westyorkshirewalks.co.uk

Our new year’s day walks are usually more of a saunter, a way to recover from a couple of glasses of bubbly the night before and a way to get the family together for one last holiday hoorah before it’s back to work we go.

Our usual routes for January 1st are easy ones that the whole family can enjoy and that the kids can either walk themselves or be pushed around (we get back to our hikes in early January). So when we look for walks for new year’s day we are usually looking for easy trails that offer something to look at; either wildlife or historic buildings.

A lovely walk is around Coppice Pond, St. Ives, Bingley. This is a great route even if the weather is chilly as there are birds to feed and wood carvings to find and it’s a fun family stroll that takes about an hour – it’s 1.5 miles.

For a more urban walk, we love Cliffe Castle in Keighley. Not only are the grounds and the building itself just beautiful, but there are playgrounds for the kids, aviaries and a museum. If you do plan a trip to Cliffe Castle over Christmas and New Year, be aware that they are usually closed on mondays, so call them on 01535 618231 for opening times. If you intend to walk the whole grounds, be prepared to spend about an hour and a half on foot.

If you are looking for something around Bradford, Caverly wood is a great choice and has great views over the canals and a kids playground en route. Other more rural walks in West Yorkshire include the East Marton Canal walk and Skipton woods, the latter taking you into Skipton past the castle. Just bear in mind weather conditions for these three walks, they are all pretty easy tranquil walks, but can be icy and slippery in the winter.

Ilkley Moor, a place so great it has its own song! On Ilkla Moor Baht’at (on Ilkley Moore without a hat) is an old folk song with lyrics sung in a Yorkshire dialect but with a universal message; don’t forget to wear a hat on your Ilkley Moor walk because the winds are very strong!

Ilkley Moor is a legendary walking destination. Located in West Yorkshire in the vicinity of Bradford, the natural beauty of this area is immeasurable. Known also as Bronte area, Wuthering Heights was famously set near the withered moors of this locale.

Dependent on the distance you want to travel there are many routes you can take on Ilkley Moor. Most are moderate to easy and will take in the ancient relics that make this area so popular.

To pursue any walk on the moors, always take a map and a compass.

Located on Ilkley Moor are many natural and manmade phenomena. The Swastika Stone is a popular curiosity as are the Badger Stone and St. Margaret’s Stone, all slabs of rock with carvings on them, thought to date back to the Neolithic or Bronze Age. Some of these carvings are simple, other very intricate. See how many you can spot as you take your walk.

Another destination is the Hangingstone Rocks, also known as Cow and Calf. These are two rocks situated next to each other like a cow and its calf. Legend has it that a giant split the two rocks as he was fleeing his enemy.

A great way to explore the routes on Ilkley Moor is to join a guided tour with a local. This way you can hear all the folklore associated with the area from an experienced guide who will know the best routes to accommodate your interests.

You have to really love to walk to take the kids with you. Or rather the kids really need to share your passion! We love a good hike, but unless we keep the kids absolutely motivated it definitely decreases the fun on the funometer unless there is plenty to keep their attention and stop them from getting bored. In and around Bradford, you’re lucky, because not only are there some great walk that take in the unmistakeable beauty of West Yorkshire, there’s also other activities that you can bribe the kids with especially if you make them your final destination!

A great city centre walk in Bradford that the young ones will love is the sculpture trail which takes you all over the city and is therefore a surprisingly good hike. There’s some really interesting sculptures on route and the kids ought to love finding them and taking the lead on this walk.

Saltaire is just outside of Bradford and is a great area for some countryside walks as well as activities for all the family. Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Salt Mills there house over 400 of David Hockney’s fabulous artworks. Saltaire is also right on the Leeds Liverpool canal which is a really fun walk especially as you spot the boats chugging by. Just be aware that for pushchairs this route isn’t really recommended.

Bradford and surrounding area is rich with history. Taking in a walk that encounters old heritage buildings can be fun for kids, so look into hikes that pass by old mills and strange historic monuments.

If you’ve got kids you probably want to stick to fairly easy routes such as the Hardcastle Crags Walk from New Bridge to Hebden Dale, Bride Stones Walk where you will see the amazing grit stone outcrops and Haworth Moor, home for the setting of Wuthering Heights. You are still looking at a couple of hours walk for these routes so be armed with child friendly snacks and some good walking games.

Enjoy!

Near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire resides one of the U.K.’s most-visited attractions, Hardcastle Crags. Maintained by the National Trust, the Crags feature over eighteen miles of well-kept footpaths among virtually untouched woodlands. Visitors can experience waterfalls, tumbling streams and rocky landscapes. Meandering along the narrow, steep-sided Pennines Valley reminds many of the Alps, and is even frequently referred to as Little Switzerland.

One of the most popular walks begins at New Bridge, perhaps due to it being easily traversed by any and all grade of walker. For that reason, this relatively short (approx. 5 miles) walk is frequented by families.
It’s only a short distance into Hebden Dale and Gibson Mill, a 19th-century cotton mill that was one of Great Britain’s first contributions to the Industrial Revolution. There is an abundance of bird activity on this stretch of the walk, with yellow wagtails and dippers the most prominent.

Past the mill, walkers are soon in open country and the path slowly rises out of the valley. The surrounding moors lead up to the Walshaw Dean Reservoirs, then the well-marked path crosses into Wadsworth Moor, where visitors must take a pause to survey the fantastic view of the valleys. Sparsely vegetated on the top of the moorlands, the contrast with the lush greenery below is striking and magnificent.

Back into the cool of the woodlands, the path descends gently along the valley’s edge, giving walkers even more spectacular sightseeing opportunities. The view of the village of Hebden Bridge is especially picturesque, almost a living postcard.

Another popular Hardcastle Crags walk is the Stoodley Pike walk which begins at Hebden Bridge. This trek is a bit more challenging than the New Bridge excursion, but still a cakewalk for most walkers. The walk is over eight miles in distance, an invigorating good late morning-mid-afternoon walk.

Visible for miles and miles around, Stoodley Pike monument stands 121 feet high and stands at the summit of the Pike. The monument was originally erected in 1815 to commemorate the fall of Napoleon. The original collapsed in 1854, and a second structure was completed in 1856.

The monument has a 39-step spiral staircase which leads out to an exterior balcony from which the view is absolutely spectacular, giving sightseers excellent photographic opportunities of the valleys and quaint villages below.

Coming back from the monument towards Withens Gate, the grade begins to drop fairly rapidly, making the return trip much shorter than the ascent. Several streams serve as accompaniment, offering even more scenic vistas for the sightseeing nature lover.

There are so many amazing walks to be had in the West Yorkshire area that it has been hard to pick just 10. However, the following are some of my very favourires and I hope you’ll find some of yours here too

Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge

Hardcastle Crags is a wooded valley about 2 miles north of the market town of Hebden Bridge. The crags are made of mill-stone grit that tower high above the valley floor in an area rich with flora and fauna and marked by ravines, tumbling streams and oak, beech, rowan and pine woods. The area enjoys one of the best rights-of-way networks in Britain and waymarked walks lead through the valley linking up with several footpaths, including the Pennine Way.

Ilkley Moor

Ilkley Moor is part of a huge area of moorland, known collectively as Rombolds Moor. There are breathtaking views across Wharfedale and Airedale and the best walks include the three-mile Riverside Circuit, ideal for families with young children as it is relatively short at around two-and-a-half hours and is accessible to pushchairs.

The Pennine Way

The Pennine Way runs approximately 267 miles from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm just inside the Scottish border. It enters West Yorkshire at Standedge, above Holmfirth, after which it winds a lonely path through Brontë Country before passing into North Yorkshire.

Kirklees Way

The Kirklees Way is a 72 mile circular walk covering the areas surrounding Huddersfield, Holmfirth, Denby Dale, Holme, Marsden, Brighouse, Batley and Dewsbury.

Scammonden

A well walked but quiet path round Dean’s Head Reservoir located at the base of the Pennines. The path takes you through woodlands, down to the waters edge and up some gentle hills for wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.

Shibden Valley

The Shibden valley provides a picturesque setting in which to enjoy some quiet, relaxing time in the countryside.

Otley Chevin

Otley Chevin is a great place, providing for a relaxing escape in some wonderful scenery with some fantastic views over Wharfedale.

Butterley Reservoir

A short delightful reservoir walk set in wonderful country side with superb views. The walk has some climbs but nothing arduous.

Shipley Glen

Shipley Glen is a shallow wooded valley near Shipley in Bradford.

Ogden Water

Ogden Water is a large Vistorian reservoir and local beauty spot just off the A629 (but largely hidden from the road) beneath Ovenden Moor between Halifax and Denholme in the heart of West Yorkshire’s Bronte Country.

Walking is the new running we are being told – and thank Goodness for that as I hate nothing more than pounding the streets panting and sweating and generally having a miserable time. But walking, now that’s a very different story. What could be better than slinging on a pair of boots or trainers and getting outside for an hour or two, whether it’s around the local park, a walk into town or a full blown day on the hills. I lucky enough to live in West Yorkshire just a few miles from the Pennine Way and countless moors and hills but I also spend a lot of time walking around the towns and cities in the area which I find just as good for keeping fit as a 10 mile hike over Haworth Moor.
There are so many wonderful places to walk that are just a bus or train ride away and I hope to bring you stories of my trips along with photos and videos. I also hope to lose a few more pounds along the way too.