Guiseley is another town-turned-suburb, although it is still more-or-less surrounded by green belt. It is in the City of Leeds, although geographically it is slightly closer to Bradford. It was one of those small towns that could just as easily be a large village, and unlike some of the other nearby towns that we have visited, it feels much less like a former industrial town, perhaps because it is some distance from the banks of the River Aire and no canal passes through it. It has existed since at least 972, when it was known as Gislicleh, and there is evidence in the area of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Saxon settlements, although for some its greatest claim to fame is as the birthplace of what claims to be Britain’s longest established restaurant chain, one best known for its fish and chips. The walk also includes the small village of Esholt, which was originally part of a twelfth-century estate owned by Syningthwaite Priory and is still visited by fans of soap opera Emmerdale (formerly Emmerdale Farm), which was filmed on location in the village from 1976 to 1996.
Guiseley Railway Station was opened by the Midland Railway in 1865; the existing station buildings date from when it was largely reconstructed in 2002. It is located on the Wharfedale Line, which we will be travelling further along in our next leg of the West Riding. We leave the station via the station car park and turn left along Station Road, then follow this to Oxford Road, where directly opposite the former HSBC Bank can be seen, now a restaurant called the Potting Shed. To the right of this, the former Guiseley and Yeadon Coal Company Ltd. Offices can be seen. From here, we turn left and follow Oxford Road, shortly passing Guiseley Baptist Church (built in 1883) on the right, followed a little further along the road by Guiseley Methodist Church on the left. Continue to a mini-roundabout, where Guiseley Cross can be seen on the left, in front of which the village stocks are located. The cross is Grade II-listed and consists of a shaft restored in 1915 on steps dating from the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.
Church of St. Oswald
Continue straight ahead along Queensway, then turn right along a signed public footpath to reach Church Street. Turn right, shortly passing the Church of St. Oswald on the left. This charming Grade I-listed church dates from the late eleventh or early twelfth century, with later additions; it was significantly altered in 1909. It is well worth taking a detour to explore the well-laid out churchyard. Afterwards, continue past the church to a crossroads, where the New Inn can be seen on the right-hand corner. Turn left along The Green, passing the Red Lion on the right, and follow the road until it ends at Leeds Road, just before which Guiseley Theatre can be seen on the left. This was originally Guiseley Town Hall, and was built in 1867; it became a theatre in 1985.
Cross Leeds Road, looking out for the Yorkshire Rose on the left, then continue straight ahead along a footpath to Silverdale Drive. Turn left and follow this, then when it turns right continue straight ahead along a footpath that runs along the edge of a field before entering Spring Wood, which along with three other woods (Belmont wood, Jerrison wood and Sodhall Hill wood) forms Esholt Woods. The larger woods include areas of ancient woodland, and the character changes noticeable as the walk unfolds, with different areas containing different species of trees. When the path ends at a junction, turn left and follow the path under a railway bridge and over a bridge across Guiseley Beck. Immediately turn right and follow a path beside the beck, shortly crossing this via a footbridge. Bear slowly right and follow a path uphill, then just before the path reaches the edge of the woods, turn left and follow a path that slowly loops clockwise before running straight ahead through what is now Jerrison wood. When the path ends, turn left through a stile and walk downhill to High View.
Turn left along High View, then immediately right along Pullan Lane. When this ends in the centre of Esholt, turn left along Main Street, passing the Woolpack public house on the left. This is Grade II-listed and was built c.1830. In fact, it is one of a relatively high number of listed buildings concentrated in the village centre, most of them built as houses. The street ends at a gate, where Esholt Memorial Hall – also Grade II-listed and dating from 1920-1921 – can be seen on the left. Walk through the gate and follow a path through the churchyard of the modest Church of St. Paul (Grade II-listed and dating from 1840-1842), eventually leaving via the main gate. Follow Church Lane until it ends at a junction, then turn left along Chapel Lane. At a fork, bear right along Cunliffe Lane, which soon becomes a track and then a footpath; stay on this until it ends at Hollins Hill.
Cross the road and continue straight ahead along Lamb Springs Lane, following this when it turns left and then turning right along a waymarked footpath, which soon reaches a drive. Continue straight ahead uphill, taking a detour to the right to see Hollins Hall, which is a now a hotel. Continue straight ahead along a waymarked public footpath across Bradford Golf Course, following the path as it bends left and right several times before ending at a junction. The lengthy next section of the walk crosses the golf course, and at times the holes are situated such that great care must be taken to watch out for flying golf balls! Turn left and follow a path to Willow Lane, then turn right and follow this across the top half of the golf course, passing the Golf Club house on the right and eventually reaching Hawksworth Lane.
Turn right and then immediately left along Thorpe Lane. Look out for a gate on the left and pass through this to gain a footpath that runs through trees next to the lane all the way until it eventually ends at a roundabout; to the left, there are fine views of the former High Royds Hospital at Menston, which we will be seeing up close when we start exploring the City of Bradford metropolitan borough. On reaching roundabout, cross the road, looking out for the Wetherby Whaler opposite; this was opened as a fish and chip by Harry Ramsden in 1931, and in 1968 doubled in size to become the largest fish and chip shop in the world. Harry Ramsden’s is the aforementioned restaurant chain that claims to be the longest established in Britain. A blue plaque on the front of the building commemorates the life of eponymous restauranteur Ramsden, who was born in 1888 and died in 1963.
The Wetherby Whaler
Turn right and follow Otley Road, passing the White Cross Hotel on the right. Shortly after this, look out for a former tram shed, also on the right, which is Grade II-listed and was built for Leeds City Tramways, probably c.1909. Continue along the road, passing Nethermoor Park on the left, which is home to Guiseley Bowling Club, Guiseley AFC, and Guiseley Cricket Club. Just after this, turn left along Morton Terrace, and at the end of this bear right along a path that ends at Station Road. Cross straight ahead to return to the train station.
Guiseley completes our tour of railway stations in the City of Leeds, but hardly our tour of the West Riding of Yorkshire. For the next part, we return to Leeds and then head back out along the Leeds-Bradford line, to visit the city at the other end of it, as we enter the City of Bradford…
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