Exploring Oakworth - Part 5 - Clough Lane | Holden Park | Highfield Lane | Slaymaker Lane | Branshaw Golf Club | Cackleshaw

Distance: 3.3 miles

Ascent: 350 ft

Walking: Andrew & Gaynor

Weather: Sunny, cold

OS Map: OL21 - South Pennines

Parking: Station Road, Oakworth

Photography: Andrew using Nikon D610 / Nikon 24-70 mm f2.8

Starting from the centre of Oakworth, this snowy winter walk really showed Oakworth at it's best.  

We began the walk on the cobbled Clough Lane, which skirts the edge of Holden Park. Sir Isaac Holden was a wealthy Victorian mill owner / inventor / politician who had a huge Italianate mansion, Oakworth House, built in the middle of the village. The house was set in extensive ornamental gardens, much of which still exist today as a public park, although the house itself suffered a catastrophic fire and was demolished over 100 years ago. At the end of the cobbles, the lane becomes a walled track through woodland, which presumably was originally part of the gardens. It was early in the morning and the temperature was hovering around freezing so the trees looked spectacular with snow still adorning their branches.

The path emerges into a beautiful steep-sided where the snow-covered trees were sparkling in the bright sunshine. It was exactly what you imagine a winter wonderland to look like. The going was quite difficult in places on the ice but we took our time, determined to make the most of this rare chance to see this spectacular natural display. Past a couple of ornamental ponds and a lot of overgrown rhododendrons, up a steep slope where the snow got noticeable deeper the higher we got, until we emerged above the trees.

A short distance up Highfield Lane, we turned up the narrow path up the hill then down towards the old farm and out onto Slaymaker Lane by a large pond, which was covered with a thick layer of ice. The trees here were, again, incredible.

Crossing the lane, we negotiated a very icy and slippery stile, then followed the well-trodden footpath up the hill to hazy views across Newsholme and Laycock and another even icier stile out onto Branshaw Golf Club. The views there across to Braithwaite and Keighley were obscured by low lying mist but as we dropped down Occupation Lane it began to clear. There were loads of families out sledging and having a great time on the golf course and a couple of the fields down Occupation Lane. It was lovely to see, with all that is going on at the moment.

At the bottom of the lane, we turned into the new housing development, where the ice was particularly bad, then followed the footpath to Bogthorn. Here we walked a short distance towards Oakworth on Keighley Road then turned onto Valley View Close and followed the road round through the 1960s housing development to Goose Cote Lane, where, over yet another icy stone stile, we joined The Worth Way for the final leg back to Oakworth. Just beyond the stile, the spectacular view across the Worth Valley towards Haworth opens out before you. It's one of my favourite views and we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy it, although it was starting to feel very cold so we didn't stay too long. I was waiting for patch of light to move up from behind Haworth but it never seemed to happen.

We carried on through the charming little hamlet of Cackleshaw before taking the up past the school playing field where, turning round, I could see the aforementioned patch of light was perfectly positioned in the distance down Bridgehouse Beck for a dramatic finishing shot.