Path shown does not automatically guarantee a right of way.
The Leeds Country Way (LCW) is a circular long-distance footpath of 62 miles (99 km) around Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from the city centre of Leeds, but is mainly rural with extensive views in the outlying areas of the Leeds metropolitan district. It follows public Rights of Way including footpaths, bridleways and minor lanes, with a few short sections along roads.
History
A route was first devised by Fred Andrews of the Ramblers Association, and then developed by West Yorkshire County Council in the early 1980s.[2] This council was abolished in 1986, and the path is now under the care of the Countryside section of Leeds City Council. The Leeds Country Way was realigned in 2006, using a route devised by Bob Brewster, to bring it entirely within the boundary of the Leeds metropolitan district (previously it crossed the boundary into Wakefield), and the path was officially relaunched on 26 September 2006 with a revised set of map leaflets (see external links) and improved waymarking.[3][4]
The path extends to 62 miles (100 km) in an orbital route around Leeds (it is suggested that it is undertaken in a clockwise direction from Golden Acre Park), and the path is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from the city centre of Leeds.[2]
Route
The path is waymarked in both directions and can be started at any point, but is described here clockwise from the A660 road at Golden Acre Park (grid referenceSE267417), divided into parts and sections which correspond with the official map leaflets.[3]
Part 1: Golden Acre to Barwick-in-Elmet
Golden Acre Park
Section 1: The path crosses Golden Acre Park and passes the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Adel Dam Nature Reserve, following the route of the Meanwood Valley Trail. It coincides briefly with the Leeds link to the Dales Way north of Eccup Reservoir, before crossing the Ebor Way and entering the Harewood Estate. Here there is a glimpse of what looks like a small village, not marked on any map, but which is actually the set for the TV series Emmerdale.[5] Walkers may also see red kites which have been successfully reintroduced in this area.[6]
Section 2: After crossing the A61, the path passes north of Wike and reaches the village of Bardsey with its Anglo-Saxon church tower and the Bingley Arms public house, which claims to be the oldest in England.[7] The path turns south, crossing the A58, to Scarcroft.[8]
Section 1: From Carlton the path crosses fields before briefly joining the A61 and recrossing the M1 south of Robin Hood. It turns south across the M62, follows the valley of Dolphin Beck, and reaches East Ardsley on the A650.[13]
Section 2: From here the path skirts south of West Ardsley, and reaches Woodkirk with its historic church, on the A653. It passes the ruins of Howley Hall (built 1590 for Sir John Savile)[14] before dropping down to reach Scotchman Lane.
Section 3: A track through Birkby Brow Wood, just inside the Leeds-Kirklees boundary, leads to the A643, which is followed to recross the M62. The path's longest section of road walking follows the A650 through Gildersome, then a series of field paths leads to Cockersdale (SE233297), on the A58 near Tong.
Part 4: Cockersdale to Golden Acre
LCW near Horsforth
Section 1: The path follows the valley of Cockersdale, and then goes along Tong Beck, below Fulneck Moravian Settlement, skirting the south of Pudsey. At this point Tong Beck forms the Leeds-Bradford boundary. The path crosses the Leeds to Bradford railway and meets the busy A647 at Thornbury.
As the route is circular it can be started at any point, but the description in the official leaflets starts and finishes at Golden Acre Park, going clockwise. These divide it into four parts each split into three sections, but walkers can choose to divide it in various ways as there are many bus routes and several railway stations (Woodlesford, Garforth, New Pudsey and Horsforth) on or near the path. West Yorkshire Metro provides information about bus routes serving the path and train services in the area.[16][17]
The original route of the path is used for an annual trail runningrelay race organised by Kippax Harriers.[19] Teams of twelve, with two runners taking each of six sections, complete the route in about seven hours.[20]
^"Airedale in third after late revival". infoweb.newsbank.com. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2024. Organised by Kippax Harriers, it is raced by club teams over six legs ranging from 9.7 to 11.8 miles. Athletes run in pairs with timings based on the last of each pair passing the change-over point. After a narrow victory last year over Airedale Athletics, Leeds City AC were tipped to be going for the record in the Open category which they set themselves in 1995 in 6hr 26min 38sec.
Each downloadable map/guide covers approx 15 miles and is split into 3 sections of approx 5 miles each. Each map/guide prints out to two A4 sheets of paper.