Shelley RFM Blue Line Walking with Peter

Shelley

RFM Blue Line 

Walking with Peter

02/01/25

On a cold January morning we set off from Skelmanthorpe towards Shelley. It was -1C but luckily there was no wind so it didn't feel desperately cold. We negotiated our way out of the village towards Strike Lane which sounds militant but actually refers to 19th century railway labours who were required to shatter rocks for the lines.

Again the dominant feature of this walk is the mast at Emley the tallest free-standing building in the UK.

Crossing the bridge over the Kirkless Light Railway Peter commented upon the height of the bridge and he wasn't wrong it was really high.

From the path at the top of the cutting the mast looks a long way off but we were to get a lot closer before long.

Our path didn't cross the railway but rather hugged the top of the cutting.

We wondered what the original purpose was of the light railway and how many men must have toiled to dig this impressive cutting.

The route still followed the railway but above ground.The buildings near the lake at Shelley Woodhouse made an interesting horizon and must have had a specific use in days of old.

The lake itself was ice covered and very pleasant.

This double roof indicates a factory or mill origin but the properties are now all residential. Looks a really nice place to live.

The views from the path were beautiful in the clear winter air.

Crossing the road at Barncliffe Dike the mid morning, long shadows reach to the high bridge. This railway is either in deep cuttings or tunnels or high in the sky. I am definitely going to have a journey on it.

We pass this icy farm with its bored cattle and as usual untidy farm yard. It is amazing how many farmers leave their yards in such disarray, no wonder they have so many accidents.

We did not expect to see a boat at Shelley Station.

Before we crossed the main line railway we passed a couple of curious horses.

Our route now stuck to the road for a while towards Shelley Hall. It wasn't busy so quite pleasant to walk along although it was very steep.

Leaving the road and looking back down the hill we could see this industrial relic. These unexpected views are always good to find.

The path to Shelley Town End got even steeper. The view down towards the main part of Shelley was good but not our route.

We headed across farm land up towards the mast.

The higher we got the better the views. This high level view over towards Huddersfield adds another aerial view of a Yorkshire town to our collection.

Views like these slow us down but are one of the reason we like climbing hills. How lucky are we to go to these places.

The roadside log pile gave us a perch for our break and we were entertained by a friendly Robin, a Wren, Kestrel, Crows and Gulls. As we snacked they provided us with a glimpse into their lives.

That mast is starting to look a bit closer so we decided to detour towards it rather than continue on the road. An impromptu re-route easily do-able when you use the OS app.

On this walk this was as close as we get to the mast but on anther walk we will pass by its base. Its such an impressive structure and forms the visual back drop to many walk in this area.

We quickly descended following the Shelley Welly walk route down to Baildon Place.

We left the Welly Walk and followed the Kirklees Way towards Park Gate down quite an interesting little valley.

At Park Gate we struggled to find the path until a helpful lady indicated the way from her front doorstep. We were thankful for her kindness but when we followed the route up to the station we were stymied by the new housing development which had fenced off the path. That explained why the route was over grown.

We retraced our steps back down the hill as there really was no way around the problem without potentially finding further issues. Our solution follow the road up to the way we had come earlier in the day.

Every now and then you get these kind of detours annoying but not the end of the world and we did get to cross the light railway again.

In a short time we were back to our cars and home. 

This was a really nice winter walk not too cold but crisp and bright. We had passed a few dog walkers but it was generally very quiet. 71/2 miles and over 800 feet is typical of these West Riding walks and enough to make it challenging. This walk went quite high up so the views were great.

OS map

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/30125827/shelley-rfm-blue-line?lat=53.59791&lon=-1.65594&zoom=14.9514&style=Leisure&type=2d