Burley-in-Wharfedale Walk - Burley Woodhead and York View 

Starting point  and OS Grid reference: The Roundhouse, Burley-in-Wharfedale (SE 166464). Car park at rear of Queens Hall.		Ordnance Survey Map OS Explorer 297 Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley. Buy this map from List of OS Maps Commission from map sales is used to fund the website, so keeping it free to use.
Distance:  4.7 miles
Traffic light rating: (For explanation see My Walks page)
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Introduction: This is a lovely varied walk taking in some of the best views in the Burley area. It also takes in a “fairy dell”, holly “tunnel” and industrial remains. It takes you via the hamlet of Burley Woodhead, with an opportunity for refreshment at The Hermit pub!

The pub gets its name from a real hermit, one Job Senior, who lived in these parts in the 19^th century. He was an archetypal hermit with patched clothing and trousers tied up with string but had a remarkable singing voice. He sang in local pubs and even in Leeds and Bradford theatres. He became something of a celebrity and lived to be 77. He died of cholera in 1857.

After the Hermit, the walk goes briefly via the edge of Burley Moor near to York View, so called because in good visibility, you can evidently see York Minster. There are certainly great views over Lower Wharfedale, across to Denton and Askwith moors and towards Cookridge and Guiseley.

The walk starts at the Roundhouse in Grange Park. There are refreshment opportunities at The Hermit pub on the outward journey and at Bleach Mill House on the return.

Start: With your back to the door of the Roundhouse (SE 166464), turn left and walk through the park, to Grange Road and turn right. At the junction, turn left and walk up Station Road and under the railway bridge. Immediately after the bridge, turn left on Hag Farm Road. Follow this as it bends right.

Continue past the houses, then, just after a right hand bend, opposite a gateway leading to a small stone barn on the left, turn right through a kissing gate (SE 160450). Another kissing gate is ahead of you bearing slightly left.

The path is reasonably well walked but if in doubt, head just to the right of the power lines, heading towards the trees.

At the trees,go through the kissing gate and follow the obvious path through the trees, crossing a stream via a plank bridge. The path leads to a walkers’ gate. Go through this and follow the fence on the right. You pass a mature sycamore tree with a huge trunk.

Continue to follow the path as it climbs, now between a fence and a dilapidated wall, to a jumble of old concrete fence posts where there is another walkers' gate. Go through this and go straight ahead, now following a line of old concrete fence posts.

Good views of Otley Chevin start to appear to the left.

Continue to the top of the field following the concrete posts, ignoring another path (bridleway) which you cross, to another walkers’ gate. Through this, and you are in the garden of a house. Follow the tarmac drive to emerge in the car park belonging to The Hermit pub (SE 154448).

Turn left along the road for 100 yards or so and opposite the row of terraced cottages (Prospect Row), turn right up some stone steps in the wall, following the direction of the public footpath fingerpost. Take care along here as motorists regularly exceed the 20 mph speed limit and there are blind corners.

Cross the field diagonally to the next stile which you can see, a rather unusual ‘V’ shape.

Follow the property boundary to your left and on reaching a corner head diagonally right to the corner of stone walls, where there is a stone step stile. Cross this and follow the left hand field boundary. There are great views here to Otley Chevin and Almscliff Crag and over Burley to the moors beyond.

The path comes out into a broad track (Green Lane) where you turn right (SE 154444). Continue on the track until, as it starts to bend to the right, you turn left up some steep steps to a stile. A yellow footpath arrow marks the way.

At the top of the stile, turn sharp left over two slabs then go round to the right.

Go through a walkers’ gate, then bear round to the right. The grassy way is marked with a series of poles with yellow tape around the tops. At the end of this section, go through a “holly tunnel” and over a little footbridge crossing Carr Beck (SE 150444) at what could pass as a fairy dell! Climb some steep steps to a stile. Over this, turn right to follow the right hand field boundary.

Cross a stile at Carr Bottom Farm (SE 149445) and turn right to follow the access track. Go through the farm gate and turn left to follow the broad track. Ahead of you at the gate is the embankment of Carr Bottom Reservoir.

Just past a small brick building, the track divides but you keep straight ahead.

There are now good views to Otley Chevin once more and over Guiseley as far as the radio tower at Cookridge.

Remain on the broad track, crossing another stile, until, just after it swings right, you reach a public footpath fingerpost indicating your left turn (SE 153441). There are a few lumps and bumps here but the path follows the depression between them. It drops down to a wall which you follow to a gate at a corner, with a fingerpost. Go through the gate and follow the gently descending walled path through the “holly tunnel”.

You reach a lower section of Carr Beck which you cross to a broad track (Green Lane again). Turn right to the road (SE 155444).

Carefully cross the road to follow the steeply descending drive to houses opposite, marked with a public footpath fingerpost. There is a bench on the corner.

At the bottom of the drive, turn left in front of the house “The Glen” and down the steps. They are marked with a yellow arrow. Cross a bridge and follow the obvious path which now follows Carr Beck for quite a while.

You pass the industrial remains of an old dam and chimney in the woods on the right, a legacy of an old bleach mill, before having to scramble over an unusual three-stone stile.

When you arrive at a broad track with multiple footpath arrows (SE 159446), keep straight ahead through the squeeze stile. If you wanted to briefly turn right here, Bleach Mill House is a hundred yards or so further on, where refreshments can usually be obtained.

Beyond the squeeze stile, go through several stiles, continuing to follow the course of the beck. The path is well walked and should be obvious.

After crossing a two plank footbridge, keep to the right hand boundary of the field, ignoring a stile on the right, until you reach the railway embankment where there is a cattle arch.

Once  through the arch, turn left and follow the embankment to a kissing gate. Go through this and turn right to follow the path through the woods to another kissing gate.

Immediately after going through this, turn left through another and climb the rough steps to a track running along the disused railway route. Turn left then almost immediately right, to descend some more steps.

The path arrives at a road (Holme Park) turn right, then immediately left to follow the footpath indicated by a public footpath fingerpost. At the next road (Sandholme Drive), go straight across.

Ignore a path off to the left and continue to follow the beck. Arriving at the end of a cul-de-sac (Jumb Beck Close), walk along the end of it and turn left where indicated by the fingerpost.

At the bridge, cross it then turn right.

You reach the junction of Prospect Road and St Phillips Way at a corner. Proceed along St Phillips Way. At the ‘T’ junction with Langford Lane, turn left, then right along Grangefield Avenue. Then turn left along Grange Road back to Grange Park and the Roundhouse.

If you need to buy any hiking equipment/clothing before your trip see the Hiking Store

All information on this site is given in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of any damage, loss or injury which might result from acting on it.