A 'Mow Cop' style folly, pleasant woods, a waterfall, moors, an obelisk and Lady Blantyre's favourite rock are all to be found on this enjoyable ramble which starts by the River Aire in Bingley.
Getting there: A650 from Bradford to Bingley. Park (if possible!) outside Myrtle Park. (Start of walk). Alternative parking available in massive car park by station and canal (Pay and display- alas!).
Distance: 9 Miles. You can take the kids but they will be tired. The walk passes through two public parks - Myrtle Park and St. Ives.
Map Ref: SE 107 389 Sheet 104 Leeds and Bradford (1:50, 000).
Rating: Walk *** Follies and General Interest **
Bingley is pleasant little town in the Aire Valley twixt Bradford and Keighley. Famous for its Five Rise Locks, fine old church, Damart Long Johns and 'leaning chimney', Bingley straddles the bustling A650, horrendously busy of late since it became the bottleneck for the unfinished (and controversial) Aire Valley Trunk Road, which now pours its rush hour traffic into the old road at nearby Crossflatts.
Our walk begins by the bandstand in Myrtle Park.Nearby is the town hall, which was formerly "Myrtle Grove", a mansion built by Johnson Atkinson Busfield in 1772. It was described by Wesley as a "little Paradise", and from it our walk leads through the park to a footbridge which passes over an island in the river, passing allotments to enter Beckfoot Lane. At Beckfoot, near the confluence of the Harden Beck with the River Aire there is a fine old packhorse bridge and adjacent ford standing near a farmhouse dated 1617. On the gable ends are stone lanterns which denote the one time manorial rights of the Knights of St. John - the Hospitallers. We cross the golf course to enter Ruin Bank Wood, where hides St. David's Ruin, unfortunately situated on private land. Halfway up the wood a track forks off to the right, and leads directly to the folly. The obvious thing is to discreetly inspect it, and then retrace your steps to the public right-of-way. St David's Ruin was built as an eyecatcher to St. Ives across the valley by Benjamin Ferrand in 1796. It provided the inspiration for John Braine's fictional 'St. Clair Folly' in 'Room at the Top'. It consists basically of a contrivedly ruined circular tower with a high gothic arch attached to it. It is typical of a type of folly, the best example of which may be found at Mow Cop, Staffordshire. Not too long ago it could be viewed easily (and legally) from a distance, but now it is so lost in coniferous forest that if you didn't know where to look for it you wouldn't even know it was there! To see you have to go right up to it. Whatever you decide, all roads lead unerringly to the Malt Shovel at Harden Beck, (It features in William Riley's 'Way of the Winepress') beyond which a track leads through the caravan site to the craggy fastnesses of Goit Stock Woods. Goit Stock Waterfall is a charming spot, although the waters of the beck are somewhat polluted - a sad fate for such an attractive watercourse as the Harden Beck.
After a U turn at Hallas Bridge and more woodlands, our route leads up Dolphin Lane to Catstones Moor and thence to the summit of Harden Moor, passing through Ryecroft on the way. Here the landscape is scarred with extensive quarry workings. Crossing the Harden/Keighley road, we continue onwards along the Altar Road until we encounter a tall ladder stile leading over the adjacent wall into the St. Ives Estate. From here a path leads down through the golf course to the Ferrand Obelisk and Lady Blantyre's Rock.
The Ferrand Obelisk is something of a disappointment. The marble memorial seems somehow out of place in this landscape of heather & boulders. It is functional and about as un-eccentric as you can get. The inscription (which runs all round its faces) explains all:-
The 'rustic monument' to which the inscription refers is Lady Blantyre's Rock, which is a much more appropriate monument than the obelisk which refers to it. A large natural boulder with a sheltered overhang, the inscribed stone beneath once again obligingly explains all:-
After extricating the children from the swings, we proceed down the St. Ives carriageway, cross the Harden/Bingley road, and continue along Beckfoot Lane to rejoin the outward route near Beckfoot Bridge. From here we simply retrace our steps back across the Aire to the start of the walk in Myrtle Park. Energetic types might now consider exploring the staircase locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Most people though will be simply glad to put their feet up!!
