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Calverley/Horsforth/Rawdon

‘Tithe to 2009’ Boundary Trail

Type of Walk: Circular, including river and woodland paths

Distance: 3.5 miles

Starting Point: Canal Bank, off Horsforth New Road (SE222 367)

Suitable for: Walking and horse-riding

Trail Summary:

The trail begins at the canal side off Horsforth New Road and crosses the 19th-century tithe boundary of Calverley with Farsley, over the river Aire, into Horsforth. To the best of its modern capability, the trail then follows roads and tracks appearing on the tithe maps as it enters Rawdon township, and takes a circular tour of Cragg Wood. Returning close to the Rawdon/Calverley tithe boundary, marked by the river Aire, the trail concludes at the point which it began, by the canal side at Horsforth.

Directions

From the parking area at the canal side off Horsforth New Road, turn

right and follow the road ahead, ignoring the canal towpath to your

Calverley

Horsforth

Calverley

Horsforth

RawdonCarrs

TrailWaterRailwayWooded areaBuilt-up areaRoads

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Wakefi eld MDC 100019574. 2009

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left. Pass in front of a row of 19th-century cottages on your right-hand

side, and stop here for a moment. The closest of these cottages to the road stands on the site of buildings shown on the Calverley with Farsley tithe map of 1846. This was plot number 1095, owned by Walter Stott Stanhope Esq., and rather unfi ttingly named, Lime Kiln Close. The plot was occupied by William Edmondson, who had a pasture and outbuildings there, though its name may suggest the area had previously had different uses. Walter Stott Stanhope was affi liated with the Spencer Stanhopes, a

wealthy landed family who had resided at Horsforth Hall (demolished – site in Hall Park) since the 18th century, and previously at Low Hall. The Stott Stanhope branch of this family had their ancestral seat at Eccleshill Park in the modern district of Bradford.

Walk on a little further

down the road and on your

left-hand side, you will

notice a new block of fl ats,

named Canal House. On the site of Canal House, the Calverley tithe map shows a house, homestead, croft and pasture, owned by Clara Thornhill, and occupied by Thomas Greenwood. The Thornhills were a wealthy noble family, who held land in the Calder Valley between Pontefract and Dewsbury, and acquired the manor of Calverley from the Calverley family in 1754. The Thornhill family seat had been at Fixby Hall in Huddersfi eld since the 13th century, and was

The Stott Stanhope of Eccleshill Park Family and Estate Archive 1473-1929 (STST, MM39, MM40, and MM45-48), is held by West Yorkshire Archive Service.

Above: Bond re. lease of the fulling mill at Calverley by

Thomas Thornhill to William Greenwood, 1792. Inset:

Greenwood’s seal. (DD/T/L/V/58)

Above: Lease between Thomas Thornhill and William

Dawson, husbandman, with plan of parts of Calverley,

1790 (DD/T/L/V/54)

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inherited by Clara at her parents’ death. By this time however, Clara resided at Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire. She was well placed in society and became a personal friend of Charles Dickens, whose visits to Rushton may have inspired Haversham Hall in Great Expectations. To your right, opposite Canal House is The Railway Public House and outbuildings. These are also shown by the Calverley tithe map to have belonged to Clara Thornhill and been occupied by Thomas Greenwood in 1846.

Continue ahead now, until just past The Railway Public House, where

the road splits before you. Pause here a moment. To your left is a narrow cobbled road rising to several properties on the canal side. This road does not explicitly appear on the tithe map, though there is a suggestion of it as a passageway between buildings, and the structure itself seems to be 19th-century. The road leads up to plot 1108, comprising a house, outbuildings, and a garden. These were owned by Clara Thornhill, and leased to David Yewdall and Company. Yewdall and Company were manufacturers of cloth and, owing to the property’s size and status, likely leased it as accommodation for a managerial employee of the mill that stood nearby. Though heavily modifi ed, the 19th-century house still standing here may be the same property featured on the tithe map.

The Clarke-Thornhill Family of Fixby, Family and Estate Records (DD/T) and Clara Thornhill’s Estates Sale Catalogue (87D77) are held by West Yorkshire Archive Service.

Below and right: Correspondence to Mr

Ramsbottom, land agent of Calverley from

Honoria Thornhill, concerning a dispute

over the guardianship of Clara Thornhill,

‘the young heiress’, 1844 (DD/T/C/280)

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Ignoring the cobbled road to your left, take the rough path straight

ahead of you, going around the black gate-posts and into a wooded

avenue that slopes down to Calverley Bridge. Stop at the bottom of the

hill, keeping the bridge on your right. Ahead of you, in 1846, a mill race would have emerged from under Calverley Bridge, leading to a large mill on the river’s edge. Calverley Mill, as the huge building was known, belonged to the same Clara Thornhill who owned the houses on the ridge to your left. It had originally been a corn mill, but by 1846, it is likely that the business here was fulling. Fulling was the fi nal stage in cloth manufacture and involved pounding the cloth in large pits fi lled with water, urine, and fuller’s earth, to matt the fi bres together. Calverley Mill eventually became a wool mill, and the consequently oil-soaked building burned down, after which its remains were entirely demolished.

Turn right and go

half way across

the bridge to the

middle. In the centre

of Calverley Bridge,

turn to your left and

observe the river

view. Standing here in 1846, the huge fulling mill would have been clearly visible on the left bank of the river along with a weir, shown on the Calverley with Farsley

tithe map, stretching across the water from the mill to the opposite bank. This weir was originally built in 1710 by Sir Walter Calverley, at the same time that the current bridge was erected. However, both structures had to be rebuilt in 1775, after the weir was badly damaged in a storm. All that remains of the weir and Calverley Mill today are pieces of dressed stone, littering the bank and river bed. Turn around now, and look over the opposite side of

the bridge. To your right, the remains of the left-hand bank of the mill race can still be seen, forming an island in the middle of the river Aire. The river

David Yewdall appears in several sale particulars in the Clarke-Thronhill Family and Estate Records (DD/T/DD/V) held at WYAS.

A plan of the 1894 Leeds to Shipley Improvement of the Leeds-Liverpool canal from Newlay to Dobson Locks (C229/16/5/1), also held by West Yorkshire Archive Service, shows the later extent of the Calverley Mill complex.

Calverley Bridge

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Aire and Calverley Bridge mark the 19th-century tithe boundary of Calverley with Farsley, with the township of Horsforth.

Walk on ahead now, and as you reach the end of the bridge, crossing

into Horsforth township, pass the remains of a cast-iron cow catcher

on your left that once formed part of a 19th-century toll gate. A toll gate at Calverley Bridge was certainly in operation from around 1705-1916, but the plot is marked rather imprecisely on the Horsforth tithe map, as being a cottage and garden belonging to J.S. Stanhope Esq., and occupied by George Lawson. It is possible, however, that Lawson was the toll collector for the bridge at this time, as several slightly later photographs of Calverley Toll Bar show a stone Bar Keeper’s cottage with garden a little way ahead on your left.

Take the cobbled path

straight ahead of you,

ignoring others to the left

and right, and emerge into

Calverley Lane. Turn left

and go up the hill over the

railway bridge in front of

you. The original route of Calverley Lane as illustrated on the Horsforth tithe map of 1838, carried straight on from the bridge and curved around, much later, to meet its current direction, the one in which you are

Growing on the bridge over the river Aire is pineapple mayweed, a small yellow-green bobble-like plant that smells of pineapple when crushed. Blue/purple meadow cranesbill also grows at the Calverley Lane end of the bridge. Once its petals have fallen, this plant develops a pod like the bill of a crane that springs open in the sun and throws out seed. Otters and kingfi shers are attracted to the island in the river created by the redundant mill race, which provides a perfect environment for shy creatures to lie up and hide. Look out for dippers, grey wagtails, swallows and house martins too, which are all attracted to the variety of insects that live on the river. Listen and you may hear a chiff chaff, a small warbler that tells you its name, over and over again!

Correspondence, bills, and receipts for the Calverley and Horsforth Toll road and bridge are held as part of the Clarke-Thornhill Family and Estate Records (DD/T/C/264) at West Yorkshire Archive Service. There are also several references to the Calverley toll bridge in correspondence within the Spencer Stanhope of Horsforth Family and Estate Archive (SpSt), also held at WYAS.

Calverley Station House and engine shed

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walking. The coming of the railway however, made this route impossible, and redirection of the road eventually caused Calverley Bridge and the toll bar to fall out of major use. The railway line is not evident on the Horsforth tithe map as it was not constructed until 1846. The line was part of the Leeds and Bradford Railway, and served a station on the opposite side of the modern bridge. Calverley and Rodley station closed in 1965, but the station master’s house and engine sheds still stand on either side of the current tracks.

Continue up Calverley Lane, passing the Paris Restaurant and car park

on your right-hand side, and the chemical works on your left. (If you are

on horseback you may wish to cross the road after the car park entrance

and use the soft grass verge for a short distance.) Here, on both sides of Calverley Lane, in 1838, were vast open fi elds. The fi eld to the left was known as Sasson Close, and that to the right, as Low Furdus. Both these areas were owned by J.S. Stanhope Esq. and leased to the same George Lawson occupying the possible Bar Keeper’s cottage by Calverley Bridge.

On reaching a junction in Calverley Lane at the corner of the chemical

works site, turn left into Low Hall Road. Keep to the footpath on the

left-hand side. (Horse-riders beware: there is a bus depot close by

and large buses frequently use this road.) On your right, a little way into Low Hall Road, stands the ancient building that gives the road its name. On the Horsforth tithe map of 1838, Low Hall is listed simply as a house, homestead, fold, and garden, owned by J.S. Stanhope Esq. and occupied by Daniel Illingworth. Low Hall (also known as Calverley Old Hall) was the ancient seat of the Calverley family, who had been prominent and wealthy local landowners since early medieval times. The estate passed to the Stanhopes after the Calverleys relocated to Esholt Hall in the 17th century.

Low Hall is thought to be one of the best preserved medieval manor houses in West Yorkshire, having been divided into several dwellings after the departure of the Stanhopes for Horsforth Hall in the early 18th century, and eventually, to Cannon Hall in Cawthorne. The building’s division meant it escaped Victorian ‘modernisation’ as a grand villa, and remains true to its medieval form. The oldest part of the structure is the ‘Solar’ with its gable end facing into Low Hall Road, and dates from around 1380.

Plans, sections, and books of reference relating to routes planned and implemented by the Leeds and Bradford Railway Company are held at West Yorkshire Archive Service (QE20/1, QE21, and RDP68/107).

A notice to quit regarding the tenancy of Daniel Illingworth at Low Hall (SpSt/5/11/38) is held within the Spencer Stanhope of Horsforth Family and Estate Archive (SpSt) at West Yorkshire Archive Service.

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Woodbottom Mills

Continue ahead down Low Hall Road. Just after Low Hall barn, on your right, stands Low Hall Farm House. This building also features on the Horsforth tithe map and in 1838, was likewise owned by J.S. Stanhope Esq. Low Hall Farm is listed in the apportionment as a house, folds, stack yards and plantation, occupied by Gaunt, Thompson, and Company.

Walk along Low Hall Road until

it curves to the left, and the

footpath ceases. Here, follow the

road round to the left and pass

in front of Wood Bottom Mills on

your right. The units standing here now are heavily adapted from those occupying this identically named site in 1838. According to the Horsforth tithe map, the buildings making up Wood Bottom Mills at this time consisted of works and a dam. Again, these were owned by J.S. Stanhope Esq., and were leased to the same Gaunt, Thompson, and Company, who occupied Low Hall Farm. Wood Bottom Mills were engaged in woollen cloth manufacture.

Pass Wood Bottom Mills, crossing over a stream ahead. Where the

road splits before you, ignore the track leading to your right and follow

instead the rough road directly ahead. In crossing over the stream, you have now passed over a second 19th-century tithe boundary, between the townships of Horsforth and Rawdon.

Continue ahead into Rawdon township, until you pass in front of two

modern houses. Behind these houses, to your left, lies the site of Rawdon Low Mill, the chimney of which is visible above the rooftops. Low Mill was originally built in 1797, and was the fi rst of three mills, the others being Park Mill (1805) and Larkfi eld Mill (1825), to be erected by the Thompson family in Rawdon. Parts of the original mill buildings and dam at Low Mill, evident on the Rawdon tithe map of 1838, are still standing. The structures

A Letter from John Stanhope to his brother Mr Stanhope of Leeds, merchant (SpSt/5/2/74) and Letters from Thomas Potts of Cannon Hall to John Spencer Stanhope (SpSt/5/2/104) concerning the letting of Woodhall Farm and the ‘bad state’ of Horsforth are also held within the Spencer Stanhope of Horsforth Family and Estate Archive (SpSt) at WYAS.

As you cross the stream, notice the wall on your right. It has been colonised by a rich mixture of plants, including maidenhair spleenwort and hart’s-tongue fern, male fern, biting stonecrop, herb Robert and broad-leaved willow herb.

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were listed in the tithe apportionment as Rawdon Lane Mill, dam and gardens, belonging to Ephraim Elsworth, and leased to J.R. Thompson. The business conducted here was likely to be one of the early stages in woollen cloth manufacture such as scribbling, combing and slubbing, which involved washing and straightening the fi bres of the wool. From your current position, over your right shoulder, you will also be able to see Rawdon Low Mill Methodist Chapel, now a private residence. This chapel does not appear on the Rawdon tithe map as it did not open to serve the Low Mill workforce until 1881.

Walking straight ahead until the road splits again, pause for a moment. Down the rough road to your left some post-1838 Victorian additions to Low Mill can be seen, including Low Mill House, nestled behind the hedge. Up the track to your right is Wood Bottom Farm. The farm buildings here are visible on the Rawdon tithe map, and are largely unchanged since 1838, when they still consisted of two houses with separate folds or yards. The farmhouses belonged to Rawson Stansfi eld, Esq. and were leased to Samuel Lawson and George Woodhead.

Ignoring both these tracks to your left and right, walk straight on, down

the narrow, wooded footpath in front of you. Almost immediately to your left note the, now visible, upper portion of Low Mill House. The path you are walking appears on the Rawdon tithe map as a defi ned vehicular road, and soon opens out ahead of you, the remains of cobbles underfoot betraying it’s former use and importance.

With the Rawdon/Calverley tithe boundary of the river Aire on your

left hand-side, after the track becomes fl anked by a stone wall, cross

a beck fl owing from the right, and emerge onto a tarmac road. Walk

up the hill, around the right-hand side of a modern house, and enter

Cragg Wood. At the top of the hill, where the road forks, turn left onto a

wooded avenue, Underwood Drive. Stop here for a moment.

To your right is a gate marking the entrance to the 19th-century road that continued through Cragg Wood. This road features on the Rawdon tithe map and is shown leading past a group of buildings known as Woodlands. Woodlands appears on the tithe map as a house and garden owned by

Marriage Registers and other records relating to Rawdon Low Mill Methodist Chapel are held as part of the Aireborough Methodist Circuit Records (WYL1084) and the West Yorkshire Methodist Churches Duplicate Marriage Registers (C111) at WYAS. Also held are legal papers and deeds relating to Rawdon Low Mill Company (WYL553).

Cragg Wood, Rawdon Deeds from 1860-1977 (WYL 2151) are held at West Yorkshire Joint Services.

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Rawson Stansfi eld Esq. and leased to William Dennison. Later in our walk, we will pass by Woodlands more directly.

Walk along Underwood Drive to your left, with the 19th-century

boundary wall of the lands belonging to Woodlands visible on your

right. Reaching the end of the wooded avenue, go around the gate in

front of you and emerge onto a tarmac section of Underwood Drive.

Walk straight ahead past residences and grounds on both sides,

keeping to the left side of the road as there is no footpath.

Although most buildings here appear to be 19th-century, the Rawdon tithe map shows that none was present in 1838. To your left and right, the whole area was untouched, natural woodland, belonging to Rawson Stansfi eld, Esq. In passing Briaden Lodge, immediately at the roadside on your right, you would have slowly emerged from this thick woodland into open fi elds, known as Near Hipping Stones and Far Hollin Close. According to the Rawdon tithe map, these fi elds were in use as meadows in 1838 and belonged to Robert Milligan, Esq., who leased them to William Forest. Robert Milligan was a wealthy stuff merchant with a successful business in Bradford and the co-founder of newspaper, The Bradford Observer, in 1834. A Liberal Non-Conformist, Milligan supported the abolition of the slave trade in British colonies and became Bradford’s fi rst mayor in 1847, serving one term as a Member of Parliament, 1852-7.

Continue along Underwood Drive, ignoring any turn-offs, until you

reach a T-junction in the road. Turn right and go up hill on Woodlands

Drive. Keep to the right-hand side of the road, as there is no footpath

here. In 1838, this road too would have taken you across open fi elds. The lands here, known as Near Long Ing and Mill Stone Ing also belonged to Robert Milligan, Esq., and were leased to William Butler as pasture and John Greaves as meadow, respectively. Although some of the housing you see on the roadside today is 19th-century, none of these buildings was present in 1838.

As you reach the summit of the hill in front of you, just before the

Carlton Nursing Home on your left-hand side, a small road leads off

to a row of cottages named Cragg Bottom (now Cragg Terrace), that

appear on the Rawdon tithe map. Stop here for a moment. This road to your left is part of the 19th-century system of tracks through Cragg Wood. The cottages at Cragg Bottom can be seen at the top of this road, largely

Papers relating to Robert Milligan Esq.’s last will and testament and the sale of his estate after death are held as part of the Milligan and Ripley Family Records (WYB()) at West Yorkshire Archive Service.

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unchanged from the way they appear on the tithe map. In 1838, these cottages and gardens were owned by Robert Milligan, Esq. and leased to George Smith, John Hay, William Greaves, and John Pratt, Sr and Jr.

According to the Rawdon tithe map, the little road to your left led to Cragg Bottom from a house and garden in the then thick woodland

to your right. This house belonged to Robert Milligan Esq. and was occupied by William Forest. The track to your left and the road ahead of you were rough extensions of Occupation Road, which gave vehicular access to William Forest’s abode. Underwood House, down the road to your right, is now built on the site of Forest’s residence, which was linked to other, wider, vehicular roads throughout the wood by narrow horse tracks and footpaths.

Continue now, up Woodlands Drive, following the line of a 19th-century

footpath marked on the Rawdon tithe map. Pass a rough road on

the left and continue past modern residences on the right, until you

observe a set of steps and a footpath leading off to the left. Pause

here, at the steps, for a moment. In 1836, the narrow path at the top of these steps joined a considerably wider track running parallel to Woodlands Drive on your left-hand side. This parallel track gave vehicular access to two cottages with gardens that stood directly behind the entrance steps on your left, a little way back from the road (Woodlands Drive). These cottages, now demolished, were owned by the 2nd Marquis of Hastings and leased to George Booth.

The Marquis, at this time, was George Francis Rawdon-Hastings, a peer who also held the title of Lord Rawdon until 1817, and Earl Rawdon thereafter. George Francis had inherited these titles from his father, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, who was an Irish politician, and the 2nd Earl of Moira. Francis was raised to the rank of 1st Marquis of Hastings in 1816, after carving out a distinguished military and political career serving in the American War, and as Governor-General of India, 1813-23, and Malta, 1824.

Papers relating to the Rawdon family, Earls of Moira, can be found in the Public Record Offi ce of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and in the Huntingdon Library, California, USA. The family archives, c.1584-1809, are held privately at The Manor House, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, in Leicestershire, by the living heirs of the Rawdon-Hastings estates and titles. Enquiries to PRONI.

Cragg Terrace

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Continue along Woodlands Drive ahead, passing a church (now

residences) on your right, and following the curve of the road round

to the left until you reach a driveway on the right, now leading to the

Larchwood residences. On the site of Larchwood in 1838, accessed by a track following the same route as the modern drive, was a house and garden, owned by John and Mary Smith and leased to William Dennison. Larchwood was not built here until 1859, originally as a Baptist College. The building was designed, in Victorian Gothic style, by J.H. Paul of Cardiff. It cost £1,200 to build, and the opening ceremony was attended by 700 people, including Sir Titus Salt, the famous Bradford manufacturer and philanthropist.

Proceed once more, up Woodlands Drive, crossing land referenced by the Rawdon tithe map as ‘Rough Piece’, and likewise leased to William Dennison, as pasture, by John and Mary Smith. The land to either side of the road is still used as grazing for cattle and horses. Across the fi elds to your right, the Woodlands complex, for which we previously observed the entrance to a 19th-century access road from Underwood Drive, is now visible. Continue ahead until you reach ‘The Registrar’s House’, a

modern, stone house with high walls, on your right hand side. To the left of The Registrar’s House as you turn to face it is the road leading to Woodlands. Do not take this road. This is the opposite end of the same road we observed earlier, which appears on the Rawdon tithe map as the main route through Cragg Wood. In 1838, Woodlands itself was leased to William Dennison by its owner, Rawson Stansfi eld Esq., and comprised a house and garden. The buildings however, far pre-date the tithe map, and appear mostly medieval.

Walk on now, along Woodlands Drive

to your left. Pass a red brick building

on your right, now Snaithwood

Mews. This building was erected in 1877 as a convalescent home, by Sir William Henry Ripley, a Bradford businessman and Liberal politician who became MP for Bradford in 1868, and 1st Baronet of Rawdon in 1880. The home cost £20,000 to build and was designed by architects, Andrews

The 99th (DB60/C2/50) and 105th (Db60/C2/49) reports of the committee of the Northern Baptist Education Society on Rawdon college and various records relating to Sir Titus Salt, his family, business and Saltaire, are held at West Yorkshire Archive Service.

Snaithwood Mews

14

and Pepper, of Bradford. Servicemen from both World Wars were treated here, with patients from only the First World War numbering over 3000. In 1951, the building was converted into an orthopaedic facility known as the Woodlands Hospital. This hospital closed in 1993, and the building is now used as private residences.

Continue ahead until you reach a junction with a dirt road leading off to

your right. Turn down this road, back into Underwood Drive, and re-

enter Cragg Wood. In the fi eld immediately to your left, the Rawdon tithe map shows active and redundant clay pits. The mining of clay in the 19th century was often carried out using a method known as ‘gallery mining’. This involved digging long shafts into good quality seams of clay and mining them out in semi-circular fan shapes. The resultant clay was hauled up in baskets and used to manufacture fi red bricks, pottery, or pipes, depending on its type.

Follow the road ahead, through Cragg Wood, to a junction where the

dirt track meets a tarmac road, joining from the left.

Turn left around a sharp and sloping corner (horse riders may wish to

use the less steep horse track) and follow the tarmac road, downhill,

past a modern house on your right. At the bottom of the hill, cross a

beck fl owing from the left and follow the rough track straight ahead.

Keep walking along this track, as it narrows, ensuring the tithe

boundary between Rawdon and Calverley, the river Aire, is always on

your right.

Sir William Henry Ripley Bart of Acacia, Rawdon and Bedstone House, Shropshire, Executors’ Papers (C325) are held at West Yorkshire Archive Service.

Cragg Wood is an ancient woodland site, afforested since 1600 and likely linked to the original wildwoods of Britain. It has a fi ne mixture of trees including sessile oak, elm, ash, sycamore, common lime, elder, holly, hazel, hawthorn and yew. In early summer the ground is carpeted with bluebells and wild garlic. Flowering plants such as dog’s mercury, garlic mustard, hedge woundwort, lords and ladies (arum lily), enchanters nightshade, male fern, sweet woodruff, hartstongue and fern have also retained their hold under the dense canopy. Climbing plants honeysuckle and ivy thrive here, and the wood is home to a rich variety of birds such as blackbird, mistle thrush, robin, greater spotted woodpecker and great tit. As you walk, see if you can spot the fi ve-toed prints of badgers or the cloven-hoofed impressions of roe deer in the muddy tracks. Pinecones with the seeds chewed neatly off are a sure sign of grey squirrels.

Along this path grows sweet cicely, a tall plant with feathery leaves and lots of small, white fl owers that turn to long, green pods later in the year. When crushed, these pods have a strong, sweet, aniseed smell.

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Walk until the track

emerges beside the

entrance to Woodbottom

Farm on your left.

Ignoring turn-offs to

your left and right,

proceed straight ahead,

onto the rough road

before you, and continue

to the junction. At the

junction, ignore turns

to the left and right,

crossing straight over

the stream to pass

Woodbottom Mills on

your left.

Just after Woodbottom Mills, go around to the right and join the

footpath on the right-hand side of Low Hall Road, passing a set of

white metal gates.

Walk straight along Low Hall Road, keeping the chemical plant on

your right, until you reach the junction with Calverley Lane. Low Hall is

across the road to your left.

Go around the corner to your right, into Calverley Lane. Follow

Calverley Lane downhill, past the chemical plant on your right and over

the railway bridge. Where the road sweeps left at the bottom of the hill,

step down onto a dirt track leading off to your right. Meet with cobbles

and follow them straight ahead, ignoring turn-offs to the left and right,

and proceed across Calverley Bridge in front of you.

After the bridge, turn left up a rough road, climbing a gentle hill, and

emerge from a wooded avenue outside the Railway Public House, on

your left. (For thirsty walkers who deserve a reward, this is a lovely spot to stop and refuel! The Railway has a beer garden for warm days, a playground for children, and will provide water for dogs.)

Through the gates to your right is an old wildfl ower meadow. Nineteenth and 20th-century agricultural improvement and spraying with herbicide has meant these have become rather rare. The meadow here has not been managed for many years, but still contains a rich variety of plants including black knapweed, musk mallow, lady’s bedstraw (used to make pillows and mattresses smell nice in the past), ribwort plantain, yarrow, crosswort, birdsfoot trefoil, black medick, common mouse-ear, dandelion, cut-leaved cranesbill, cocksfoot and Yorkshire fog.

View of the Aire Valley over the track wall

16

Having passed the public house, walk back up the road ahead of you to

the parking area opposite the canal to complete the walk.

The Leeds-Liverpool Canal is a Site of Special Scientifi c Interest owing to its calcium-rich, clay lining, which encourages the growth of an abundance of water plants. On the opposite bank of the canal to where you are now walking, there is a large stand of fl owering rush, which exhibits a cluster of pink blooms in late June. This is mixed into a bed of reed canary-grass and reed sweet-grass. On the nearside wall of the canal there are blue fl owers of skullcap and meadow sweet. Look out for dragonfl ies, for which the canal provides a perfect environment. As well as common blue and blue-tailed damselfl ies, the banded demoiselle, which has black bands on its wings, has been spotted here.

Plan of Calverley with Farsley, 1846 (Leeds, BD51)