The Railway Children Walk In Reverse

 

Distance: 5.5 miles

Walking: Andrew

Weather: Misty to start, then sunny

OS Map: OL21 - South Pennines

Starting Point: Station Road, Oakworth

Photography: Andrew using Nikon D750 / Nikon 24 -70 mm f2.8

In May 1970, a film crew arrived in Oakworth to begin filming what would become one of the best loved children's films ever made, The Railway Children. Many of the locations used in the film, such as Oakworth Station and the children's home, Three Chimneys, are on a beautiful six-mile walk through the Yorkshire countryside, which I have done many times. This time I decided to do it in the opposite direction for a change mainly because, with it being a Bank Holiday Monday, I wanted to get some photos of Haworth early before it got too busy.

Ebor Mill chimney

Cottages on Station Road, Oakworth

Lower Providence Mill chimney

Vale Mill

The Alphabet Steps on Providence Lane - all 24 of them (I need to find out)

Providence Lane. This is one of the reasons why it's probably better to do this walk the usual way round. the bit around the corner up into Mytholmes is very steep.

One of three notices dated 1845 warning that Ebor Lane and Providence Lane were, at the time, private roads and warning of the consequences of trespassing. This one is on the old toll house on Mytholmes Lane. There is another at the far end of Providence Lane and the third is at the end of Ebor Lane.

Rhododendron

Lilac

Greenfield, Mytholmes 

Hawthorn (also known as May) blossom

A rhododendron in Central Park, Haworth

Situated at the bottom of Main Street, Haworth, this must be one of the most photographed telephone boxes in Britain

Pretty Penny, next to The White Lion, made a brief appearance as the butcher's shop in the film when the children are collecting birthday presents for Mr Perks

The shop on the left, just past the clock, was the ironmonger's where the shopkeeper refused to give a present because "I hate the man."

The Bronte Parsonage Museum doubled as the doctor's house in the film

The rather dilapidated building up the steps was used as the Post Office

The church hall. The blue plaque notes that tis is where Charlotte Bronte's wedding reception was held in 1854

Because of the mass of trees and a colony of rooks nesting in them, the flat gravestones get in a bit of a mess so it was nice to see a local chap carefully cleaning them with a dustpan and brush. He had quite a task ahead of him though.

St Michael and All Angels' Church, Haworth. The tower is the only part of the building that remains from the time of the Brontes. The remainder of the original 18th century church was demolished and rebuilt in 1879.

Horse chestnut

Stonecroft Farm

Footpath heading towards Sowdens farm

Looking across to Weaver's Hill from Sowdens Farm

Turning hay (or haylage) early in the morning at Field Head Farm to allow it to dry in a full day's sunshine. 

Old Oxenhope Lane

Wild Garlic

A good crop of dandelions

Bents Lane. The house at the bottom is Bents farm, the children's house, Three Chimneys, in the film.

Mr Perks' stile, situated immediately behind Bents Farm was featured in the film in a scene where Perks struggles to negotiate it with a large package.

A more familiar view of "Three Chimneys"

Although the railway (The Keighley And Worth Valley Railway) does actually run at the bottom of the garden of Bents Farm, the sequences showing the chidden running down the hill to the line and sitting on the fence to wave to the trains were in fact filmed near Mytholmes Tunnel.
Seen here is 5820 "Big Jim", which was built for the US Army to operate in Poland at the end of The Second World War, hitching up to carriages ready for the Bank Holiday service.

Bridgehouse Beck

Ives Bottom

Far North Ives Farm. Few people who do The railway Children Walk realise the part this building played in the story. It didn't appear in the film but it was used 2 years earlier as the children's home in a BBC adaptation of the book, which also starred Jenny Agutter.

This upstairs window is shown in the second episode of the BBC series. Click HERE and skip to 8:30.

Coming into Haworth

A typical Yorkshire scene

Haworth Station

The Ebor Lane plaque that matches the one on the old toll house

Ebor Mill, now being converted into apartments

I think this might be pink purslane

SPOILER ALERT: Ebor Lane Bridge is where the end title sequence of The Railway Children was filmed (Jenny Agutter is standing on the track in front of the whole cast, writing on a chalk board as the camera slowly moves closer to her, then she turns the board round to reveal she has written "The End".

Big Jim having just left Mytholmes Tunnel, heading for Haworth

Footpath alongside Bridgehouse Beck near Murgatroyd Wood

Hawthorn blossom

Vale Fold Cottages on Mytholmes Lane featured in the paper-chase sequence of the film

Mytholmes Lane (left) leads onto Station Road and up into Oakworth. Vale Mill Lane leads up to Cross Roads. Vale Mill is just through the trees.

Mr Perks cottage next to the level crossing. The house next-door has been built since the film was made. You may remember in the film there was a lean-to wooden toilet on that side of the house.

Big Jim heading tender-first for Keighley. Oakworth Station is closed at the moment, presumably because it has been set-dressed for the further filming of The Railway Children Return, which has been taking place here recently.

The bell has rung, indicating a train is on its way from Haworth, so "Perks must be about it" and open the level crossing gates and change the signal

British Railways Standard Class 78022 steams through Oakworth heading towards Haworth