West Yorkshire walk : Calverley village and Calverley Wood

Full of surprises, this walk at Calverley near Bradford takes in hanging stones, a former fireworks factory and a TV drama location  

1. From the car park fork right along Calverley Millennium Way. After 80m fork left over a collapsed wall and upwards. At a holly bush bear left along path edged by stones. At a junction of paths turn right.  You will soon reach a well house, corner of a ruined cottage and, forward to your right, an empty former swimming pond. Fork left at the well and after steps pass through a gap in the wall and pass an archway. Leave the wood to turn left onto the road.

2. Just before the bridge turn right through a gate down to Calverley Cutting. Turn sharp left and pass under the bridge then right through a stone gap stile into Calverley Wood. Cross over a walled, slightly sunken path and bear slightly right. Hanging Stone is slightly off the path, up to the right.

Calverley Cutting (Image: Paul Kirkwood)
3. Before the quarry edge turn right between concrete posts to and through Ferncliffe Works. Emerge onto a broad track and turn left. At South Lodge fork right along cobbled path (Wood Lane). At the end of the lane at the end cross the A657 and continue ahead down Thornhill St.

4. Turn left down Rushton St, almost immediately left up Clarke St then right down a fenced path that leads round the back of Calverley Old Hall. Turn left onto Woodhall Rd. At the end cross the A657 to view the troughs in Town Wells Park. Walk north along main road and  after St Wilfrid's Church turn right up Thornhill Drive to return to South Lodge and back into the woods.

5. Turn right onto a path passing between wooden posts. Fork left at a stone pillar. About 10m metres after a boulder on your left turn left uphill (no clear path) then soon left again between parts of a sawn up tree trunk to reach the old reservoir. Return to the main path and continue in same direction as before. Pass through a gate onto a Tarmac lane and back to the car park.

Points of interest
West Wood is full of curiosity by virtue of being the former grounds of the Victorian Champion House which was the name and main location of a BBC TV drama series in the late 1960s. Today it's a care home. Look carefully and you'll find a former swimming pond with two islands, a well house, remains of a gardener's cottage and folly arch. Much easier to find is Calverley Cutting which slices through the estate. It was constructed in place of a packhorse track in the 1850s to provide access from Apperley Bridge to "gentleman's houses" planned at the top of the incline. Only Champion House was built.

Ferncliffe Works in Calverley Woods (Image: Paul Kirkwood)

Calverley Wood contains a hanging stone and Ferncliffe Works, a series of ruined buildings that were originally a Second World War military training camp then a prisoner of war camp and finally a fireworks factory which closed after a fatal explosion in 1957. Leaving the wood you pass one of four lodges that surrounded the estate.

Extend the walk into Calverley village to view the Old Hall, a Grade I-listed late medieval manor house dating back to the 12th century that's undergoing restoration by the Landmark Trust. Town Wells Park includes four stone troughs which used to provide water for the village. Llamas and sheep sometimes graze around the gravestones of St Wilfrid's Church.
For one last navigational challenge see if you can find a circular reservoir surrounded by iron railings which was part of the system by which spring water was piped to Woodhouse Grove School in the late 19th century.

The Thornhill, Town Gate, Calverley (Image: Paul Kirkwood)

Eat here
The Thornhill, Town Gate, Calverley. Homely 17th century dining pub with log fire and courtyard. Original features include the stone entrance and hayloft. Menu includes a choice of 13 burgers, Mexican dishes and Sunday roasts. thethornhillcalverley.co.uk.
Calverley Coffee Shop and Deli, Carr Road, Calverley. Wraps, paninis, soups, sandwiches and jacket potatoes plus breakfasts in four sizes. facebook.com/CalverleyCoffeeShopAndDeli.

Calverley Woods walk map route (Image: OS Maps)

COMPASS POINTS

Start/finish: BD10 0NF. SE197376.
Time/distance: 2 hours/5.6km.
Accessibility: This is a short, unchallenging walk but allow plenty of time to explore all the features and follow the directions closely as some paths are unclear or not marked on the OS map.
Map: OS Explorer 288 Bradford and Huddersfield, OS Landranger 104 Leeds & Bradford.
Parking: Room for about six cars at the northern entrance to West Wood or alternatively park on Parkin Lane and walk across the canal. Apperley Bridge rail station is a short distance away.
Map link: bit.ly/Calverley