West Yorkshire Walk - Bardsey

Paul Kirkwood finds a fascinating and secluded picnic spot in West Yorkshire which is the centrepiece of an ideal walk for young families

The mounds are not named on the Ordnance Survey map, no signs point you towards them and there is a notable absence of an information board or, for that matter, information in the various reference sources I tried. What is known is that they date back to 600AD and the fort lay on a network of Roman roads across Yorkshire. Roman finds have been unearthed here and, two miles away at Dalton Parlours, the site of a large Roman villa was discovered.

Whatever the history, Pompocali is a fascinating and secluded picnic spot and the centrepiece of a super little walk ideal for young families. There's no better place to play 'king of the castle'. Adjacent to Pompocali and part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Hetchell Crags are also great fun to clamber up to and over for children and climbers alike, having the same appeal - again on a much smaller scale - as the more celebrated Brimham Rocks in Nidderdale.

Look out for squirrels, marsh tits, wrens and, if you're lucky, treecreepers, rustling and darting through the undergrowth. The bridleway which leads you east and away from Pompocali was part of a minor Roman road and takes you on a loop into attractive woodland and back alongside a stream. As you make your way back to Bardsey on quiet country lanes, it's hard to imagine that the city centre of Leeds is only eight miles away.

The route leads over a bridge that used to span the Wetherby-Cross Gates railway branch line which closed in 1964 under the Beeching cuts. A little later in a copse you pass some fishing lakes and eventually, from the brow of a hill and nestling in a valley, you can see All Hallows Church in Bardsey, the first Saxon tower church in England and a sort of finishing post for the purposes of this walk.

The village's greatest claim to fame, however, is the Bingley Arms, the oldest inhabited inn and brewhouse in England according to the Guinness Book of Records. It dates back to 905 AD; just 300 years after the Romans were around! There's a good terraced garden if the weather's fine. Before you head home have a look at another ancient man-made mound near to All Hallows. This one isn't as mysterious as those you came across at the start, though. It's the site of a castle occupied during the 12th and 13th centuries after which it was abandoned.

DIRECTIONS Bardsey

Starting from All Hallows Church, head towards the A58. At the road, turn right and after 200m cross over and follow the start of a path just to the left of a double-gate. After a few paces, bear left and over a stile. The path soon emerges from the wood and borders a field to your left. Where the path crosses a large field in front instead bear sharp right to walk alongside Bardsey Beck to enter Hetchell Wood and pass the crags (on your left). Go through a kissing gate and, after a few paces, follow a signed public bridleway (through a bridle gate) on the right and immediately fork left and over a fallen tree to view Pompocali.

Pompocali

Turn left and walk along the rim of the site then follow two blue arrow waymarkers which lead you through another bridle gate and back to the path you left earlier but slightly further up the incline. At a minor road, cross over and continue ahead along a signed bridleway passing a metal gate. The bridleway leads to Stubbing Moor Plantation. At the end and at the T-junction with a track turn right onto a signed bridleway then fork left and slightly downhill. Turn right at the next bridleway sign and follow a path along the top of a small embankment. Leave the wood at the next bridleway sign, turning right, up and away from the stream. In corner of a field follow the path as it bears left, pass through a metal field gate and head towards a barn on a straight broad track called Kennels Lane (ignoring the bridleway signs that lead further uphill). After a mile and at a minor road turn left then immediately fork right on Thorner Lane.

Scarcroft Hill

Pass Scarcroft Hall Farm and over a bridge then turn right down a gravel track signed as a public footpath to 'Scarcroft and Nature Reserve'. Just after a house called Hellwood Ghyll turn left over a wall stile onto a signed public footpath. *This leads you through a copse, over a footbridge and eventually out in a field. Walk up the field keeping the wall to your right and then down the other side of the slope. At the bottom and where the path meets a track turn left keeping the overhead cables on your right.

A58

Turn left at the main road then immediately right at a bus shelter, crossing the road to follow a signed public bridleway and access road named Wayside Mount. After the last house continue ahead down a path and keep in the same direction when the main path bears sharp left. In the corner of a field the path bears right and takes you into a wood, over a footbridge and back to the rear of All Hallows Church. To view the site of the former castle, cross over the road in front of the church and continue ahead up Woodacre Lane as far as Woodacre Crescent. You can see the castle mound (on private land) over a gate on the right.

Shorter option:

Enter Pompocali as described above but walk through the site without returning. Pass between a stream and overhanging rock and over a stile beside a gate. Walk uphill to pass a ruined corn mill, over another stile and join a track leading under the old railway bridge. Immediately after crossing a stream pass through a gate on the right and walk diagonally left across a small field to another gate. Turn right along a lane and, after Moat Hall, follow a track for 20 yards then turn right over a wall stile. Follow directions from * as described in the Scarcroft Hill section.

FACT FILE

Distance: 5 miles (or 3 miles for shorter route - see directions)

Parking: On road in Bardsey, with consideration. Try Cornmill Lane off the road leading from the A58 to the church. There is also small lay-by on the A58 where the footpath to Pompocali starts.

Map: www.tinyurl.com/pompocali.

Refreshments: The Bingley Arms, Bardsey.

Did you know that there are the remains of a Roman fort just off the A58 commuter route from Wetherby to Leeds? Probably not - in which case I suspect you're in the majority. The ruins take the form of several heatherclad rounded mounds with terraces as if they were part of a giant garden makeover. You can dip in and out of the valleys in seconds, as if traversing the Dales in miniature.