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WELCOME TO WEST RIDING AREA
Welcome to the website of the West Riding Area of the Ramblers’ Association. The West
Riding Area takes its name from the days when Yorkshire was divided into three “ridings” a West Riding, North Riding and East Riding. The
territory which the West Riding Area looks after on behalf of its members and the walking community is centred on Leeds and Bradford, and
extends from Ingleton to Pontefract, and from Holmfirth to Wensleydale.
The landscape of the West Riding Area is attractive and varied. There are the high Pennine
hills and moors, and these are incised by attractive steep-sided and well-wooded valleys. On lower ground there is a well-cultivated
undulating landscape, much of which is surprisingly enjoyable when explored on foot. A great bonus of being in West Yorkshire is that there
is attractive scenery on the doorstep of all the large towns, so there is no need to travel far for a good country walk. There are also many
major scenic attractions, and these include The Three Peaks, Malham Cove, Fountains Abbey (a world heritage site), the Bronte Moors, and
Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge.
There is an extensive programme of walks exploring this attractive countryside, with
distances to suit all capabilities. On Saturdays and Sundays several walks are organised, and there are also walks on weekdays. Monthly coach
rambles often visit places further afield. The popular Take A Hike Group organises walks and social events for members in their 20s and
30s.
The West Riding Area of the Ramblers’Association does a vital job for the walking
community in protecting the footpaths and countryside in its territory. The footpath work it undertakes does much to ensure that the network
of rights of way is kept unobstructed and easy to use, and it liaises with other organisations to protect green lanes from illegal use by
motorised vehicles. It is campaigning for a much-needed bridge over the River Wharfe at Burley-in-Wharfedale, and for the long overdue
replacement of the bridge across the River Nidd at Skewkirk near Tockwith. The West Riding Area was at the forefront of the successful
national campaign for access to the open countryside, and now walkers for most of the year can roam freely on the extensive moors of the
South Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales. The West Riding Area also works for an attractive countryside for walkers, monitors planning proposals
and is currently opposing the proposed opencast coal mine at Ledston east of Leeds. |
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CELEBRATE THE DALES WAY’S FORTIETH BY WALKING IT!
For all of the walks, except the first one on
25th April, the coach will leave
the Old Bridge at Ilkley at 9.30am and
return there at the end of each walk.
The coach fare for each stage of the
walk will be £12. To book a seat,
send your details and a cheque to the
Dales Way Association PO Box 1065
Bradford BD1 9JY.
Saturday 25 April
Ilkley Old Bridge to Bolton Abbey 7
miles (shuttle bus return to Ilkley will
be available)
Saturday 16 May
Bolton Abbey to Grassington 10 miles
Saturday 6th June
Grassington to Buckden 11 miles
Saturday 27th June
Buckden to Gearstones 12 miles
Saturday 11th July
Gearstones to Sedbergh 14 miles
Saturday 25th July
Sedbergh to Grayrigg 12 miles
Saturday 15th August
Grayrigg to Staveley 8 miles
Saturday 12th September
Staveley to Bowness 7 miles
THREE BOOKS FOR £5
The following West Riding Area books are available
for £2 each, plus £1 postage, or for £5 (plus £1.50
postage) for all three:
• Ramblers Bradford: 20 walks in the Bradford
Metropolitan District
• The Wakefield Way: a 75 mile walking route around
the Wakefield Metropolitan District linked to 24
enjoyable circular walks
• Ramblers Leeds Volume 2 West of Leeds: excellent
for walks to Fulneck, Cragg Wood, Caley Crags and
many other delightful paces close to Leeds
To take advantage of this offer, contact John Lieberg, 11 Woodroyd Avenue, Honley, Holmfirth,
Huddersfield, HD9 6LG
Miss the postage charge by visiting the Ramblers’
stall at Otley Show on Saturday 16th May. Both the
new Harrogate books (Country Walks Around Harrogate
Volume 1 East and Volume 2 West) are close to
selling out! Extra coppies of Volume 1 East are
being printed. Another Area publication that has
been very successful recently is “Kiddiwalks” which
has sold consistently
NOW JUMP THIS!
Ramblers are used to jumping stepping stones (on the
very rare occasions when the water is low enough) to
cross the River Wharfe at Burley in Wharfedale. Many
more hurdles will now have to be jumped as a result
of Harrogate Council’s response to West Riding
Area’s pre-planning enquiry for the much needed
bridge. The proposed bridge is basically just an
improvement of an existing right of way between
Burley and Askwith to ensure that it can be used
throughout the year, and one might have hoped for a
much more supportive attitude towards the project on
the part of the local authority.
Harrogate Council (the planning authority for the
north side of the river) has stated in its response
to the RA’s application for the bridge at Greenholme
stepping stones that detailed additional information
must be submitted in the formal planning
application. This includes “a construction
methodology”, “plans and supporting information
associated with the hard landscaping of the bridge
including the effect this will have on flood risk
implications and visual landscape implications”,
“details of the walled approach to the south and new
ramped access”, “cross/longitudinal sections of the
river at present and proposed sections of the river
showing the changes to the gradient of the river
bank as a comparison”, “photomontages of the
proposed bridge in situ from various viewpoints”,
“outline considerations of disabled users and
implications for design including such information
as required gradient, delineating walkway for
visually impaired, suitable surfacing and other
issues arising”.
Additionally in its response, Harrogate Council has
included comments on the bridge plans from its
Landscape Officer, Rural Strategy Officer, and the
Joint Advisory Committee for Nidderdale AONB. The
Rural Strategy Officer states that “a biodiversity
study identifying what is currently on the river
bank would need to be submitted as part of the
planning application”, and an “ecological study
should be submitted identifying such species as
Crayfish, Kingfishers, Otters among others”. The
landowner of the river bank has already been
contacted and has withheld agreement for the study.
Fortunately, a substantial amount of relevant data
from secondary sources is obtainable.
A further letter (February 2009) from a Harrogate
Council planning officer contains the grim warning:
“Clearly the agreement of landowners will be the key
to the success of the project. Therefore, I would
strongly advise that agreement should be sought from
the landowners concerned at this stage”. A meeting
with Harrogate Council is being arranged.
The response of Bradford Council Planning Services
to the Ramblers’ proposals has been more supportive
and helpful, and indicates a number of issues which
require “background submissions” in greater depth.
It is thought that all of these issues can be
satisfactorily addressed in the formal application.
Bradford has also indicated the need for drawings to
show the effects of the retaining wall on visual
amenity.
The bridge’s design has been determined by the
Environment Agency’s requirement that the bridge
must be higher than a once in a hundred years flood.
Thus there is no alternative to the bridge being
designed as a substantial structure, not only high
above the river and on a high ramp at the southern
end but extending across the flood plain at the
northern side. The Ramblers’ Association considers
that, given these constraints, its consultant
engineers, Hutchinson Whitlam Associates of Ilkley,
have designed a bridge for the site that is an
attractive, well-designed, low maintenance solution
to crossing the river and its flood plain.
In a consultation exercise two years ago, it was
suggested that the appearance of the proposed bridge
was incompatible with the rural ambience of the
Greenholme site. The design of the bridge has
subsequently been revised to achieve a better fit
with the local scene, and the sides will now be
built of steel cables. It is difficult to envisage
how the bridge can be made more rural, apart from
attaching a few floral patterns here and there. In
the last analysis a bridge is a bridge. The sides of
the bridge will now be very similar to those of the
much commended new footbridge at Castleford.
The decision to draw up plans for a bridleway bridge
as opposed to a footbridge was made on the advice of
the local authority rights of way officers and not
through any lobbying by horse rider and cycling
groups. The design of the bridge as a bridleway
bridge makes scarcely any difference to its size or
appearance in comparison to a footbridge. The
Environment Agency has stated that a footbridge
would have to be the same height above the river as
a bridleway bridge. A bridleway bridge adds to the
width of the structure, and the width has been
further increased by the design decision to keep
walkers and horse riders separate. This will
increase the safety of walkers and also provide a
viewing terrace that should be much appreciated. The
width of the bridge is of course only noticeable if
one looks along it from either end.
The site of the bridge at the stepping stones at
Greenholme is by far the best available because it
is already on a right of way, and links well with
rights of way on both sides of the river. To the
north of the river, two paths (one a bridleway) go
up the hill to Askwith and from there to the
Washburn Valley, and at the south side of the river
there is the bridleway to Burley which already has
an underpass beneath the by-pass. Other sites for
the bridge were examined in detail. Plans submitted
by the Burley Bridge Association for a bridge on the
weir just upstream from the stepping stones at
Greenholme were approved, and planning permission
renewed, but the project has foundered because of
the impossibility of obtaining footpath creation
orders to link the bridge with the nearby footpath
and bridleway. Sites further downstream were also
looked at carefully, but none makes a link with the
rights of way network. The possibility of a bridge
providing a route from Burley to Weston was
explored, but the landowner was unsupportive, and
the link with the footpath network not as good as
from Greenholme.
The West Riding Area of the Ramblers’ Association
discussed the project in detail at its Executive
Committee meetings of October 2008 and January 2009.
The Executive Committee meeting remains convinced
the project will be of great benefit to walkers from
a wide area, and there is little doubt that
Burley-in-Wharfedale will be a very popular starting
point for walks as soon as a bridge over the Wharfe
is built there. At its January meeting, Executive
Committee agreed to continue with preparation of the
planning application, provided expenditure on
dealing with the issues raised by the planning
authorities stays within the budget, and the
ecological and biodiversity surveys are dealt with
before further substantial expenditure is incurred.
This decision is likely to be reviewed in view of
Harrogate Council’s latest letter.
Residents of Burley would gain substantial benefit
from a bridge over the River Wharfe close to the
village. No longer would they live within a stone’s
throw of an Area of Outstanding Beauty but be unable
to reach it without going miles round. Burley’s
footpath network would be effectively doubled, as
the footpaths north of the river would be available
for use throughout the year as opposed to the rare
occasions when the stepping stones are above water.
There would also be attractive river views from the
bridge throughout the year.
The need for a crossing over the River Wharfe in
Lower Wharfedale has been included in the Rights of
Way Improvement Plans of both Bradford Council and
North Yorkshire County Council. The campaign for a
bridge over the River Wharfe goes back to 1898 when
the former Burley Urban District Council minutes
record: ”That the Wharfedale RDC be asked if they
will take steps along with Burley UDC to get a
footbridge over the River Wharfe at Greenholme,
seeing that accidents have already occurred, one
lately proving fatal.”
There has been a mixed response from voluntary
organisations to the plans for a bridge. Recent
contact with Sustrans has led to the comment that
“The bridge would link a popular cycle route between
Burley and Ilkley if land negotiations permitted but
we are not engaged in any route development work
here at the present time”. Those who feel the
organisation might be more appropriately called
Susbike will have had their opinion confirmed. It is
understood that a local branch of the Council for
the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) is less
than enthusiastic about the project even though the
proposed bridge is as minimal as Environment Agency
requirements permit. In contrast, the British Horse
Society has been very helpful and given valuable
advice in the design of a bridge that will be
suitable for horse riders as well as walkers. The
Burley Bridge Association has given tremendous
support in every way including financially, and the
two organisations continue to work closely together.
When the planning application is submitted, it will
be made jointly by the Ramblers’ Association and the
Burley Bridge Association.
Letters of support for a bridge at Burley were
signed by 2518 RA members in 1997. A survey of
residents in Burley was undertaken in 1998 and
revealed that there were between four and five
people in favour of the bridge to every person
against. It is hard to see how residents of Burley
and Askwith who oppose the project are going to have
the peaceful enjoyment of their properties affected
by a few extra walkers when the bridge is built.
Some horse riders have objected to the ford being
extinguished when the bridge is built. However, a
bridge that horse riders can use throughout the year
has to be a good swap for a ford that is in poor
condition and frequently too flooded to use. A
bridge will be particularly valuable for novice
horse riders.
The cost of the bridge is likely to be in the region
of £1 million at present prices. The intention is to
fund the building of the bridge and its maintenance
from public subscription and applications for
grants, and nothing is being asked from the local
authorities except support and encouragement.
KW
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY DISPELS WORST FEARS
West Riding Area has been in gentle membership
decline for several years. In September 2005, the
Area membership was 4673, a year later it was 4543,
and by September 2007 it had gone down to 4498. By
the end of September 2008 the figure was down to
4427. At the end of January 2009, it was 4391. This
trend has led to fears that with an ageing
membership the Area’s numbers might soon go into
meltdown. The good news is that evidence from the
Membership Survey and other sources indicates that
meltdown is unlikely to happen in the near future.
But there are demanding challenges ahead, if
membership numbers are to be sustained.
Many thanks to the 210 people who responded to the
Survey in January’s West Riding Rambler. The
questionnaire was completed by over 4.7% of the
membership, a good return considering respondents
were required to donate stamp and envelope (nearly
all postal surveys enclose an s.a.e.). I do not know
with what confidence the returns can be regarded as
an accurate random sample, but I have no reason to
think that it isn’t fairly reliable. This age
profile was particularly interesting. Less than 10%
of the Area’s membership is under age 55 (compare
this to the RA’s national figure of 22% of members
under 50), and 17% is between age 55 and 59, and 23%
between 60 and 64. Nearly 30% of the Area’s
membership is between 65 and 74, and over 20% is age
75 or more. The average (mean) age is just under 66.
This age profile may at first glance appear a cause
for serious concern, but there are some factors that
should allay worst fears to some extent. A
particularly interesting trend revealed by the
survey (which admittedly might be cited with greater
confidence if there had been a higher response rate)
is that almost a third of members aged 55 to 59 and
60 to 64 had been in the RA for 5 years or less. Our
fairly elderly age profile seems to be partly as a
result of recruiting a substantial number of new
members in their 50s and 60s! This is welcome news.
Members in these older age categories are very
important; they are experienced people who
frequently take on RA responsibilities as officers
and walk leaders, and most of them are strong
walkers too. There is a powerful hint from this Area
membership survey that we should be focusing our
recruitment policy at least much on the over 50s as
on the under 40s.
Members in their 50s, 60s and 70s are also likely to
remain with us for many years. I used the Actuarial
Life Table for 2004 (the latest available on the
internet) to attempt to calculate what the present
membership might look like in another 10 years time
(if it was increased by no new members at all). This
calculation involved a few assumptions and guesses.
Respondents to the survey were not asked whether
they were male or female, so I had to average the
respective life expectancy rates (whatever the age,
the female life expectancy is always higher - even
at 65 by over 3 years!). As I had asked people’s age
within a five year age band, I took the midway
figure (e.g. age 52, 57 etc.). Using this method,
and making a few well informed guesses, I reckon
that no more than about a third of present members
will have been lost to natural wastage by year 2019.
This of course assumes that all our members will
continue to renew their subscriptions. Some light is
shed on this assumption by responses to a further
question in the Membership Survey: “Do you intend to
continue your Ramblers’ Association membership for
the next few years?” The astonishing evidence is
that over 95% were intending to continue their
membership – a tremendous testimony of support!
However, it isn’t all good news, because there is
also a big leakage of new members. I understand that
this is a general trend throughout the RA.
Information supplied from Central Office shows that
West Riding Area has lost virtually 60% of the
members who joined between 1st Jan 2006 and 31st
December 2006 (415 joined, 169 remained). The
pattern seems to be that a large number of new
members leave in their first year or two, but the
longer they stay as members, the longer they
continue to stay. So, despite the massive leakage of
new members, provided we recruit about 400 new
members every year, and keep about 40% of them,
recruitment should be in sufficient numbers to
offset natural wastage.
This, however, is a recipe for complacency. To
attract new members (which isn’t easy), and then to
lose one third of them not long after they have
joined may be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose
nearly two thirds of them really does smack of
carelessness. One thing that we might consider is
that we try to attract new members on the grounds
that we are a “campaigning organisation” and not
just a walking club, yet, having said this, we
perhaps do not readily involve new members in
footpath and access work.
KW
JUST PUBLISHED BY WEST RIDING AREA OF THE RAMBLERS' ASSOCIATION!
COUNTRY WALKS AROUND HARROGATE VOLUME 2 WEST by
Douglas Cossar 2008 ISBN 978-1-906494-03-2
"COUNTRY WALKS AROUND HARROGATE VOLUME 2 WEST"
24 WALKS IN THE ATTRACTIVE COUNTRYSIDE OF NIDDEDALE, WASHBURN VALLEY AND SURROUNDINGS OF HARROGATE
AVAILABLE FROM BOOKSHOPS AT £5.50 (ISBN 978-1-906494-03-2)
DALES WAY’S FORTIETH BIRTHDAY
It’s just 40 years since a small group of walkers, members of the West Riding Area of the Ramblers’ Association, launched what was to become one of Britain’s most popular long distance footpaths - the Dales Way.
The germ of the idea came as a result of the 1968 Countryside Act which offered local authorities powers to create new public access areas alongside footpaths and canals. It was realised that this could have real advantages in an area like the Yorkshire Dales with its many streams and rivers.
Discussions with planning officers in the old West Riding County Council convinced the ramblers that to make any progress one river should be prioritised and opportunities examined. The obvious candidate was the scenically beautiful River Wharfe, and from this the idea emerged of to have a continuous Wharfedale walking route, on rights of way with gaps filled by new access agreements, from Ilkley on the edge of the Dales to its source on Cam Fell above Langstrothdale.
But Cam Fell seemed too remote a place to end a walk, so the idea emerged to link it with Dentdale and ramble on towards Sedbergh. But from Sedbergh the next logical step was to take it up little known Lunesdale to the old Yorkshire boundary at Crook of Lune and then across a series of gentle valleys formed by the rivers Mint, Sprint and Kent to reach eventually the shores of Windermere in the heart of the Lake District National Park.
So the concept of the Dales Way was born. The route was surveyed initially by Fleur and Colin Speakman in the summer of 1968 to produce a draft route. This led to further survey work by a group of Venture Scouts and finally the first short route description published in a pamphlet by the Ramblers in May 1969. This was followed by a public walk over the first seven miles of the Dales Way from Ilkley Old Bridge to Bolton Abbey attended by 120 people.
From that moment onwards the Dales Way took off. At least ten guidebooks have been published, several maps, an Annual Handbook with accommodation, travel tips and news of changes to the route, including several new sections that have been incorporated over the years to eliminate much of the road walking. Additional link paths were negotiated, providing attractive walks trails from Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate to the Dales Way.
A survey in the 1990s indicated that the Dales Way was now the fourth most popular walking route in Britain with an estimated 4000 people per year walking the route. It has also benefited the local economy as walkers spend their money in guest houses, camp sites and local inns, shop and cafes.
In 1991 the Dales Way Association was formed, an organisation which brought together walkers and accommodation providers – its first Secretary and its current President is Frank Sanderson, who at the time ran a hotel in Bowness at the end of the Dales Way, its Chairman Colin Speakman who had pioneered the route in 1968, and its long serving Treasurer and later Secretary was David Smith. David, who embodied the work of the Association and produced its regular lively newsletter, sadly died in 2008.
Though the first aim of the Association was to have the Dales Way confirmed as a national trail, an aim yet to be achieved, the route is now recognised and supported by both the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national park authorities. It is now seen as an outstanding example of sustainable tourism, helping to support the national economy whilst inflicting least damage on the very special environment of the Dales. Many people have walked the Dales Way several times, often at different times of the year, and many others say it was walking this route that ignited their love of walking. Designed as a relatively gentle, predominantly riverside route, with plenty of local accommodation and facilities, it proves a perfect introduction to the pleasures of long distance walking. Several companies now offer a baggage carrying service along the Way to save the hassle of carrying a heavy rucksack between overnight stops.
The vision that West Riding Ramblers had in the 1960s has, in ways they could hardly imagine, become reality as people discover and rediscover the special, enduring magic of the Dales Way.
To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Dales Way, the Dales Way Association and the West Riding Area of the Ramblers’ Association are organising an Anniversary Walk, to which all are invited, to cover the entire route in day stages over the spring and summer of 2009. The first stage will be on 25th April, and it will be led, as was the first walk in 1969, by Colin Speakman. This date is within a few days of the anniversary of the first walk in May 1969, and walkers will meet at 0930 at the historic bridge in Ilkley where the Dales Way starts. A special shuttle bus will be provided to get walkers back from Bolton Abbey at the end of the hike. Dales Way Association members will subsequently hold their AGM at Bolton Abbey.
Colin Speakman
NEW BOOK OF WALKS PUBLISHED
Yet another splendid book of walks was published by west riding area recently when “country walks around harrogate volume 2 west” by douglas cossar went on sale this summer.
Most of the walks are in Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley. And what better way of exploring this beautiful and easily accessible part of the Yorkshire Dales than by using Douglas’s excellent book!
The book contains 24 enjoyable walks, all with clear descriptions and sketch maps. In addition, there are many attractive photographs of places of interest en route. The area is full of interest – whether it be stunning natural features such as Brimham Rocks and Guise Cliff, or a host of historical attractions which include packhorse bridges, ancient churches, village stocks, former industrial sites, and John o’ Gaunt’s Castle in Haverah Park. And of course one of the walks goes over the Adamson Memorial Bridge, erected in the Washburn Valley by the Ramblers’ Association in 1967.
Not all the walks are in Nidderdale or the Washburn Valley - there are several right on Harrogate’s doorstep. One sets out from the Valley Gardens in the middle of Harrogate and takes walkers to Harlow Carr Gardens and the less well-known Birk Crag. Among other enjoyable local walks is one that explores the Upper Crimple Valley (it’s hard to believe a large town is a mere three miles away), and another that provides a linear route with fine views to local landmark, Almscliff Crag.
Nearly all of the walks are of four, five, or six miles, ideal for a half day, but a small number of them are of seven or eight miles, good for a whole day walk at a leisurely pace. The book retails at £5.50 (twenty four walks for £5.50 – that’s brilliant value!). Available from local bookshops and outdoor shops, or from John Lieberg, our Area Publications Officer. Thinking of a Christmas present for a valued friend or relative?
The book is a companion volume to “Country Walks Around Harrogate Volume 1 East” by Douglas Cossar, published at the end of last year and selling well.
Douglas Cossar has now written or co-authored ten excellent walks books for West Riding Area. They have been a boon to walkers, and have done much to popularise our local paths. West Riding Area owes Douglas a considerable debt and many thanks.
KW
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