Wakefield to Barnsley 12/07/14

So why walk to Barnsley, I keep promising it but it keeps on dropping from my schedule, so why does it need to be done? Well, I've never wandered that far into South Yorkshire in all my travels and only know the town from my rides through on the railway to Sheffield, and more pertinently, there's a canal walk to follow, one which I missed out on my travels in 2012 because a disused canal surely couldn't be as interesting as the six active waterways in West Yorkshire? As this year has taken a much greater interest in the trails of industry around the county, this seems as good a time as any to dive into the heart of coal country to see what's left of a canal that history seems to have completely forgotten, finally getting this off the slate of unwalked routes before the summer gets much older. Anyway the Barnsley Canal is too important a canal to ignore anyway, opened in 1799 and travelling 16 miles between Wakefield and Barugh, it was a booming route through much of the 19th century before the railways dominated the transportation of coal, providing a key link between the waterways of the Aire - Calder basin and the Dearne - Dove - Don basin to the south. It enjoyed a good 150 years of service before closure came in 1953, finally done in by declining traffic and the problem that has blighted South Yorkshire ever since the commencement of deep mining, subsidence, now a channel that has retreated far into the landscape, only to be rediscovered by the most intrepid of explorers.

Wakefield to Barnsley, via the Barnsley Canal and the Trans Pennine Trail  14.3 miles

Canal Toll House, Wakefield

Start out from Wakefield Westgate station at 9.25am, still in the grip of redevelopment schemes and looking like it might look like someone cared for it once it's all done, and head out along a familiar looking route as the first mile is made out of waterside paths already traced, heading out over Chantry bridge and down the banks of the River Calder as the heat of Summer beats down even at this stage of the day, crossing over the throat of the Calder & Hebble at Fall Ing bridge, and finally getting sight of what's left of the inlet to the former Aire & Calder wharf on the bank opposite. Pass along under Foundry Shoal bridge, which looks disused but still carries the railway to Pontefract and Knottingley, as evidenced by the Grand Central train passing over it, London bound, and beyond we meet the edge of  the site of Wakefield Power Station, active on the site from 1898 to 1991 and now a scene of post industrial desolation, where the cooling discharge channels could easily be mistaken for a canal inlet. The real canal inlet is hundred yards further on, well hidden away beneath a lot of greenery and only the railing angled away from the riverbank give the slightest hint as to its presence, whilst away from the river and under the cover of trees the channel of Oakenshaw beck could easily be mistaken for a canal remnant, but only served as the path of the waterway for five years before silting problems caused it to be rechannelled and the stream was returned to nature. The Barnsley canal is completely infilled here, with no traces at all to be seen from the footpath, and the shortest route over to Doncaster Road is to cut through the power station site, a complete trespass despite the routing of a well surfaced road, and a riot of ground up concrete and scrubby trees cover the site now, odd that redevelopment hasn't claimed this brown field yet or a right of way hasn't been blagged for the Trans Pennine Trail along this road. The gates remain by the main entrance but the surrounding fence offers no challenge whatsoever to the trespasser, and beyond we can wander down beneath the railway bridges over the A638 to see if there's a path down to the extent channel of canal towards Oakenshaw Lane, but there are no obvious access points, and far too much vegetation beyond so steps are retraced to cross back over where an unremarkable house sits by the roadside, rendered much more interesting when you find it was the cabal's toll house that stood at the top of the first sequence of locks that rose away from the Calder.

Restored Channel, Walton Colliery

The shortest route to Oakenshaw lane is via a corner of Heath Common, only a couple of hundred metres in distance, but challenging going because of the shoulder high bracken growing all over it, which means cutting a circuitous route to avoid the worst of it, not the sort of going you expect on a canal walk. The road walking beyond is easier, joining the Trans Pennine Trail route southwards, passing over the Wakey - Ponty line, and the spur to the North Midland Main Line, and past Oakenshaw farm and between heavily weathered stone walls down to where the canal cut crosses the road, taking the path with despite no visible remnant of the channel by the road. The channel finally appears beneath the viaduct carrying the North Midland Main Line above it, active 1846 to 1976 (sort of) and obviously doubled at some point as iron girders and massive brick abutments have been added to the stone bridge, and as the cycle path goes on, the channel gradually turns from reed bed to ornamental pond to something that actually resembles a canal, hidden away by the shade of the trees. The path swings away from the canal to move through the edge of Walton Colliery Nature Park, which is the same mix of plant life as all the others, but provides tracks for riders and amblers of this quarter to enjoy, and the TPT swing on through it whilst I move to follow the canal more closely, passing over a nicely restored section, before it vanishes into a culvert and I pull up the road to Chevet Terrace, where some well kept former colliery houses endure close to the point where the NMML passes over the Wakey - Donny main line. Back on Oakenshaw lane to pass beneath another forgotten rail spur bridge and along the road past the various terrace of Walton, getting obviously smarter the further away they are from the colliery site. Pass under the tracks of the NMML again as I move on to School lane, heading into Walton proper, betwixt terraces and past the Victorian looking Walton Manor, passing over a hump backed bridge leading onto the track behind the allotments which requires a second look once I remember that is where the canal ran into Walton, midway up its lock flight and still faintly noticeable in the field boundaries to the north. I crack on around the local vegetable patch and around the sports fields to get up to Shay lane, being compelled to walk up the playing field because the right of way adjacent to it is severely overgrown, but I'm sure the folks at the sports and social club won't object.

Sike Lane bridge, Walton Hall Cut

The cul-de-sac named Walton locks preserves the memory of the canal to the north of Shay Lane, and to the south the Trans Pennine Trail takes on the route of the lock flight up through the suburban sprawl of the village, a good track that seem to be enjoyed my many ambling locals but no cyclists to be obviously seen. It feels like an everyday suburban path as it rises and an eagle eye is needed to be alert for canal remnants, the bricks of a single wall of a lock chamber appearing to be the most substantial until the heavily overgrown chamber of the top lock is found, still intact along it full length and still looking relatively deep below the vegetation, and a mooring bollard remains in the stonework to let you know that this is definitely an aquatic remnant. The channel endures above it, as the path follows the original line of the towpath, finally with some cyclists on board, and it widens out to full width with a heavy bed of reeds as it passes the Waterton Park Golf Course clubhouse, and then passes beneath the unmistakeably shaped canal bridge that carries the road to leading to the hotel complex at Walton Hall. Beyond starts quite to most lovely and unexpected stretch of canal walking that I have encountered on all my trips, as the channel enters a heavily shaded cutting, hewn surprisingly deep into the rock, when I had expected little more than views across the rolling agricultural landscape. Cuttings on canal are rare, usually preferring to ascend above difficult terrain using locks, but here maybe it was to create a long top pound above the lands between the Calder and the Dearne, or maybe the folks at Walton Hall didn't want a canal interfering with their view back in the late 18th century? Who knows, it does give us the most pleasing and idyllic stretch, with water gradually filling out the channel as it emerges from beneath a covering of green weeds, and the path continues below heavy shading even once beyond the cutting, as cyclists start to emerge in much greater numbers, out to do their bit for British cycling after both Froome and Cavendish fell out of the Tour de France in the past week.

Navvy Bridge, Notton Cut

The shading gets heavier still as the channel enters Haw Park Wood, taking a sharp right turn through 90 degrees and showing up one of the rope pulleys that were installed to aid passage of barges in the horsedrawn era, and the trail starts to feel remote as woods spread across the hillside on both sides of the channel. Below Haw Park bridge, the gouges made by towing ropes on the bridge abutment are clearly visible, even in the metal plating installed to reinforce and protect the stonework, providing a handy reminder of the bygone usage where the channel has dried up once more. Suddenly emerging onto the open edge of the dam of Cold Hiendley reservoir, the heat hit you hard, the shading having protected you from the radiant heat of the sun, and as you scurry out through the open, you can wonder how the canal used to fit into this landscape before this reservoir was built, and to look across the Heron action over the to the canal's feeder reservoir at Wintersett. Orientation is gained by spotting Wooley Edge to the north, the distinctive but not especially high point of Wakefield district, and as the track rejoins the channel beyond, I note that there are a lot of numbered cyclists out on the trail, all passing sequential order too, and I'm fascinated to know what they are all up to, but am far too timid to enquire. Cross Cold Hiendley Common Lane, which drivers seem to have mistaken for Silverstone, and continue along the channel as it moves out of another reedy phase and into a second rock cutting, not quite as dramatic as the one at Walton Hall, but the Notton cut has me again wondering at the prospects of this canal ever getting restored as these sections are to good to be enjoyed buy just cyclists and walkers, but the miles missing at the top and bottom probably render this one beyond the plans of even the most enthusiastic preservationists. I don't follow the approved TPT route as it rises out of the channel to cross Navvy Bridge, instead staying by the canal for as long as possible before it is culverted below the NMML, rising away from the cut to follow my homing instinct to find the way over the rails of the supposedly enduring railway and back onto the canal path, just shy of where the so-called Barnsley Coal Railway (1870-1961) passed over the railway and canal, the piers of the viaduct still sitting in the landscape cleft. That must mean we are close to the site of Royston shed, once one of the largest on the Midland railway, built to service both freight and passenger traffic throughout south Yorkshire, and now completely vanished from the landscape, hidden away somewhere deep in the forestry that has been grown extensively in this area.


Overgrown Channel, Royston

The path remains high above both railway and canal for quite a distance, eventually descending to show that the canal has become quite the water feature, complete with shoals of large fish swimming just below the surface, and as the path continues it starts to look like this has become something of a minor reservoir, maybe something to do with the Monckton Coke works that stands a short distance away to the east, one of the few places in South Yorkshire where any visible evidence of the coal industry endures. The canal slips back into a reedy channel as its twists its way towards Royston, passing a former Inn in the lea below the embankment before petering out as houses and other buildings re-emerge into the landscape as the path meets Midland Road, back to civilisation and concluding one of the nicest passages of the year. Still plenty of going as the reedy channel continues southwards and the folks of Royston seem to be out in force to enjoy the path, all of them cheerful as you step out of the way of their buggies and bikes. I'm kinda surprised that the marshy and reed choked channel has endured through the town, you might have expected some officious health and safety bod to have insisted in be infilled, but clearly the resident of this former coal town know to treat it with respect. There's another canal house to spot by Church Hill, as the canal slips out into the countryside once more, not offering the same terrain as before, with far more grassed over spoil heaps lurking in the landscape, and the oddly outsized tower of Carlton Parish Church looming over the distant village, and as we pass another of those crossing paths that used to be a colliery branch, we need to find a spot for lunch in the shade as the heat is still pretty intense. A bench is found with relative ease after too many miles of finding none at all, and progress along the last stretch of visible canal requires keen wits as the path is not really wide enough to accommodate cyclists and walkers, and there's nowhere to hide either falling down the embankment on one side or into the water on the other. The canal channel then ends abruptly at Shaw Lane as the southward stretch disappears into the reclaimed land around Carlton colliery, and even with a map from the first half of the 20th century it would be hard to follow as the landscaped terrain offers no hints at all as where the channel may have once been.

Not a Canal Bridge, Monk Bretton

So the Trans Pennine trail is followed through it most prosaic of stretches, following the lane down to the boundary of the colliery site and down a path that feels unsuited to cyclists, running parallel to the NMML, still showing a single track that apparently still runs down to the sand works at Monk Bretton, and a look through the chain-link fence shows heavy plant still in place to grind up the physical remains of the old colliery before it enjoys its future as park for nature or business. Rising to landscaped fields beyond, we see that this is a leisure spot for the folks north of Barnsley to enjoy some outdoor activities as off-road bikers are tearing it up along the old railway track and a gang of model aeroplane enthusiasts are giving their machines a spin from higher up the hillside, and then the track drops to pass below a road that doesn't show up on my old E278, a new link road to keep traffic out of Monk Bretton and joining the A628 above Cudworth. Not sure why mounting block for horses have been installed down here but the graffiti that says 'Love Life' is a sentiment I can approve of, and we rise again to meet Far Field lane, running behind the Ardagh glassworks which dominates the scenery in this quarter, and experience seems to be showing that the heavy industry which endures in this country seems to be glass, I'm guessing because it's a tough one to transport half way around the world. Drop out on Fish Hill Lane, now on the very northern edge of Barnsley, and follow it down to the unappealing passageway that leads over to Burton Road, which is still good enough to be designated for walkers on the TPT. A bridge over an empty cutting looks like it might be the first canal remnant in a while, but a check on the map reveals it was railway, once a link to the NMML, but the canal wasn't too far distant from here, now hidden away somewhere below the reclaimed land south of Monk Terrace, another heavily landscaped area which once was home to Monk Bretton Colliery, and its passing probably ensured the canal disappearance just like it did at Carlton. I abandon the TPT to follow the cycle paths on the heavily darkened soil, which apparently trace the tow paths, but I can't be too sure about that as the cross the hill at weird angles, but don't get me lost despite the confusion they bring, and it was along here somewhere that the catastrophic breach of the canal in 1946 occurred, the incident which put the whole operation on the path to abandonment.

Restored Channel, Barnsley

The path continues beyond Littleworth Lane as it descends behind the houses towards Rotherham Road, the A633 crossing over by the Hope Inn, and at the edge of the Dearne Valley Nature Park we get a brief view of Oakwell, Barnsley FC's ground on the other side of the valley. The path descends steeply, returning to the level of the canal, despite the apparent absence of lock on this valley side, and once a route that doesn't descend any further down the valley side is located we can march on through this surprisingly wild urban park along a broad grassy path which I can vouch for being the route of the canal. Admittedly it would be a hard sell to a casual observer, so it's good that a depression of the exact dimensions of the channel can be found in the landscape that confirms that the canal ran here. The path continues over a playing field and through more wild trees before descending to cross a light wooden footbridge that rises above the River Dearne, perched atop the remaining piers of the aqueduct over the valley, where another major leak closed the canal in 1911, and they show the cracks caused by subsidence which resulted in its demolition only a year after the closure of the canal in 1953. Rising to the south bank, we get a finale with the canal channel in water once again, the channel being restored in 1984 for a quarter mile section running to the west, though the celebrator plaque unfortunately claims it as a stretch of the Dearne and Dove canal, which actually junctioned off from here to east, another one looking to restoration in the future. This section is clearly the part of the park that the locals see more of, either taking their kids out for a stroll or pelting along on their bicycles, and the path follows on to the site of Harborough Hill bridge, where across the A61 and in the middle of the traffic island can be found the remains of Barnsley Wharf, the rear wall of which, complete with mooring rings, still stands at the back of the local branch of B&M Bargains, and I wonder how many shoppers would know that a major canal dockyard once stood here? That's the end of the canal walk for the day, the remaining miles will come when I follow the Dearne Valley Trail, and my destination lies at the end of a long pull away from the river valley alongside the A61, to spot the distinctive pile of Barnsley Town hall rising above the oddly colourful tower blocks of the town centre, and the walk to the railway station is lengthened by me missing the shortest route possible and having to detour through the car park of Gala Bingo to get onto Scwabish Gmund Way (?). All done at 2.50pm, which allows me enough time to choke at the cost of a ticket homeward, admire the steel artworks about the place and for me to finally obtain a picture of myself with all the letters of 'Barnsley Interchange' visible within the frame behind me.

Next on the Slate: NIW and Down Country for more Canal Walking.


1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 1183.5 miles
(2014 total: 270.3 miles)

(Up Country Total: 1104.1 miles)
(Solo Total: 968.1 miles)
(Declared Total: 975.3 miles)