire, Shipley for more than 750 years.

Two hundred years ago we had three water mills on the Aire in Shipley. The local domestic woollen trade relied on these mills for fulling. This is the cleaning of cloth/wool to remove oils and dirt, and to make it thicker. This was essential to make woven woollens acceptable. The Ancients would walk on the cloth in a trough or stream bed. More efficient water wheels led to the water powered fulling mill. Heavy wooden mallets in a fulling stock were menchaincally lifterd and dropped on the wet cloth in a wooden trough. This remained the woollen trade’s only mechanised process for many, many years.

New Hirst Mill 1890 courtesy of Mike Short Hirst Mill, at the end of Hirst Lane, was for many years Shipley’s only fulling mill. This little mill, only fifty feet square, stood between the river and the steep hillside of Hirst Wood. Like the other mills it had a dam or weir across the river.

Saltaire Rowing Club was founded in 1867 and the Clubhouse was built in 1893 on land given to the Club by Sir Titus Salt. The Club rows on a 600m stretch of the River Aire. It's Clubhouse, built in 1893, retains much of its Victorian character, with its unique upstairs bar and balcony.

Saltaire Rowing Clubhouse © Rich Tea (cc-by-sa/2.0) At the end of this path, follow the footpath up the steps on to the canal. You are now at Dowley Gap Aqueduct, known locally as the Seven Arches Aqueduct.

This beautiful aquaduct has taken the Leeds and Liverpool Canal over the River Aire for the nearly 250 years. The explosion of industry in the region during the 18th century required an improved transport network. This helped to export the materials worldwide and bring coal to fuel machinery. Lime and limestone came by boat to fertilise land and to produce mortar to build new buildings. The aquaduct now provides ideal habitat for bats.

Dowley Gap Aquaduct © David Spencer (cc-by-sa/2.0) The Leeds and Liverpool canal started in 1770. This section, which connected Shipley with Skipton was finished in 1774. The below from 1772, showed the planned canal as running to the south of its current course. It took till 1816 to build the whole 127 miles (204 km) of canal. This allowed local boats called Yorkshire keels to travel over the Pennines.

Here you can return on the canal towpath to Saltaire, but we are turning right. Our walk takes us right along the canal a short distance to the stone bridge. Cross here and follow the path behind the houses to the left, alongside Dowley Gap sewage treatment works. A track at the side of the river leads back up to the canal. You are now on the other side of seven arches viaduct.

The view of the river is great, and you gain the full experience either side. The meander you can see here makes the river wind across the valley floor. The distance from the source of the river in Malham to its end in Airmyn is just 58 miles. However, meanders like this increase the length of the river to 90 miles.

The County of York Survey'd in MDCCLXVII, VIII, IX, and MDCCLXX Engraved by Thomas Jefferys (Sheet V) © The British Library We also can’t go much further without mention of the sewage treatment works. Up to 1873 the cess pits (toilets) and mills of Bingley had previously flowed into the river. Dismayed at the pollution, new Bingley Council built a sewage treatment works at Dowley Gap. Over the last few decades Yorkshire Water has closed many smaller sewage works. Investment in the larger, more efficient works like Dowley Gap, has produced waste that is often as clean as the river. The effects of this has been miraculous. By the late 1990s, more than a decade ahead of much of the rest of Britain, otters, heron, and other wildlife began to return to the river.

At the end of the viaduct the path leads into Hirst Woods. Take the centre most path and enjoy these wonderful beech woodlands.

Each season has its own special features in the woodland. At some points in the winter you can see the river on both sides of the wood. You be able to appreciate how big the meander is as it almost doubles back on itself.

As fish numbers grow we see increases in other species that feed on them including otters and kingfishers.

Listen out for the Kingfisher’s distinctive cry of “kitcheee” as you explore our riverbanks.

Photograph courtesy of Sean Gibson, runner up in our Spring 2020 photography competition Hirst Wood is an area of ancient semi-natural woodland. It sits on a glacial moraine. This is a mound of millstone grit boulders left as glaciers retreated over 12,000 years ago. There has been woodland on the site for at least 800 years.

Only 200 years ago these woodlands would have been a hive of activity. The tree cover itself would have been different to that encountered today. There was no beech and sycamore and less holly. Alongside the oaks grew an understory of hazel. The trees were also managed as coppice with standards. This meant trees were regularly cut to the ground to encourage new growth. The was wood sold for building materials and the oak bark for the leather industry.

Wood has been used to make charcoal within the woodland from the 1300s. This was then used to fuel the iron and textile industries. All these uses meant the woodland was highly valued and few people could visit. The beech trees you see were planted to make bobbins for the mills. With the mills now closed the woods look magnificent in spring when bluebells cover the woodland floor. You emerge from the woods into the small car park. Opposite is the small Hirst Wood nature reserve. Since 2015 this has been cared for by the Hirst Wood Regeneration Group. It is well worth a detour.

Cross over the canal using the swing bridge to your left. Then turn right along canal towpath.

The remains of Hirst Mill and it's mill race are still visible on the bank of the River Aire here. You can also see the ruins of eight workers cottages next to the footpath above the site of New Hirst Mill. The 1841 census record show 58 people living in the 8 cottages.

Head back to Saltaire along the canal towpath.

On your left you will see Saltaire Sports Facility. Here members have played four different outdoor sports since 1923. The football ground has even appeared in the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life with Baildon Moor in the background. The Association itself has a great sporting history. At 17 Brian Close scored his first hundred at Salts playing for Yeadon in the Bradford league. This led to his selection for the Yorkshire Colts and his fantastic career. Just before you reach your starting point you will pass Saltaire United Reformed Church on your right. A Victorian architectural gems it has been described as a classic “Cathedral of Congregationalism”. Paid for by Sir Titus Salt, it is a focal point of his “model” village, Saltaire. Fittingly, the Mausoleum built onto the church contains the remains of Sir Titus Salt himself.

Leave the footpath in Saltaire to head back to the train station and the start of your walk.

This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust is reconnecting 60 kilometres of your river with fish passes to enable wildlife to thrive and Atlantic salmon to return. We run volunteer programmes to care for the river and school visits to educate future generations about the importance of our great river.

Thank you to Colin Coates, Saltaire Historian, and Pennine Prospects for helping write this walk. Accessibility: this walk includes two flights of fourteen steps on the riverside in Baildon; a narrow bridge at Saltaire Rowing Club; one flight of seven steps at Dowley Gap Aquaduct / unmade footpaths and a couple of steep sloping paths in Hirst Wood. Pay & display car parks can be found in Saltaire village. Saltaire train station links to Leeds, Bradford and Skipton.

Refreshments: the Half Moon Café in Robert’s Park and the either The Boathouse overlooking the river or Jay Bargie Diner on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at the end of the walk.

With support from We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Why not try one the next time you take in some fresh River Aire?

The calm river above Hirst weir is perfect for taking photos on a sunny day

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk 2.5 kilometres / 1 hour

Accessibility – Mostly unmade paths with a number of slopes and therefore not suitable for wheelchairs, children's buggies, etc.

Beckfoot and back along the River Aire in Bingley

Our walk starts at Bingley train station. Parking is available next to it in the Wellington Street pay and display car park (BD16 2NB)

To reach the river head up to Main Street and across the Town Square. You will find the route down to the river at the rear of the Queen Street car park. Both the flight of steps and sloping path lead down to the river. At the bottom turn left.

Can you spot the art work in the path at A throstle is a traditional colloquial your feet? name for a song thrush.

“That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, Lest you should think he never could recapture The first fine careless rapture!”

Thomas Browning

Visitors for many generations will have enjoyed this promenade along the river to Myrtle Park. This should take you about ten minutes. Along this stretch of river you may spot wildlife like herons and cormorants.

When you get to Myrtle Park you are going to take the second bridge across the River Aire.

Myrtle Park was purchased in 1908 for the enjoyment of local town people. The Bingley Show has been held here since 1920. In its heyday it was one of the largest one day agricultural shows in the North attracting over 25,000 visitors.

As you pass the first bridge, notice the inscription on the bridge. The Festival of Britain gave Britons a feeling of recovery and progress after the Second World War. It aimed to promote better-quality design as British towns and cities were rebuilt. The Festival also celebrated the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. Imagine the excitement of the children of Myrtle Park Primary school as they watched this bridge being craned into place.

Take the second bridge across the River Aire and follow the footpath past the allotments to Beckfoot Lane. Turn right along it. If you stand on either bridge you will no doubt see fish below. If you are fortunate you may see otters on this section of river at dawn or dusk.

Terriers along this stretch of River Aire were bred with Otterhounds to enhance their scenting ability and hunting skills around water. These dogs were known as Waterside or Bingley Terriers, later to be named as the Airedale Terrier.

Thankfully, such persecution is now a distant memory. The river’s much improved water quality has seen fish and the river life that feed on them multiply.

This illustration taken from the 1881 book "The Illustrated Book of the Dog" shows Thunder, a Bingley Terrier and one of the founders of the Airedale Terrier breed. Beckfoot Bridge and ford © Joe Regan (cc-by-sa/2.0)

The bridge stands on one of the oldest roads in the district through the forest from Cottingley. The current packhorse bridge replaced a wooden one in 1723 for the princely sum of £10 (or approximately £1,160 today).

The 1848 book, Topographical Dictionary of England, described "a powerful Harden Beck, which abounds with trout… and propels the machinery of three worsted mills in which the greater part of the population is employed.” Beckfoot Mill is in fact the lowest of six mills that stood on Harden Beck. All are now converted to private residences. Various spellings of Harden Beck have appeared over time including Heredene, Heredenbroc and Hardenbrok which translates as either Rock Valley or Hare Valley Beck.

Pause to cool your feet in the ford at Beckfoot before heading on. The footpath is through a stile and down a step to your right once you have crossed the packhorse bridge.

The paths goes uphill initially with Harden Beck on your right. Then continue on uphill to the house (Hesp Hills) and follow the footpath signs in front of the building and through a gap in the wall into the woods. Continue on through the woods and when the path descends down you will reach a junction/crossroads, take the path down to the right to reach a grassy area in front of the Festival of Britain bridge

In spring you will find the floor of this beech woodland carpeted in wild garlic and bluebells. This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust is reconnecting sixty kilometres of your river with fish passes to enable wildlife to thrive and Atlantic salmon to return.

We are hopeful that the gravel beds found in the bottom of Harden Beck will provide the ideal habitat for them to lay their eggs. Salmon will have travelled from the Atlantic Ocean around Greenland to lay their eggs.

We run volunteer programmes to care for the river and school visits to educate future generations about the importance of our great river.

Lighter stones in a river bed showing where spawning salmon have cleaned away the silt to spawn

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010 Turn left at the bottom of the steps. A woodland track on the far side of the clearing will lead you up to Harden Road (opposite Altar Lane). Turn right here and head down the hill to Ireland Bridge.

There has been a bridge on this spot since medieval times. The current one was built in 1686 with the parapet added later in the 1700's. Ireland Bridge takes its name from Irish immigrants who crossed the river to drink at “The Irish Inn.” this was a local name for The Brown Cow. Much of their new home, Bingley, is an island separated from the rest of the valley by the river and canal.

Ireland Bridge © David Dx (cc-by-sa/2.0) Visitors to the river could hire rowing boats for the day from landing stages on both banks upstream of the weir. This included the rear garden of a pub on Old Main Street.

The Ring Of Bells pub is long gone. It closed in 1929 and turned into the Church House for All Saints Church across the road. If you stand and look over the weir you will see that much of this river scene remains unchanged.

To find the riverside path look for a footpath sign on your right after crossing Ireland Bridge. It leads you down an alleyway to the river.

Row boats on the River at Bingley in 1923 © Francis Frith Collection Where path joins the riverbank look out on your left for a sign of the wall identifying Ailsa Well. By Victorian times, the use of the river for drinking water was hazardous. The town’s water closets (toilets) and dyes from its woollen industry flowed into the river. Hempels Fat Refiners, replaced by the riverside flats, would have made this stretch of river a stinky place to visit.

The towns residents turned to springs for their clean water. Ailsa Well, named after Alice Hird who lived in the adjoining property, was noted to produce water that was 'uncommonly hard' but excellent for cooking vegetables.

You will find Ailsa Well across the yard and down a short flight of steps. It still has water in it. People have crossed the river at Bingley since Saxon times. In summer, when the water is low, you can see the stones of the old ford in the riverbed behind you at the bottom of Ferrand Street leading up to Main Street. No one knows exactly how old these stones are but the crossing could be up to 1000 years old.

Walk along the riverbank. End your walk by returning to Bingley’s Main Street up the footpath you first set out on.

Thank you to Barney Lerner from Friends of Bradford Becks for helping write this walk.

Transport links: Pay & display car parks and train links to Bradford and Skipton can be found off Main Street in Bingley.

Refreshments: The Brown Cow is locally renowned for serving great beers and food and a cafe can be found in Myrtle Park.

With support from Can you unscramble the names of the fish decorating the railings at the end of the walk?

i pek

ragingly amber

We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Why not try one the next time you take in some fresh River Aire?

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk 5 kilometres / 1 to 2 hours depending on how often you stop to admire the views.

Accessibility – Mostly unmade paths with a number of slopes and a couple of stiles. Bikes are not allowed on riverside paths. Unsuitable for wheelchairs, etc.

Canal boats and Crayfish Claws at Kildwick

Start this walk at the White Lion Pub. Turn right and head up the hill towards Kildwick Church.

The building you are approaching has been standing since the 1300's. However there has been a church here since the 1000's.

The church has been well recognised throughout history. Charlotte Bronte visited here during her time as governess for Mary Wainman from nearby Lothersdale.

Pause to take a look in the church graveyard (near the car park) and you will find a tomb stone dating from 1889. It belongs to John Laycock. The beautifully carved organ is said to be a replica of the first organ he made.

If your walk is early on a Sunday morning you may hear the bells chime at Kildwick church. The tower is one of only six in the country to have “Yorkshire tail ends,” a fluffy handle on the end of the pulling ropes. Bells have been rung here since it was built,over 600 years ago Take a right past the church passing Kildwick C of E School on Priest Bank Road towards the swing bridge.

The 1848 map names this bridge as Barrett's Bridge but now it is known locally just as Kildwick bridge.

The section of Leeds and Liverpool Canal it crosses was built in 1773. Much of this canal was dug by hand and it allowed the transportation of raw materials such as coal and limestone over the Pennines. The canal linking Leeds and Skipton alone required 27 swivel and 7 arched stone bridges, 3 aqueducts over roads, 5 over brooks and "1 great aqueduct over the River Aire of seven arches."

Now most of the traffic goes over Kildwick Bridge and only boat owners have the key to move the bridge.

Turn right at the bridge and head along the tow path. As you walk along the canal you may notice that it crosses another watercourse. Look down and you will see Grange Beck flowing under the canal. Canals are lined with clay to keep the water in. The traditional method was to drive flocks of sheep along the newly constructed canals to squash this clay down with their feet. Civil engineers still use sheepsfoot rollers today.

At Cowling Swing Bridge (the second closed crossable bridge) turn right and follow the footpath down the hill. You should find yourself on the banks of the River Aire. Turn right and head upstream back towards Kildwick.

The river here is in the grip of an alien invasion. Signal crayfish introduced to Europe from America in the 1960's to farms are now widespread. They carry crayfish plague. This disease that does not harm them but decimates native White-clawed crayfish. You may find broken signal crayfish claws on the footpath. They are a favourite food for otters. This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust is reconnecting sixty kilometres of your river with fish passes to enable wildlife to thrive and Atlantic salmon to return.

We are hopeful that the gravel beds found in streams and upper reaches of the main river throughout Craven will provide the ideal habitat for them to lay their eggs. Salmon will have traveled from the Atlantic Ocean around Greenland to lay their eggs.

Once hunted, the return of otters is a sign of healthy fish populations.

They can sometimes be spotted at dusk. They swim much lower in the water than mink with just the head visible and have a distinctive forward roll as they dive

Gooseanders are fish eating ducks. They have a serated "sawbill" for grasping fish.

Planting riverside trees gives fish places to hide from predators.

Photograph by Morgan Caygill Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010

Lighter stones in a river bed showing where spawning salmon have cleaned away the silt to spawn Kildwick bridge is one of the oldest bridges on the River Aire. Between 1305 to 1313 the monks from Bolton Abbey paid for it be constructed in stone as one of their main routes towards Lancashire. However wooden bridges had existed there many centuries before this.

Few people swim in the Aire now but in July 1913, 12-year-old John Greenwood used his mastery of the Australian crawl to win five trophies in the Kildwick Swimming Gala. Then held annually in the river by this bridge. John came from a renowned local family of swimmers and in later life took part in many aquatic exhibitions. One of his tricks was to escape Houdini-like from a tied sack thrown into the water.

At Kildwick Bridge turn right and head back up the hill to your starting point at the White Lion pub.

Thank you to Farnhill and Kildwick History Group for helping write this walk.

Photo used with permission of the Farnhill and Kildwick History Group Transport links: The 66 Dalesway bus travels from Keighley to Kildwick Lane End. From here walk down Skipton Road to the White Lion Pub. Trains link Bradford and Leeds to Keighley. The nearest train station to Kildwick is Cononley, it is then approximately a 30 minute walk to the White Lion Pub. There is limited car parking in the village.

Refreshments: The White Lion is a piece of history itself. Dating from the 1600's, it is known for its traditional comfortable feel.

We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk

With support from 1.6 kilometres / 30 - 45 miuntes

Accessibility – Not suitable for wheelchairs, pushcairs, etc. See notes at the end of the walk

Ducks and Drakes by Carleton in Craven

The Swan Inn is a great place to start and end your walk. With the pub on your left walk down Swan Street.

You’ll notice that each terrace of houses is different and have their own style. These houses were built in the 1800s and 1900s. Louvain Terrace was built after the destruction of Louvain in the First World War.

Walking past the Post Office you’ll come to Vicar’s Row.

The cottages here celebrate the Reverend Jelf. This energetic Oxford scholar arrived in Carleton in 1849 and is responsible for their construction.

Cross the beck with Brook View and Beckside on your left.

The beck here, Catlow Gill runs through the centre of the village and into the River Aire. This is a great place for your dog to drink. On Easter Monday you would see excited children here watching hundreds of plastic ducks race through the village. Walking on, you’ll pass Carleton Old Hall. Take a look at the two dates in the date stone. One marks the original construction and the second in memory of its renovation. It was built in 1584 by the Ferrands, it has that solid appearance of the home of a prosperous family. For many years they were the gatekeepers at Skipton castle.

As you carry on past the Old Hall, look up to your right where there are often cows. As the land rises you can see old gate posts. These are probably medieval and thought to be the site of the original village. Head past Harlequin Cottage and its natty little wooden bridge and you’ll come to Aireview Terrace on your right. Follow the track in front of the houses and then take the stile into the field.

Your path runs parallel to the stone wall on your right. There are often sheep in this field so dogs need to be on a lead. This is true Aire Valley Flood plain. Notice how flat the land is. The Aire breaks its banks and runs across the fields two or three times a year at this point. Each time saving areas from flooding downstream. Patient lines of sheep wait on the raised embankments for the water level to fall. There’s a stile on the right towards the bottom of the field. The path leads there so you should be able to find it easily. Once you cross the stile the metal bridge is straight in front of you.

The bridge is a great place for Pooh Sticks. Or you can just for watch the river flow by for a while. The path continues towards Skipton but our walk uses the bridge as a turning point. On the Skipton side is a handy bench. Great if you have a flask or a picnic.

You can often see swans and ducks from here. Sand martins will swoop low to the water from their nests in the riverbank further along.

Bridge over the river Aire at Carleton in Craven c. 1900 © Francis Frith Collection From your resting place on the bench you can look back up at the village with Carleton Mill at its centre. The mill was built in 1861 by the Slingsby family. Originally a farming family in the area they started to weave cotton, first at an old mill in Bell Busk and then building the mill in Carleton. Before it closed in 1999, the mill had a varied history. During the Second World War it produced parts for jet engines and it ended its days as a Carpet Mill. Now apartments, the mill has retained one of its marvellous chimneys.

Walking back up to towards the village follow the path sloping up towards the church.

There are three fields in total to cross and two stiles to climb before you get to the church. However, the views are pretty and you can hear curlew, red shank and lapwings as you walk. These remind you how near to the river these fields are. St Mary’s, built in 1859 is a pretty sight on the rise above you. There is believed to have been a church on this site since the 1100s. If you look back towards Skipton you can see Sharphaw, and on a clear day the hills behind Malham and beyond.

As the path goes through the gate next to the church you’re walking with the old graveyard on your right and the newer plots on your left. At the end of the path turn sharp right and admire the beautiful church entrance. In spring the huge cherry blossom tree here is breath-taking. Following the wall you will see a narrow pathway leading back to the Post Office. The chillingly named Dead Lane was apparently the route coffins were carried into the churchyard. Its history is now forgotten. You simply see a pleasant path which shares a wall with the village playground.

Once back at the Post office you can turn left and walk past the village hall.

You will find yourself back at the Swan for a well-earned beverage. Or you can try an ice-cream from the village shop?

Thank you to one of our fantastic volunteers, Jane Rogers, for writing this walk and for many of the pictures.

Accessibility: this walk is on unmade footpaths including styles and narrow bridges. It is unsuitable for buggies or wheelchairs. There are six buses a day from Skipton to Carleton. The number 12 route leaves from Skipton Bus Station and the train station. Check online for bus times. If you’re in a car there’s some limited street parking in the village.

Refreshments: The Swan Inn in Carleton in Craven is a welcoming place for dogs and walkers.

With support from We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks

Why not try one the next time you take in some fresh River Aire?

Find these and lots, lots more about our project at www.dnaire.org.uk

Atlantic salmon caught and returned by Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010 You might be surprised by what wildlife you can find in the Aire

Some day soon Atlantic salmon will be swimming past you on their way to breed in shallow, gravelly river and stream beds around Skipton.