Walk 2160 - printer friendly version

Wetherby to Follifoot without a car Walk

Author - Peter Schofield

Length - 10.3 miles / 16.7 km

Ascent - 800 feet / 242 metres

Grade - easy/mod

Start - OS grid reference SE404481
Lat 53.927462 + Long -1.3862427
Postcode LS22 6LT (approx. location only)

While the area between Leeds and Harrogate doesn't possess the scenic views and grandeur of the nearby Dales, what it does offer is pleasant and undemanding walking in a pastoral landscape which during spring and summer is ablaze with wild flowers. The availability of excellent bus services to surrounding towns also make the area particularly accessible without the need of a car.

The walk starts at Wetherby bus station (Grid ref. SE404481). Turn left at the entrance and follow the main A661 through the town centre for 600m to the junction of Linton Road (Grid ref. SE400484). Turn left into Linton Road and after 200m, go down some steps to the left, turning right down a path immediately in front of a children's playground.

The path goes along the edge of a recreation ground and then across Wetherby golf course before rejoining Linton Road at grid ref. SE392476. Turn left along Linton Road and continue for 800m into Linton village. At a sign for "Wood Hall Hotel", turn right into Trip Lane and continue along the quiet lane for 1.5km to a bridleway marker on the right immediately before the lane enters the grounds of the hotel (Grid ref SE375466).

Most of the tarmac walking is now over and the undulating route passes through fields and woodland to arrive at the access lane to Sicklinghall Hall. Turn right up the lane and after 70m, left through a field gate on to a bridleway. After 600m where the bridleway veers to the right, keep straight ahead along the path to a stile at Paddock House Lane (Grid ref. SE355476).

Turn right down the lane and when it reaches a T-junction, cross the road and continue along a bridleway immediately opposite. After 400m just before a wood, go sharp left down the side of the wood (Grid ref. SE350483) rather than continuing straight ahead along the track which is not a Right of Way.

Follow the bridleway over several fields to Lund Head farm. At the farm continue straight ahead on Marsh Lane, a walled track leading to Barrowby Lane just south of Kirkby Overblow village (Grid ref. SE329488). Go right along the lane for 600m to the "Star and Garter" PH in the village centre.

Turn right down the road running alongside the pub and after 300m, cross over a stone stile opposite the entrance to the village school (Grid ref. SE326494). The path continues through fields and a gate to a house. Turn left past the house and after 100m go through another gate. Do not continue along the farm track but bear half left down to a small bridge over a stream, continuing diagonally up the field opposite to a stile.

Go straight up along a field boundary and cross a stile. The path goes right and then left along the field boundary to a farm track at Grid ref. SE329502. Turn right along the track and after 50m left along another track to Sunrise Farm. At the farm entrance, take the right hand track which skirts the farm on its east side to arrive at the farm access track at Grid ref. SE331504. (The OS map shows a route which crosses several fields to pass the farm but conditions underfoot are poor and it isn't recommended).

Turn right along the access track, turning right again after 250m at a track junction at grid ref. SE334505. Ignoring all paths to left and right, follow the farm access track for a further 1.4K to reach a road at grid ref. SE346513. Turn left along the road for 400m to a stile opposite the barn at Haggs Road Farm. Go right over the stile, following the field boundary to a copse at the far end where after a stile, the path drops down to the trackbed of a dismantled railway line.

Cross diagonally over the trackbed, following the path through fields for a further 1.1 km to arrive opposite the "Harewood Arms" PH in Follifoot which at the time of writing was serving an excellent pint of hand pulled Samuel Smith's Bitter for £ 1.29! What a pleasantly surprising way to finish the walk!

The start and finish of the route are linked by H&D bus 770 which operates every half hour (hourly on Sunday) between Harrogate, Wetherby and Leeds. Full details can be found on the Metro website at www.wymetro.com.

Mountain Weather

Stay safe on the mountains with detailed weather forecasts - for iOS devices or for Android devices.