Burley is just a stone’s throw from Leeds City Centre, less than hour’s walk along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Like most suburbs, it started life as a village: a settlement has existed there since at least 1195, when it was named Burteg, and its name is derived from the Old English words burh meaning “fortification” and lēah meaning an “open space in woodland”. It existed as a village until the Industrial Revolution, and although traces of the original village linger, the area is now primarily a mix of Victorian terrace houses and modern blocks of flats, mostly providing student accommodation. This walk (which I’ve named after the station rather than the suburb) crosses the River Aire twice, as well as following a lengthy section of the canal, both of which still have surviving mills along their banks.
Burley Park Railway Station opened on the Harrogate Line in 1988, on the site of an earlier station named Royal Gardens. Royal Gardens station was opened in 1849 (along with the Harrogate Line) to serve the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens, and closed along with the zoo in 1858. From the station, we turn left along Ashville Road, then at the end turn right along Cardigan Road, through an area of Victorian terrace houses. Shortly, the walk takes us past the former Church of St. Margaret on the right, and not long afterwards the former Burley Branch Library on the left. The red brick former church (which is now used as an arts centre) was built in 1908-1909 and is Grade II*-listed, whilst the neo-Georgian library – which is Grade II-listed – dates from 1926. Just after the latter, turn left and follow Back Albert Terrace between Burley Lodge park on the left and a row of terrace houses on the right. When Back Albert Terrace ends at Autumn Grove, turn right and then left along Burley Lodge Road and follow it until it ends at Woodsley Road.
Turn left and follow the road up the hill, then turn right along Westfield Crescent. Walk straight ahead along a path that leads into Rosebank Millennium Green, then bear right with the path and follow it alongside Rosebank Road, eventually continuing straight ahead between trees and then turning right down steps to Hollis Place. At the bottom of this road, turn left and follow Burley Road, staying on it as it curves slightly to the right and becomes Burley Street. Immediately after passing Sentinel Towers (a large, modern block of student accommodation), turn right and follow a path downhill to Rutland Street, where The Highland Pub can be seen on the corner.
Walk down Bingley Street to Kirkstall Road, then turn left. Cross over at the next pedestrian crossing, continuing straight ahead to cross Wellington Street. Follow this as it bends right and becomes Wellington Road, crossing Wellington Bridge over the River Aire. Shortly after this, it crosses the Leeds and Liverpool Canal via Wellington Road Bridge No. 225D (to use the canal’s bridge numbering system); here, turn right to descend a ramp leading to the towpath and then turn right. Prior to joining the towpath, take a short detour over the bridge to see the Roundhouse and the Half Roundhouse on the left-hand side of Wellington Road.
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is Grade II*-listed and is a former engine house completed in 1847 for the Leeds and Thirks Railway Company. Its Grade II-listed semi-circular neighbour also dates from the mid-nineteenth century and was built as a heavy engineering repair shed.
Follow the towpath, shortly passing Castleton Mill on the opposite bank. Just past this, the canal reaches Oddy Locks Numbers 4 and 5 (the first of several double locks we shall encounter on several walks that include parts of the canal) and a little further along, Spring Gardens Lock No. 6. The next bridge is a railway viaduct carrying the Harrogate Line (Bridge No. 225C), after which the canal passes under Canal Road Bridge No. 225A (Bridge No. 225B has long since been demolished, and no obvious signs of it remain). Just after this, a gap in the wall next to the towpath leads to Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, which is well worth a visit. The Grade II*-listed mill complex was originally a corn mill, then a wool mill, and boasts a surviving water wheel fed by the large weir nearby on the River Aire.
Continue past the Industrial Museum, passing beneath Armley Mill Bridge No. 225, and next pass under another railway viaduct, Bridge No. 224A. Cross a towpath bridge over one entrance to Aire Valley Marina, a linear marina that can be viewed through the chain link fence next to the towpath along the next stretch of canal. The next towpath bridge is the marina’s other entrance, after which the canal reaches Redcote Bridge No. 224; do not pass under this, but leave the towpath via the ramp leading up to Redcote Lane, which crosses the bridge, and then turn right.
At the next junction, turn right and then left and left again to follow Redcote Lane around an electricity substation, then turn right and follow the road under a railway bridge. Just past this, on the left, is the entrance to Kirkstall valley nature reserve. Visit this if you wish; otherwise, continue along Redcote Lane, shortly crossing a bridge over the River Aire, until it ends at Kirkstall Road. Here, turn right and follow the road past the Cardigan Arms on the left.
The Cardigan Arms
Named after local landowner the Earl of Cardigan, this Grade II-listed public house dates from 1893 and has a blue plaque on its exterior declaring its status as a Joshua Tetley Heritage Inn. Cross over at the next pedestrian crossing and continue to follow the road to The Rising Sun. Like the Cardigan Arms, this pub – built in 1897 – is Grade II-listed, but unlike its near neighbour it is currently closed and boarded up. Turn left in front of it and follow a path past Burley Green, and at the top of this turn left along another path to reach the Church of St. Matthias. This is the second Grade II*-listed church on the walk, and was built in 1854 with a porch added in 1886.
Walk past the church to St. Matthias’ Terrace, turn right and follow it to Burley Road, and then turn right again. Just before the road passes under a railway bridge, turn left to enter Burley Park, continuing straight ahead past the first left turn, but taking the second. Take the third right turn and walk to the band stand, then turn left and leave the park on Cardigan Lane. Directly opposite, Burley Methodist Church can be seen; this Grade II-listed Wesleyan Methodist Church was built in 1897-1898, and the adjacent church hall is also Grade II-listed. Finally, we turn right and follow Cardigan Lane, which becomes Ashville Road, and then turn left to return to the railway station.
If Burley is a suburb that retains much of its industrial heritage, our next stop is one that has long been – and remains – resolutely residential. And so we continue along the Harrogate Line a short distance to Headingley…
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