Whatever the weather might have been like since, the late-June Sunday on which we undertook this walk was very unseasonable.

For one thing there was a chilly if gentle breeze blowing from the North so that every exposed stretch of the route saw the temperature dropping dramatically from that along the still, sheltered part of it.

And it was very misty, so that on a walk which at one point passed within a quarter of a mile of Leeds Bradford Airport and at another overlooked glorious Wharfedale, we could barely see the taking-off planes before they vanished into ground-hugging cloud and the far side of the valley was totally obscured.

Still, it was fine and dry as we set off from the car park at Bramhope and walked along Old Lane briefly before heading south-west on a track just before the sports ground.

Soon we were away from the houses with the airport directly ahead of us and cattle grazing in the fields.

A thin path took us along the side of farm buildings - and reminded us of the importance of wearing trousers rather than shorts at this time of year when everything, including the nettles, is growing so fast - and then we were in open countryside, heading across fields on narrow but obvious green paths to arrive at Occupation Lane, a narrow L-shaped road which links Old Lane to the north with Moor Road running directly south from Bramhope.

Our route, though, continued south-west initially via a grassy track then fields paths to cross the busy Otley Old Road and pass the collection of houses and vehicles of Greengates Farm.

It was here that we went astray, mistaking the direction of a waymark arrow on a tree and turning sharp right up a track instead of going half right down a field. We ended up in the car park of the Yeadon Airport car-boot sale and had to follow the grass verge of the busy A658 Harrogate Road to get to the point we would have arrived at if we'd gone the correct way.

That point was a stile in the dip in the road immediately on the Pool side of the airport, with another stile almost immediately across the road, on the western side.

A field path from here took us up to the pretty little hamlet of Carlton, with its farms and cottages on a sharp bend in the road.

A few yards of pavement walking and we were back in the fields again - first a huge one with a herd of cows and calves lorded over by a massive brown bull, and then fallow fields of fast-growing hay.

Soon we were picking our way through birch woodland along a path that was muddy in parts (though fully negotiable via a slightly higher, narrow path winding through the trees) and brought us out at Yorkgate, which forks off East Chevin Road and heads for the high car park above Otley Chevin.

Our route took us straight across this road and through fields of sheep to drop down to East Chevin Road ultimately alongside a high wall, behind which a large, barking dog followed our unseen progress.

The views across Otley should have been super. Instead we saw mainly mist.

Across the road we were in the Chevin woods, turning east to walk up past the car park and from there follow the broad, clear tracks through the Danefield Estate, where the trees are so much taller and the open spaces so less open than they used to be when we came here regularly with our children more than a quarter of a century ago.

Zigzagging a bit, we eventually left the wood (and its pesky, persistent flies) behind and were donning our jackets to protect us from the chill breeze as we headed along the valley edge to meet Harrogate Road at the top of Pool Bank, cross it with great care, and follow the path between the new houses and then through the fields to rejoin Old Road and head back to Bramhope.

It had been a good leg-stretcher of an outing with plenty of stiles for added exercise, through a nice variety of environments. Just a shame about the low cloud (or was it high mist?).

Step by Step

  1. From car park in Bramhope, walk back up Old Lane past tennis court and bowling club and cross road to follow footpath sign up track to left of sports ground. Swing round with track to metal gate and follow narrow path to right of farm buildings to eventually arrive at stile into field.
  2. Head diagonally across field to a stile and over this keep ahead across corner of big field to another stile, and another across next field. From here go left then right around edge of field and keep on to arrive at Occupation Lane.
  3. Go left here briefly, then right along track. Just before gate with "PRIVATE" sign on it go left over wall stile into field then right to another stile in fence. From this head slightly left down hill to footbridge over stream and climb up other side to meet track again and head for stile by gate into Otley Old Road.
  4. Cross this and walk ahead past buildings of Green Gates Farm. Then just past last building on right don't do as we did and head sharp right up track. Instead follow direction indicated by arrow on tree, going half right down field. Near a stream at bottom, in trees, go right over stile into open field and follow wallside to stile into main road.
  5. Cross with care and go through gate stile to follow path ahead through stiles to arrive at buildings of Home Farm at Carlton and walk between them to road. Turn left. Cross over with care and, swinging right then left follow pavement for a while to where footpath sign points right across middle of large field.
  6. Follow this path to another stile at far side, then follow wallside on right to arrive at stile into wood. Keep ahead, with fence on right. Avoid boggy bit of broad, grassy track by looking for narrow, winding path on slightly higher ground a few feet to left and follow this through trees to Yorkgate. Cross road and go over stile into field, heading for left-hand corner of it and going through gap in tumbled wall on left to turn right to another stile. Over this, head directly down field to stile into East Chevin Road.
  7. Cross over, go left briefly, then go right into wood, following steadily climbing path to far end of car park. Follow main, straight, level track ahead. At junction, go right then curve left to climb to top of wood and follow path to another junction. Here, don't take green, wide route that goes left-ish but instead take next, slightly right main track through trees, ignoring a couple of paths going right off it. At a T-junction, go right then swing left with path, looking for a stile in wall corner on right leading out of wood.
  8. Follow path ahead, between fields, to eventually arrive at Harrogate Road near some houses at top of Old Pool Bank. Cross over with great care and follow footpath sign between newish houses opposite into initially fenced path between fields then open fields with a succession of stiles. Path eventually swings round to right and after final stile continues along straight, enclosed section to meet Old Lane by side of first house along it. Turn left to return to start in Bramhope.
Fact File

  • Set-off point: centre of Bramhope, near Fox and Hounds pub
  • Time for 5-mile walk: two or three hours, depending
  • Going: easy, but be prepared for plenty of stile activity
  • Map: OS Explorer 27 Lower Wharfedale, or Pathfinder 672 Harewood
  • Parking: public car park in Bramhope
  • Refreshments: pub in Bramhope, next to car park
  • Toilets: at Bramhope car park (closed Sundays). None along route