To make best use of the May Day bank holiday, I burned a day of annual leave to give me a four day weekend, thus giving me scope to make best use of the Monday, offering a much larger window of time and distance, so that i might get a nicely long walk in without having to return to work on sore calves and ankles. It's also about time that I started delving deep into Wakefield district as I've been keeping close to the upper right corner for the opening stretch of the season, and I need to head somhere that is local and yet largely unknown, and also put E278 to use as it's still looking far too pristine for its age. Additionally, we'll be travelling back in time to long before the days of railways and industry for today's theme, and a promisingly warm day has me daring to head out with only my gilet for cover, and after Saturday's 7 hour debacle, it's a point of pride that I get this one down in 5 hours, so against the clock we go for 900+ years of history.
Sandal to Pontefract, via Walton, Crofton, Nostell Priory & Featherstone 13.7 miles
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| Sandal Castle |
Today we start at Sandal & Agbrigg station at 10.10am, and that's another one off the WY Metro list, in the expensive commuter suburb of Wakefield that is Sandal, which got its boost with the arrival of the GNR main line and has remained desirable ever since, and it's also ridiculously close to my first target of the day, only four streets distant on Manygates Lane, Sandal castle. I'm early enough in the day to have beaten the holiday traffic here, so the sit might be enjoyed in relative peace, and whilst Pevsner states that not much remains, there's still plenty to see and imaginate, a large moat with a broad outer bailey with remains of a circular range on top of it, with a moated barbican enclosed within and the remnants of the keep atop the motte, it's an excellent spot to let your childish enthusiasm and imagination run wild. First established in the 12th century by the de Warrene family, and passing into royal hands in the 14th, it became a stronghold of the House of York and it was on the fields north of here that its key moment of history occurred, where on 30th December 1460, Richard, 3rd Duke of York and pretender to the throne of Henry VI was defeated and killed by a Lancastrian army at the Battle of Wakefield, an act that marked a turning point in the Wars of the Roses (in the Yorkist favour ironically, as the King was presently imprisoned by that faction and had signed the Act of Accord that would transfer succession rights to Richard's son, Edward, 4th Duke of York, thus setting the scene for the bloodbath at Towton the following year {but that's for another day...}). It's military use declined after the 15th century and was only besieged late in the English Civil War, eventually falling into the ruin that remains, now in the care of Wakefield council, who have done a good job in keeping it trim, and it's a prime viewpoint for the flattest of the West Yorkshire districts too. The city of Wakefield extends across the north whilst the lakes of Pugney's Country Park are close in the west, with Emley Moor transmitter obvious beyond, and to the south lies the high (for this district) ridge of Woolley Edge, but the lands eastward offer little and it's the corner of the county which doesn't really look like Yorkshire. The only obvious feature is Ferrybridge Power Station, though you could supposedly see Ponefract Castle from the full height of the old keep, and it's in that direction I will head, to the northern stronghold of the House of Lancaster.
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| The Midland Railway Main Line, Walton |
History lesson over, the walking gets underway in earnest, and there will be a lot of pavement walking today, down through the suburbs of Manygates Lane, to cross the A61 opposite the Three House Inn, surrounded by those large town houses which invariably get turned into care homes, and then the suburbia, and then the suburbia gets even more expensive down Chevet Lane. Finally break out into the countryside along Walton Station Lane, offering views across to Sandal Grange and over the fields along Walton Beck, with attention focusing on the railway line ahead, moving onto Greenside where Walton's Victorian commuter village never really evolved, despite the presence of the Midland Railway's 1840 Main Line, which was built to provide the shortest possible route to the north by avoiding major settlements, like Sheffield. Pass over the line, with track still in situ though it's been a very minor freight branch for several decades now, and pass on through Walton, now settling into life as leafy suburbia on the edge of the Waterton Hall estate, but this was once a colliery village, indicated by the council estate on the eastern side, and a major point along the Barnsley Canal, which once passed through the village along the alignment of the close called Walton Locks, naturally. Into the field beyond, towards the railway main line between Wakey and Donny, which provides Shay Lane Viaduct for our distraction, eight arches in brick and one in stone, with the London train and the Cross Country services running above whilst my camera is primed. Beyond is Walton Colliery Country Park, with the familiar crown of birch, but my historical path for the day is set further back in time, and it's over the fields to the east I go, through more encroaching spring growth and over the railway spur between the old metals of the GNR and L&Y. Thence up the driveway of Larkdale farm and over a buried railway bridge, a remnant of the L&Y Dearne Valley junction line, and the site of Crofton marshaling yard has been reclaimed as the village's public recreation space. Onward into Crofton, another colliery village enjoying its second life as commuter land, and I'm getting the feeling that the death of the coal industry did not hit West Yorkshire as hard as, say, South Wales or central Nottinghamshire, as the local economies of other towns has prevented the decline from being so sharp. That's my take anyway as I wander along High Street, seeing the local drinkers gathering outside the Goose & Cowslip and noting the winch wheel set as a memorial to the passing of the collieries outside the Slipper, and this is indeed a village with unique pub names.
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| Middle Lake, Nostell Priory |
The footpath out of Crofton looks to have been made over to be cyclist friendly, and that seems to be a theme for this district, as the relative lack of hills and plentiful supply of level farm tracks and colliery lines has encouraged Wakefield council to invest heavily in those who enjoy their bicycle riding, and that's a cause to get behind for sure. It all looks like plain fields round here these days, but all the land to the east was once the Nostell opencast colliery, all reclaimed now and providing another prime example of mining and country houses co-existing in close proximity. After a brief lunch break and a check on my timekeeping, it's up the the A638 Doncaster Road for a long pavement walk, first passing through the hamlet of Foulby, childhood home of John Harrison, the inventor of the marine chronometer, according to the blue plaque, and then a log stretch along the wall of the Nostell Priory estate, where I'd be most tempted to go for a walk if it wasn't for the National Trust prices. No real view of the large Palladian house can be obtained, either obscured by tree or hidden behind the wall that is taller than I am, but the road crosses over the estate's lakes for a good aquatic view, and the estate's farm gate house and church are all easily observable as they pass. I'm pretty sure there should be a permissive bridleway somewhere around the eastern edge of the estate, but there's no obvious signage indicating how to get to it, so I carry on along the road through the hamlet of Wragby (a very Midlands sort of name, I think) and this is a very pleasing little place and a sunnier day would demand a stop at the Spread Eagle for a beverage. To make my turn north, I find one of those rare roads that has been downgraded to bridleway and has become appropriately overgrown, and in this seclusion I can look into the adjacent woodland to get a really excellent dose of Bluebell carpet, a sight of Spring that I have grown to love and expect over my walking seasons. A road walk beckons along Went Lane, but for the first quarter of it, as far as the footpath to High Ackworth, a permissive path has been laid out by the NT, but after that it's keeping your wits primed to face down the traffic and not scare the horses for a solid half mile, so relief comes on when joining the quieter road to the farms at West Hardwick, and midway along here, in a break in the high hedges, we find the top end of the cycle route through the Nostell Priory estate, proving that the permissive route does exist and don't you just hate it when you can find the end of a path but not the beginning?
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| Featherstone Rovers |
From the largely deserted Low farm, it's a footpath walk along the beck and a plantation of those trees that look like birch but aren't (Alder? I cant be sure), and then it's a trek across a pair of fields, where the ROW has been cut into the vehicle tracks but the rise of the hill is enough to make you uncertain that you are on exactly the right path. The field then runs into the farm at the edge of Featherstone and a gap in the hedge transitions you immediately back into suburbia after an hour of country solitude. All the way along Katrina Grove we head, through the 1980s quarter of the town, to meet the Junction, on the corner of Pontefract Road, looking very much like the pub that has been the social hub of the town for a century or more, and then it's over the main road to take the footpath that illustrates Featherstone's origin as as a mining town, no coal workings remain, of course, but the houses are still present in quantities. At the top of the path we meet the reason that I know that this town exists, Post Office Road stadium, the home of Featherstone Rovers, the most enduring of the small town Rugby League clubs, and I'm tempted to try to write it in the fashion that Eddie Waring used to say it, but frankly that's an accent that defies transcription. There's development going on, enlarging the stands and establishing facilities for the youth team, as well as a family day going on within, so I'll guess they're in decent health away from the eyes of Super League, and it's telling that among the sports fields in this corner of the town, the football fields have been relegated to third place behind the rugby and cricket grounds. Pass across the railway line, the former L&Y line between Wakey and Ponty, cursing Featherstone to be on a railway that doesn't usefully go anywhere, and pass through the estate on the bottom of Halfpenny Lane before the track strikes over the railway again and head off into the fields, and the cycle track surface could easily have you thinking that you are on an unexpected railway walk.It's a popular path it seems, good for oldsters and folks taking the kids out for a bank holiday stroll, and it's honestly about as scenic as a path between two former coal towns can get, bold greenery and wide vistas over the district despite the relative lack of elevation. Then Pontefract arrives suddenly and the road continues between bungalows and council houses (with odd Sun and Moon faces carved into the gable ends) before running down to join the A639 behind the Haribo factory, which ensures the the whole town smells of Gummi.
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| Pontefract Castle |
I pick a route along Stuart Road, past Tanshelf station (one of three that still serve the town), the sports centre, and the cemetery with its eccentric chapel, emerging out behind Morrison's and what looks like the gatehouse of Pontefract Gaol (oddly hard to confirm via googling), and then it's onward down Northgate and into the vintage corner of town for the final objective of the day, Pontefract Castle. Before ascending the rock on which it sits, I'll first wander around its circular base, along North Baileygate past the Hope & Anchor pub, and All Saints church, ruined in the Civil War and its Victorian makeover looking somewhere between Ely Cathedral and St Thomas, Heptonstall, and rising to the entrance along Castle Garth. This castle was once a monster, key to control of northern England according to Edward I, originally established in 1070 by Ilbert de Lacey after the Norman Conquest, swapping between family and royal hands until it passed to the House of Lancaster in the early 14th century, eventually becoming the primary residence of John of Gaunt (that man again!). It was here in 1399 that Richard II was murdered after hie deposition by Henry IV, and was the centre of Lancastrian operations in the Wars of the Roses, from where the army marched to battle at Wakefield and Towton, and as a Royalist stronghold in the English Civil War it became the site of three sieges by Parliamentarian forces, eventually being sleighted in 1649, to the relief of the populace. Now a ruin remains, and it needs quite a lot of imagination to make it resemble it s 17th century appearance, but the massive base of the trefoil donjon sat upon the Norman motte gives a good impression of its scale, whilst the perimeter of its bailey sits close to the top of its rock plinth, giving it greater elevation. Strangely its interior building seem to be the best preserved, notably the kitchen and chapel, and the lack of secure fencing around it steep sides is a notable non-interference of health and safety rules, and I'll trot all ways about the site before pausing to chill at the top of the motte, a day of good walking deserving of 10 minutes off my feet. Whilst I was too early for the entertainments at Sandal, I'm too late for them here, but I'm always happy to see kids out enjoying the site, as that was me 30+ years ago, and I'll take in what views we have before leaving, not the viewpoint like Sandal presented, here it trees, sight lines over the town and looks towards Ferrybridge and that un-landscaped spoil tip that still remains between Pontefract and Castleford. Thankfully, Monkhill Station is a mere five miuntes distant so I don't have to put the hurry on to catch the one train that runs to Leeds each hour, and I roll up to a finish at 3.10pm, five hours on the nose, and that's a good feeling to know my legs can still force the pace, and even better knowing that I have a bonus day of rest to follow.
Next on the Slate: Over the top for a Big Hill and a Reservoir, weather permitting...
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 1070.6 miles
(2014 total: 157.4 miles)
(Up Country Total: 991.2 miles)
(Solo Total: 879.7 miles)
(Declared Total: 862.4 miles)
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