South West Thornton

The weather forecast had said today was going to be the better day of the weekend and although it had rained on and off this morning by lunchtime it didn’t look too bad and it wasn’t cold out.  It’s a long time since I walked around Thornton so I thought I’d do this walk today as it’s not far from home if the weather took a turn for the worse. This is a Bradford Council walk I printed off their website.

The walk starts by going through a field or two and Thornton Cemetery exiting the cemetery at the far side walking along the side of a few cottages – this is all part of the Bronte Way.  

Here the route goes down Close Head lane continuing down past an old Water Filtration building – looks a bit eerie and is all fenced off.  

At the bottom I crossed over Thornton road and took a footpath behind a garage which takes you to a field stile and up the other side of the valley.  Here the path continues up through fields eventually turning right along the top.  There were cows, sheep, a billy goat and a very pretty Alpaca.  

At the end of the field the stile brings you onto a track at Squirrel Farm. Here I turned left along Squirrel Lane and somehow missed the footpath which should have taken me diagonally up the hill to come out on Deep Lane. I still got to Deep Lane and just had to walk up the road instead.  It was raining now and my paper directions were getting wet and I walked up the Lane looking for Lower Sandal.  I had clearly missed it when I came to the turn off for Upper Sandal.  I turned around and went back down the lane – still raining. A dog-walker was coming up the hill so I asked him for directions – about 2oo yards down the hill apparently. He was walking a Golden Retriever-doodle – we had a chat about his dog (it was just as mad as Bernard and the same age). As I went back down I saw the tarmacadam farm track I should have taken. At the end was the gate to take me up through fields heading up parallel to the main road the stile at the end brought me out at Nettle Hole Farm. Here was a gate of two halves that took me ages to work out to open it you have to open them both at the same time.  Here the directions say go up between two properties but the path has been diverted down hill to an access track which I followed coming out on Pitt lane.  Here it was an uphill pull to turn left on Low lane. At least the sun had come out and rain had stopped now. I was starting to dry out a little

Half a mile further on it was a left turn through the village of West Scholes turning down Brewery Lane and past West Scholes Hall a 16^th century building which is just beautiful (and currently for sale). 

  I continued down and through a stile by a farm and over a metal footbridge which took me over the dismantled railway which looks like it’s a cyclepath now. 

  I continued down to the bottom eventually popping out on Headley Lane.  Turning right it immediately becomes Green Lane.  

This was a narrow road back up to Thornton Road by St James Church – from here I walked along the back road to where I’d parked my car. Just got to it in time – as I sat in the car the heavens opened and it bounced down.

A good 5 mile walk apart from the rain.