Having walked part of the Leeds Country way through Harewood Estate previously
and the parts to the northern parts of Leeds being the nicest so far I decided
to go out and try do around 25 miles from Golden Acre Park. The intention was to
literally walk out of the park for 12 or so miles then about heel and walk back
the way I came, whilst its the same route I suppose its a bit of a different
perspective as you're looking the other way. This was also the first walk of me
ditching the Merrell Mid Moab boots and I was going to give my new Keen Targhee
Mid boots (review soon) a run for their money and try to break them
in.
On the day this ended up being something completely different to the
plan, we'd had friends over for dinner the night before resulting in somewhat of
a stinking hangover - 8 miles was looking unlikely at the outset.
Anyway
with the best if intentions I left the car park at Golden Acre Park and headed for
the underpass to the park, there is a bridge here which goes straight on and
doesn't in fact go under the road, this is signed with the Owl and L.C.W. for
the Leeds Country Way. The hiking trail takes you into some woodland and to a T-Junction
where you head to the right continuing through the woodland. This hadn't
disappointed, already it was pretty scenic. The hiking trail takes you over another
bridge over a stream and you continue to the right for a few hundred yards to a
mad made pond. This is all very well signed and before long you're out of the
wood and onto bridleways across fields. There are a few houses about half way
along the path.
At the end you should turn left - I didn't and wasted a
mile but no matter it was all very pleasant. The mile removed and back on track
the track led you past a farm and past a golf course.
At the main road
the Leeds Country Way head to the right for a few hundred yards until you start
to leave suburbia at which point you immediately take a left which leads down a
path running along the back of the houses.
This eventually leads to an
unsealed road running alongside a cricket pitch. I skirted around the cricket
pitch taking a left at the first opportunity.
I followed this road for
some time, well until it finished actually. I meandered past various houses and
stables until the road descended towards a pedestrian railway bridge,
constructed many many moons ago. Over the bridge the hiking trail went through some
buildings which were also built many mnpan moons ago and had seen better days.
The houses however were still lived in.
Just past the houses and there
was a style to the left which took you along a hedgerow to another style. I was
questioning my navigation skills at this point but I kept firing straight on and
it turned out I was right. I arrived at another set of stables with some people
riding horses, it was all very horsey out here.
Heading around the riding
ground (or whatever you call them) to the left, the path brings you out among
the houses where you head up the hill and you arrive at the main
road.
Crossing directly over the road you go over a style and along a
private road. I got pretty baffled around here as the map didn't seem to
correlate to reality. I firstly followed the road until it went no further and
signs suggested police patrolled this area - go no further. Pretty serious
stuff. The eerie masts I'd never seen before suggested this was the airport, the
map confirmed this. The Leeds Country Way keeps surprising and this appeared
like something out of a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, all very
interesting.
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| Leeds Bradford Airport Masts |
I backtracked and crossed a style now to my right (I passed
it on my left heading up the hill). I wasn't much better off now. I kind of
moseyed round a touch aimlessly. Until I went with my initial conviction and
headed alongside the road until it ended and I carried on through a couple of
electric fence gates in the field. This opened up into fields with more horses
in, boy they love their horse around here...
The path was a bit hazy
round here and I did more miles then necessary. The path actually follows the
far side of a hedge that appears in the middle of the field and heads into
woodland by the hedge.
I stopped here to examine my feet as I was feeling
the pinch in the ball of my feet on my left foot. It was a recurring issue from
the last time I wore my Merrell Moam Mid boots but seemed ok.
This was
heavy going and parts were boggy at best more like marshy in places and slowed
things considerably. Again it was pleasant though. The hiking trail emerged out of the
wood opposite Leeds Trinity University.
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| Woodland |
The path continues between two
hedges between Leeds Trinity sports fields and the campus. When they emerge you
should go straight up the hill with the all weather pitches on your left, I
didn't I went round them but rejoined the path which heads off to the
left.
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| Path through Leeds Trinity University |
Not 100 yards later there is a turn to the right through a snicket
which is the route to take. This then leads into a woodland. The path through
here is well marked. Before long you emerge to some fairly impressive views with
a bench to soak it in, I had no time to soak anything in due to all the lost
miles meandering aimlessly. The path on the wood descends to a bridge which
appeared to be by a school.
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| View from the Leeds Country Way |
It was here that, at 4:00 I decided it was
time to head home due to time constraints. With the iPod now firing me home and
with no wasted miles I did the exact same route albeit without the wasted
distance and was back at the car for 5:30, not sure what my average time would
have been but the blisters suggested it must have been pretty quick. This part
of the Leeds Country Way didn't disappoint - it was superb.
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| Walk home through Golden Acre Park |
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