Our penultimate stop in the City of Leeds is at Bramley, another medieval village turned suburb. It is named in the Domesday Book as Brameleia and Bramelei; the name Bramley comes from the Old English words brōm, meaning broom, and lēah, meaning open land in a wood. This all suggests that this will be a walk rich in history, but little visible trace of the old village remains, and Bramley town centre was insensitively redeveloped in the sixties and seventies in a manner so ill-conceived that it was condemned by English Heritage as an example of how not to redevelop a town centre. But despite this, it retains at least a few historic buildings and the walk also includes two parks and another picturesque section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Bramley Railway Station originally opened in 1854 and was closed in 1966; the current station, which has staggered platforms on either side of Swinnow Road, opened in 1983. From the station we head uphill along Swinnow Road, following it to a crossroads. Here, continue straight ahead along Hough Lane, and stay on this as it turns right and then left and shortly passes the former Bramley Board School on the left. Just past this, on the right, is Bramley Baptist Church, whilst Bramley Library can be seen a little further along the road on the left. Turn left past the Baptist Church and follow Warrel’s Road, then take the next left along Warrel’s Grove, passing a cemetery on the left (this can also be seen from Hough Lane). Turn right along Grosmont Road and at the end continue straight ahead through an entrance into Bramley Park.
Proceed along the top of the park, looking right and ahead for fine views of the surrounding area. After passing a covered reservoir and a television transmitter tower on the left, continue down shallow steps to exit the park on Broad Lane. Turn right and follow the lane, shortly passing Bramley Baths.
Bramley Baths
The Grade II-listed baths were built in 1904 and have been fully restored, providing a rather handsome local landmark. After passing the paths, continue past the former Broad Lane Board School on the right, just past which a former pub – The Globe – can be seen, its stained glass windows still bearing its old name. Before reaching this, turn left and walk down Whitecoat Hill, continuing straight ahead a crossroads, where the road becomes Upper Rodney Lane. After the crossroads, take the second right turn along an unnamed track and follow it downhill to a group of industrial buildings, then bear left to reach Ross Mill Swing Bridge No. 219 and cross this to gain the towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Turn right and follow the towpath to Newlay Bridge No. 221, looking out along the way for the site of the now-demolished Bridge No. 220; this is close to the Grade II-listed late-eighteenth century Whitecoat House, which can be seen on the opposite side of the canal. On reaching Newlay Bridge, continue along the towpath a little further to reach Newlay Locks No. 11-13 (which we encountered on the Kirkstall walk, with which we overlap here), then cross one of the lock gate bridges followed by a footbridge over the overflow to enter the woods of Bramley Fall Park. Follow a path straight ahead through the woods, eventually reaching a rugby pitch. Walk straight ahead along the edge of this, then turn right at a footpath sign to reach Pollard Lane. Here, turn left and follow the lane until it ends at Leeds and Bradford Road, passing The Acorn public house on the corner.
The Acorn
This is the first of three Grade II-listed public houses on the walk, and – along with its adjoining stables – dates from the early nineteenth century.
Turn right and follow Leeds and Bradford to the Rock Inn (also Grade II-listed, with stables, and dating from the early nineteenth century) on the right, then turn left along Coppy Lane and stay on this until it ends at Newlay Lane, opposite the red brick Church of St. Margaret. Turn right and follow Newlay Lane to Broad Lane, then cross straight over and follow an alleyway between houses to Upper Town Street. Turn left again, taking a short detour to the right to view Bramley War Memorial, which is located just inside the bottom entrance to Bramley Park. Otherwise, follow the road, looking right up Westover Road to see the Salem Baptist Tabernacle, then just after passing Trinity Methodist Church on the left, turn right along Hough Lane and follow it to the Church of St. Peter, a Grade II-listed church dating from 1861.
Turn left into the churchyard and walk past the church, then bear left to reach the Old Unicorn public house. Walk past this to Lower Town Street, where to the left, just below the Old Unicorn, a pump and trough can be seen that are the only surviving reminders of Bramley Village Green; a blue plaque commemorates the site’s significance. Turn right, following the road to another public house – The Barley Mow Inn – on the right, which bears another blue plaque, this one stating that the Barley Mow Inn ground was for a time the home of the now-defunct Bramley Rugby League Football Club. The pub is the third and final Grade II-listed drinking establishment on the walk, and was built in the early nineteenth century. Just after passing the inn, turn right along an alleyway and follow this Windsor Crescent, then continue straight ahead along Daisyfield Road. At the end, turn left along Ashby Crescent, then right along Stanningley Road, passing the Daisy Inn on the right. Turn left along Elder Road, passing for a former Ebenezer Wesleyan Church on the corner, and follow the road until it ends at Swinnow Road. Finally, turn left to return to the station.
From Bramley, we have one more stop further along the line to make to complete our tour of the City of Leeds, as we visit the town of Pudsey, which has retained rather more of its historic centre than Bramley has…