The small village of Apperley Bridge is located on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, roughly halfway between Leeds and Bradford. It was once noted for its mills, all of which have either been demolished or converted into flats. The walk also takes in part of the small adjacent suburb of Greengates, and part of the estate of Esholt Hall, which occupies the site of Esholt Priory. The Esholt estate also includes the village of Esholt, which we previously visited on our walk from Guiseley Railway Station.
Apperley Bridge Railway Station, where the walk begins, opened in 2015, close to the site of a previous station that opened in 1846 and closed in 1965. From the station, cross the car park, and follow Station Approach to Apperley Lane. Turn right, shortly passing the Grade II-listed eighteenth century Stansfield Arms public house, then bear right at a fork (still on Apperley Lane) to cross a bridge over the River Aire; this Grade II-listed bridge dates from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century and gives the village its name.
Apperley Bridge
Directly opposite is the George & Dragon, another Grade II-listed public house, this one dating from the sixteenth century. Turn left and follow Apperley Road to Harrogate Road, then cross over and continue straight ahead along Parkin Lane. When this splits at a fork, keep left and follow the lane over a bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, after which the lane becomes Calverley Cutting.
Turn right and follow a track (Eleanor Drive) through West Wood until it ends at New Line. Turn right and follow this to a crossroads, then turn right again, passing Greengates War Memorial on the opposite corner. Follow Harrogate Road downhill, passing the Church of St. John on the right and (just after crossing the junction with Tenterfields) the Dog and Gun public house (another Grade II-listed eighteenth century inn) on the left. Just after Harrogate Road crosses the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, turn left and descend a sloping path to the towpath, then turn right. We have already walked several sections of the canal towpath during walks from stations in the City of Leeds, and will be visiting it again in several more City of Bradford walks. Proceed along the towpath, shortly passing Apperley Bridge Marina on the opposite side of the canal, then reaching Millman Swing Bridge No. 214, which carries Apperley Road over the canal. Continue straight ahead along the towpath, next passing Dobson Locks No. 14 and 15 (a double lock), followed by the site of the former swing bridge No. 213, a double railway viaduct (the first no longer in use), and then Idle Swing Bridge No. 212.
Dobson Locks No. 14 and 15
Just after passing this, turn right through a gap in the fence bordering the towpath to follow a footpath to the River Aire.
Follow the path across the narrow Esholt Suspension Bridge (a striking cast iron footbridge made by Cawood & Sons of Leeds), then left along the river bank. The path soon turns right and follows the perimeter of the Esholt Water Treatment Works, the second largest sewage works in Yorkshire, which occupies part of the estate of the Grade II*-listed Esholt Hall (currently privately owned by Yorkshire Water). If the thought of walking beside a huge sewage works seems unappealing, it nevertheless does not in practice detract from the heavily tree-lined walk. Follow the path until it ends at The Avenue, then turn left. Just after passing the Stonehouse Projects (which occupies part of a complex of Grade II-listed buildings that originally formed Esholt Hall Home Farm) turn right along another path into Gill Wood. Here, we take the next right turn and follow a path between the sewage works on the right and a railway track on the left. When the path eventually ends at a drive, turn left and follow it to Apperley Lane, then turn right. Just after the road crosses a bridge over the railway track, The Moody Cow public house and Woodhouse Grove Methodist Church (a Grade II-listed school chapel dating from 1887) can be seen on the left. After passing these, continue down the hill and finally turn right into Station Approach to return to the railway station.
From Apperley Bridge, the Leeds-Bradford Line continues through Kirkstall Forge to Leeds, both of which have visited in our tour of the City of Leeds. So we now return to Bradford Forster Square and from there take a very short trip along the Airedale line, to the leafy Bradford suburb of Frizinghall…
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