Writing this a few days after the walk, it seems strange to be planning the final leg of the walk. On the one hand, having done 3 walks in the last 5 weeks means that we'll definitely have the whole thing done in one year, but on the other hand, I will miss have the challenge and writing this blog. I'm trying my hardest not to look back at the first legs and the attached photos to see just how much Jake has changed and grown since January. I will, however, be able to work out whether, with the combination of Jake's weight gain and my weight loss since January, our total weight has increased or decreased.
After the glory of leg 10, we were unsure whether the next leg would reach the same heights and whilst the weather was a little more overcast, the walk itself was another belter. When we talk about doing the walk in 2 days next year, we always talk about where we want to start and finish. Assuming that the final leg will also be a good looker, we've decided that we'll end it with the run of legs in north Leeds to give us some good scenery to cheer us on.
So onto the walk. The first part, round some playing fields in Thonrbury, was massively overgrown and unpassable, a fact that we discovered very quickly, but not quick enough to avoid being stung by lots of nettles. My legs have only stopped stinging a day or so ago! Fortunately, the route quickly dives into woodland again, prompting even more autumn woodland photos from Matt.
We then got a little lost, but with the help of Walk Bot (aka Matt's phone) we safely navigated a golf course and down a metalled road by a disused quarry. This was only a short bit, but did cost leg 11 top place in my favourite walks of the route. However, once past the Lodge, the Way picks up the West Country Park again and makes it way through Ravenscliffe Wood alongside another stream and through further woods and parkland into the top end of Calverley. It was another fun surprise to pop out onto the A657, my wife's main route to work, and realise I knew exactly where I was. It made me think of the time when we found the A64, and it put the size of the walk into perspective.
The path drops down immediately on the other side of the road and into some deep wood next to a babbling brook. The moss was deep and thick (or at least in my head it was!) and as we meandered through, we came across numerous dog walkers making me think that I need to take my wife onto this part of the walk. As the route turned uphill, we found a field with some pretty views to stop for a coffee and a snack.
Very quickly, the route turns into a climb then turns left onto a wide bridleway including my favourite sign so far:
We then came out at Apperley Bridge and after nagivating some sports fields we picked up the river Aire, much narrower but much quicker than when we last saw it in Swillington. Again, seeing it in different locations gave us some more feeling for the scope of the size of Leeds, something that you can't really get by driving or flying over it. The sun came back out at this point, and for a mile or so the route runs close by the river along what felt like a towpath. We also came across what is actually THE house of the route so far. The grounds were so big that we only saw glimpses of the house across the five a side football pitch sized garden, complete with several dozen square feet of solar panels.
The final stage of the walk is a climb through thick woodland, along muddy paths and private land (including bollards controlled by keypads!) and out onto the A65, less than 5 minutes from home and with the very real prospect of only 1 walk left to complete the loop.
Total distance = 5.5 miles
Total time = 2.5 hours
Cumulative distance = 56 miles
Cumulative time = 27 hours 30 mins
Wednesday 9 October 2013
Leg 10 - Cockersdale - Thornbury - 28th September
I don't know if it was the beautiful sunshine, the extremely pleasant company or the fact that we spent 90% of this walk in fields next to babbling brooks, but leg 10 was certainly one of my favourite walks so far. Our friend Rich (remember him from leg 2?) was back up in Leeds, so we arranged the walk to include a large picnic so that we could have some extra hanging out time. The weather played its part, and the whole afternoon was a glorious mix of food, countryside and banter.
We set off from the Valley Inn and immediately left the main road behind, heading into farmland and pastures. After a short while of walking through fields, the path starts to run alongside a local beck and after stopping for a photo shoot of the first meander (we're covering rivers at school), we followed the river as it snaked its way along the bottom of fields. A footbridge took us over the beck and through further woodland up to Tong Lane, one of the few times where this leg met metalled roads.
At this point, the LCW joins the West Leeds Country Park, a massive expanse of trails, woods and parkland that covers the swathe of undeveloped land between Pudsey and east Bradford. It's clearly marked and the paths are all kept relatively clear of debris. The route follows the beck for around a mile and a half and we spent all of our time admiring the sun dappled leaves as the river bent back and forth through woodland.
It was at this point that we realised just how much wildlife we had seen on the walk thus far. There had been a busy farm with chickens and ducks as we left the Valley Inn, horses romping around in the fields near the first set of woodland, cows off in the distance and finally a set of pigs snuffling in the river. Jake was enthralled by them and we chose a spot nearby to stop for a lengthy picnic. It felt strange to be sat within the Leeds metropolitan boundary but be surrounded by trees and hills and fields. We must have sat for an hour or so catching up and commenting on the beauty of the walk so far.
From there, the route continues to follow the river until a large bridlepath joins from the right at which point we came upon one of the few big climbs that we've covered on the Way so far. After walking for miles upon miles of walking on the flat, it felt like a lot of hard effort to slog uphill. Mercifully, it wasn't more than a few hundred yards to the top and it was followed by some steep downhill through a quiet and pretty residential area.
The route comes out by Buffy Lump Cottage (one of my favourite named places so far) and goes between high hedge rows and a disused sewage works out into further farmland on a large hill. It was here that we found the next "must have" house, a big square pile with a large garden and panoramic views over the countryside. Way out of our price range, but it's all part of the fun of the walk.
One railway crossing later, we finished with a gentle climb up Daleside Road and stumbled into the Farmer's pub on the Leeds ring road, just over 10 miles from our starting point in Golden Acre Park.
Total distance = 5.5 miles
Total time (not including picnic!) = 2.5 hours
Cumulative distance = 50.5 miles
Cumulative time = 25 hours
We set off from the Valley Inn and immediately left the main road behind, heading into farmland and pastures. After a short while of walking through fields, the path starts to run alongside a local beck and after stopping for a photo shoot of the first meander (we're covering rivers at school), we followed the river as it snaked its way along the bottom of fields. A footbridge took us over the beck and through further woodland up to Tong Lane, one of the few times where this leg met metalled roads.
At this point, the LCW joins the West Leeds Country Park, a massive expanse of trails, woods and parkland that covers the swathe of undeveloped land between Pudsey and east Bradford. It's clearly marked and the paths are all kept relatively clear of debris. The route follows the beck for around a mile and a half and we spent all of our time admiring the sun dappled leaves as the river bent back and forth through woodland.
It was at this point that we realised just how much wildlife we had seen on the walk thus far. There had been a busy farm with chickens and ducks as we left the Valley Inn, horses romping around in the fields near the first set of woodland, cows off in the distance and finally a set of pigs snuffling in the river. Jake was enthralled by them and we chose a spot nearby to stop for a lengthy picnic. It felt strange to be sat within the Leeds metropolitan boundary but be surrounded by trees and hills and fields. We must have sat for an hour or so catching up and commenting on the beauty of the walk so far.
From there, the route continues to follow the river until a large bridlepath joins from the right at which point we came upon one of the few big climbs that we've covered on the Way so far. After walking for miles upon miles of walking on the flat, it felt like a lot of hard effort to slog uphill. Mercifully, it wasn't more than a few hundred yards to the top and it was followed by some steep downhill through a quiet and pretty residential area.
The route comes out by Buffy Lump Cottage (one of my favourite named places so far) and goes between high hedge rows and a disused sewage works out into further farmland on a large hill. It was here that we found the next "must have" house, a big square pile with a large garden and panoramic views over the countryside. Way out of our price range, but it's all part of the fun of the walk.
One railway crossing later, we finished with a gentle climb up Daleside Road and stumbled into the Farmer's pub on the Leeds ring road, just over 10 miles from our starting point in Golden Acre Park.
Total distance = 5.5 miles
Total time (not including picnic!) = 2.5 hours
Cumulative distance = 50.5 miles
Cumulative time = 25 hours
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