Glasshoughton is just to the south of Castleford, of which it is effectively a suburb. Before that, it was a separate village called Glass Houghton, although it doesn’t seem to have much pre-Industrial Revolution history; no Domesday Book entries for this West Riding settlement. It seems to have arisen around its quarries, glassworks and the mining industry, all of which have disappeared to be replaced by a large retail and leisure park dominated by a huge outdoor centre with an indoor ski slope. What few traces of the village of Glass Houghton remain consist largely of single main street, on either side of which residential properties have proliferated into the surrounding countryside. In truth, there is little of great note to see here, but despite Glasshoughton’s current make-up, this walk isn’t entirely urban and suburban, as it takes in woods and fields before returning through Pontefract Park.
Glasshoughton station only opened in 2005, largely to serve the surrounding leisure and retail businesses and was reportedly so busy that its usage widely exceeded projections, happily more than justifying its existence. As one might expect from a small modern station, it has the familiar twin platform design with waiting shelters and little else, and is reached by steps and ramps leading up to the bridge over the railway line. Having ascended to this bridge, we turn right and cross it, then turn right again and follow a scrub-lined path that runs parallel with the railway – ignoring any turn offs – until it ends at Leeds Road. Here, turn right over the level crossing and follow the road to a roundabout, then turn left (still on Leeds Road) and walk to the next roundabout. In the middle of the roundabout is a large sculpture, The Wheel of Light, which incorporates a pit wheel and is another mining memorial, this one dedicated to the miners of Glasshoughton.
The Wheel of Light.
We continue straight on at the roundabout, staying on Leeds Road and shortly passing Glasshoughton Working Men’s Club on the right, then when the road ends at another roundabout, we turn right and follow Front Street. This is the only part of Glasshoughton vaguely suggestive of a former village, with a small row of shops near the roundabout, and a string of pubs as we proceed along Front Street, including the Royal Oak public house on the corner, shortly followed by The Malt Shovel and The Houghton, both on the left. At the next roundabout, look out for the George V Working Man’s Club on the right, then turn left and follow Holywell Lane. Turn right into Hawthorne Avenue, and when this bends left, continue straight ahead along a signed public footpath into Holywell Wood.
We now enter more scenic surroundings, although the walk never strays far from housing. Stay on the public footpath as it snakes through the wood, which has trees that have clearly once been coppiced and was once home to the eponymous Holy Well, long since dried up. Sand quarrying also took place in the wood, and a former quarry can briefly be glimpsed between trees as we follow the path. Eventually, we leave the wood at the edge of a field and at a public footpath sign, turn left and follow the path between two fields. As of 2023, the public right of way here has been realigned, a fact not yet reflected by the Ordnance Survey maps of the area. The path reaches almost to Spittal Hardwick Lane, then turns right and runs between the road and the field, eventually bearing left and ending at the curb side. Turn right and continue along Spittal Hardwick Lane, shortly passing under the M62, then just before reaching Hales Court, turn right to follow another signed footpath.
Follow the path uphill through trees and then between high hedges with fields on either side. So dense are the hedges – even in winter months – that little can be seen beyond them, giving the impression of walking through a green tunnel. The path turns sharp left at a group of boulders and continues between hedges, before entering trees again and ending at Lake View. Follow this and continue straight ahead at a crossroads to follow Skinner Lane, which is shortly joined by De Lacy Way. Stay on Skinner Lane, which shortly crosses a level crossing, and just before reaching a bridge under a second railway line, turn right and follow a path running between a housing development on the right and a football ground on the left. At a T-junction, we briefly overlap with our previous walk around Pontefract, as we turn left then right along Beechnut Lane and follow it to Park Lane. On this occasion, we do not turn left towards Pontefract Tanshelf sation, but rather cross over and bear right into Pontefract Park.
Pontefract Park was established as a public park as early as 1780, and was once much larger than it is now. It incorporates Pontefract Racecourse, with horse racing apparently predating the park (it is recorded as taking place since at least 1648) and the Grandstand being built in 1802.
Pontefract Racecourse.
The racecourse became the longest continuous flat racing course in Europe in 1983 and needless o say, consideration should be given race times before setting out on this walk! We follow the main drive into the park (there is a leisure centre with a café and toilets on the right), taking an optional detour to the right to visit the large lake with its abundance of waterfowl. Otherwise, we stay on the drive and just before it reaches the Grandstand, we turn left along a path that loops behind the building and then follows the outside edge of the park. This path eventually bends right on reaching the M62, shortly after which we turn left and follow the path under the motorway, continuing straight ahead on the other side. Finally, the path reaches a car park; here, turn right and cross the bridge back over the railway track to return to the station.
Glasshoughton concludes our walks from railway stations on the Pontefract Line, and so we now head back to Wakefield. Before we get there however, there is one more stop to make between Castleford and Wakefield Kirkgate, at a station on the Hallam Line…
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