Distance: 2.6 miles
Ascent: 277 ft
Walking: Andrew
Weather: Cloudy, cool
OS Map: OL21 - South Pennines
Starting point: The top of Station Road
Photography: Andrew using Nikon D610 / Sigma 10-20 mm
This is the second short walk in an ongoing series I'm aiming to do, exploring my adopted home village of Oakworth in West Yorkshire (yes, the one in The Railway Children).
Station Road is notable for a number of things apart from the famous station. Firstly, it's quite steep and climbs quite a way up to the centre of the village. Secondly, for most of its length, there are plenty of mature trees so autumn is a good time to experience it.
About halfway down the road, I turned off onto a hedge-lined footpath, which is quite unusual round here. Most of the footpaths are bordered with the characteristic dry stone walls. Dropping down the hill, with views across Bridgehouse Beck and Haworth, the path splits as it enters a small wooded are and I took the path to the left, past the now dried up mill pond and Gingerbread Dam, under the railway bridge to 'Hoot Corner', a narrow blind corner in the road next to Vale Mill. The mill is quite an austere building but it actually dates back to Georgian times.
Walking up Mytholmes Lane brings you to Vale Fold Cottages, which featured in the paper chase in the film, The Railway Children (more of that later). Just past the row of cottages, the path splits and I turned left, signposted to Ebor Lane, through the beautiful Oxenhope style kissing gate into Murgatroyd Wood. Here the path follows Bridgehouse Beck upstream.
On the opposite side of the beck is Mytholmes Tunnel, which also featured in the film, and as you pass the southern end of the tunnel, you can just make out through the trees (the whole area is much more heavily wooded than it was 50 years ago) the embankment where the Railway Children sat on the fence and waved to the old gentleman on the train.
After crossing a small bridge over the beck, the path heads towards Ebor Lane Bridge, where the credits scene was filmed, although the bridge seen in the film has subsequently been replaced by a more robust concrete one.
Next to the bridge stands Ebor Mill, which has been derelict since the main building was destroyed by fire in 2010 and now work has begun to build houses on the site and convert the remaining buildings into apartments. It's a great location so it will be interesting to see what they do with it.
Ebor Lane offered more autumnal colour before I turned back onto Mytholmes Lane next to the old tollhouse and made my way back down the rough track over the top of the tunnel to Vale Fold Cottages and then on to Hoot Corner. Continuing along the road, under the arch in the mill building brought me back onto Station Road and on to Oakworth Station. Much of The Railway Children was filmed here and it is a very familiar place to anyone who's seen the film, with the level crossing gates and Mr Perks' cottage close-by.
I'd had a quick look at the timetable and a steam train was due to pass through shortly, so I decided to hang around for a while. The station bell rang and 'Mr Perks' came out to change the signal and close the crossing gates so I got ready for action, only to see a diesel come chugging slowly in from the opposite direction. Eventually my patience was rewarded when a 100 year old locomotive hauling Pullman coaches came thundering past at a fair pace.
Setting off on the home stretch back up Station Road I stopped to admire the tiny shops painted on stones in the wall opposite the station entrance. I've no idea who is responsible for these colourful works of art but they always make me smile when I'm passing. The photos of them included here were taken earlier in the year and I notice there have been some additions since then.
The final stretch of the walk was up the narrow East Royd, then up the footpath alongside the school playing field to Victoria Road, where there are some lovely views across the rooftops to Haworth.
See also Exploring Oakworth - Part 1
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