Barwick in Elmet

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"A walk from Barwick in Elmet – boasting the country's second tallest maypole."

Walk directions

Walk south along Main Street, then right into Carrfield Road. At the end, keep ahead along a grass track and then a field path. Entering the third field, swing right to pass through a gap in the corner and then left beside the hedge. Cross back through further on, eventually coming out onto a lane at Scholes.

Go left for 100yds (91m) to a road off right, signed to Leeds. Cross to a stony bridleway beside the intersection, soon leaving Scholes behind. At a junction, keep left on the most obvious track. When another track comes in from the left, keep ahead past a barrier. Walk a further 0.5 miles (800m) to a junction. There, go left with the bridleway beside a small wood.

Passing through a golf course, walk straight along the main path, ignoring two footpaths subsequently signed off on the right. Leave the far end of the course along a track that soon passes Willow Park Farm. Keep straight ahead to meet a road near the golfers’ clubhouse.

Cross the road and continue on a farm track into the Parlington Estate. Carry on for 0.75 miles (1.2km) beyond Throstle Nest Farm to a junction beside Gamekeepers Cottage, a curious-looking house with a wall around it.

Keep straight ahead along the bridleway through woodland. Bear right, just before a tunnel, to avoid walking through the gloom. The path rejoins your original route at the far end of the tunnel. Pass a gatehouse to arrive in the village of Aberford.

Walk left, along the road, crossing a bridge over Cock Beck and then passing the Arabian Horse. Go left, opposite this pub, along Becca Lane. Keep left when it forks past Cufforth House and continue beyond a gatehouse into the parkland surrounding Becca Hall. After another 0.25 miles (400m), look for a waymark signing the path off left at the edge of the pasture. Later developing as a track, it leads to Becca Farm.

Continue ahead on the farm track but, just after the barns, turn left at a discrete waymarker post and strike out over the field to a second marker post. Beyond a solitary tree, swing right towards the corner of woodland ahead and follow the ongoing boundary to another belt of trees. Over a stile, bear left to emerge in the next field and keep left along its edge. Passing into pasture, head half right to a final stile in the far corner to come out on to a lane.

Go left and then right by the entrance to Potterton Park to reach another junction. Turn left down Potterton Lane, which leads back to Barwick.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Field paths; good track through Parlington Estate, several stiles

Landscape - Arable, parkland, woods

Dog friendliness - Keep on lead through villages and past golf course

Parking - Roadside parking in Barwick in Elmet, along Main Street

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in West Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in West Yorkshire

About the walk

Elmet was one of a number of small, independent British kingdoms to emerge during the Dark Ages, between the end of Roman rule and the conquering of southern Britain, in ad 560, by the Saxon King Edwin. At the height of its powers, the kingdom included most of present-day West Yorkshire, and...

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Everybody knows that Yorkshire has some special landscapes. The Dales and the Moors first spring to mind, but what about West Yorkshire? That’s Leeds and Bradford isn’t it? Back-to-back houses and blackened mills… Certainly if you had stood on any of the hills surrounding Hebden Bridge a hundred years ago, and gazed down into the valley, all you would have seen was the pall of smoke issuing from the chimneys of 33 textile mills.