Oxenhope and the Worth Valley Railway

Oxenhope is the terminus of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and also the last village in the Worth Valley. To the north are Haworth and Keighley; going south, into Calderdale and Hebden Bridge, requires you to gear down for a scenic drive over the lonely heights of Cock Hill. Oxenhope was a farming community that expanded with the textile industry. The mills have mostly disappeared, leaving the village to commuters who work in nearby towns. Apart from the railway, the village is best known for the Oxenhope Straw Race, held each year on the first Sunday in July. Competitors have to carry a bale of straw all around the village, while drinking as much beer as possible. Whoever finishes this assault course first is the winner, but it is the local charities that benefit most.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

The Keighley and Worth Valley line, running for 5 miles (8km) from Keighley to Oxenhope, is one of the longest established private railways in the country, and the last remaining complete branch line. It was built in 1867, funded by local mill owners, but the trains were run by the Midland Railway to link to the main Leeds–Skipton line at Keighley. When the line fell victim to Dr Beeching's axe in 1962, local rail enthusiasts banded together in opposition. The preservation society bought the line and a major restoration of the line and the stations began. Ingrow station, for example, had been so badly vandalised that a complete station was 'trainsported' to the site stone by stone from Foulridge in Lancashire. Built to the typical Midland style, it now blends in well with the other stations on the line. By 1968 the society began running a regular timetable of trains that has continued ever since. Steam trains run every weekend throughout the year, and daily in summer. But the line doesn't just cater for tourists; locals in the Worth Valley appreciate the diesel services into Keighley which operate on almost 200 days per year. The line runs through the heart of Brontë country, with stations at Oxenhope, Haworth, Oakworth, Danems, Ingrow and Keighley.

The stations are a particular delight: fully restored, gas-lit and redolent of the age of steam. So when Edith Nesbitt's classic children's novel, The Railway Children, was being filmed in 1970, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway was a natural choice of setting. And Oakworth station – a splendid example of an Edwardian station, complete with enamel advertising signs – is the one used in the film. Everyone who has seen the film (it's the one with Jenny Agutter in and it seems to be etched deeply into the national psyche) will enjoy revisiting this much-loved location.

Begin along the minor lane beside the entrance of Oxenhope Station, which rises past the overflow car park to the A6033. Cross to Dark Lane opposite and climb steeply away. Later degrading to a track, it eventually ends at a lane. Go right down to the Denholme road (B6141) and follow it left to the Dog and Gun. Turn right opposite the pub into Sawood Lane.

At Coblin Farm, your route becomes a rough track. Through a gate at the end, join a metalled track and go right, signed Brontë Way. Keep ahead past the entrance to Thornton Moor Reservoir, passing through a field gate along an unmade track. Ignore the Brontë Way, which then shortly drops off to the right.

At a fork 50yds (46m) further on, bear right before a gate on a descending track by the wall. It meanders for a mile (1.6km), passing a clump of trees and then crossing a watercourse before eventually meeting a moorland lane.

Go right here, eventually passing a cattle grid and a transmission mast. Carry on for another 150yds (137m) but, as the road begins a steep descent, take a wall stile on the left. Later, through another wall stile, head left, uphill, on a broad, walled track that leads to the Waggon and Horses pub.

Walk left, leaving after 30yds (27m) by a signpost on the right to a steeply descending track. Levelling after 300yds (274m), it swings right. Cross a stile by a gate on the left. Slant right down a couple of fields and continue the line across rough ground, dropping to a walled path at the bottom. Go left across a stream and climb away to Lowerfold Farm.

Walk forward past a row of cottages and go right on a metalled track. Follow it away down the hill above the Leeshaw Reservoir for 0.75 miles (1.2km). After passing a converted mill, it finally leads out to a lane.

Cross the lane and take the track ahead (signed to Marsh). Pass right of the end house, on a narrow walled path and continue across a small field. Through a courtyard, go left and right past cottages. Emerging, take the kissing gate opposite, from which a path runs through to a walled track. To the right it leads past houses, across a field and out past more houses to a road. Go right back down into Oxenhope.