Starting Point - Pannel Station. Finishing Point - Church Fenton Station. Distance - 21 Miles
This route was one of several in the area closed during the Beeching cuts of the 1960s despite serving some sizeable towns, in this case Wetherby and Tadcaster. More about the history of the line can be read on the Wikipedia article. Much of the route from the outskirts of Harrogate to Tadcaster is now a cycle route. With the distance a bit much for a walk and with many stretches on nearby roads rather than the trackbed I did this route on bike.
The route left the surviving Harrogate to Leeds line east of Crimple Viaduct between Hornbeam Park and Pannal. That surviving Leeds line goes around a tight curve and the site of the junction can be seen from passing trains. In winter when the vegetation is thin Prospect Tunnel that it entered just after the junction can be seen (also worth looking out for in the winter months is the former line to the original Harrogate Brunswick station on the other side of the viaduct and just beyond Hornbeam Park station). That tunnel is on private land, to pick the route up I took a train to Pannal station and cycled on Follifoot Road / Pannal Road. Just before it meets John Metcalf Way a footpath goes off to the south east following the trackbed.
Open Street Map this shows the footpath on the trackbed (dotted red line) which isn't shown on the Google Map.
This only follows the trackbed for a short distance before popping out on to Haggs Road which can be followed in to Spofforth. The old maps show that the railway passed under the road in a cutting, this is now filled and there is no sign of the bridge.
Worth a look in Spofforth is Spofforth Castle. Converted from an existing manor house in the 14th Century by Henry de Percy. It was ruined in the Civil War. More can be read about the castle on the Wikipedia article.
Behind the castle a railway bridge can be seen, the trackbed is still in private hands at this point. The trackbed has also been redeveloped through the village, not surprisingly Station Court occupies the former station site. The route can be re-joined on the southern edge of the village on East Park Road where the Wetherby Railway Path cycle route commences.
Below - Railway bridge behind Spofforth Castle.
Below - Spofforth Castle.
The next stop after Spofforth was Wetherby. Here a triangular junction connected the Harrogate - Church Fenton route to the also closed line to Crossgates. The station was on the south side of the triangle where services from Leeds to Harrogate and north through Ripon and Northallerton could call.
Below - The site of Wetherby West Junction. The curve from the Harrogate direction came in on the right and the curve towards Church Fenton is behind me on the left.
Below - The site of Wetherby station today. On the right the access from the bridge can be seen.
Below - Continuing beyond Wetherby station the bridge carrying Linton Road can be seen. There are proposals to convert the Wetherby - Leeds route to a cycle route.
Below - Returning to the Church Fenton route, here is the site of Wetherby West Junction seen from the direction of the station. Harrogate was on the left and Church Fenton on the right. The pointed rock in the centre is known as the Devil's Toenail.
From the site of Wetherby East Junction a little detour is along the roads is necessary as subsequent property development has encroached on the railway.
Wetherby originally had a station close to Wetherby East Junction, this closed in 1902 following the opening of the station on the south side of the triangular junction. The goods yard remained in use until 1964 and the goods shed survives as a music venue called The Engine Shed.
East of here Freeman's Way has been built on the trackbed, at the end of this road the cycle route on the former trackbed resumes.
Leaving Wetherby the racecourse can be seen on the left. A station was built here and some wooden fencing that probably relates to the old station can be seen in the trees at the side of the trackbed.
Below - Approaching Thorpe Arch a bridge and stone lined cutting can be seen.
Below - A glimpse of the goods shed at Thorpe Arch from the trackbed. The former station and goods shed are now a private residence.
The path diverts on to one of the roads through Thorpe Arch Estate, an industrial estate build on the former Royal Ordnance Factory site that once had it's own railway system connected to the line we are following (sadly the latest Old Ordnance survey map available was the one above when the site was still "nowt but fields"). This was for a time the end of the cycle route, it can now be re-joined where Street 1 meets Avenue E as the path now continues over the viaduct across the River Wharfe up to where it meets the A659 at Toulston.
Below - Viaduct over the River Wharfe.
Where the path meets the A659 was once a level crossing, some rubble was evident at the site of the signal box. On the opposite side of the road was Newton Kyme Station. The station building survives as a private house. The building is largely obscured from view of the road by a large hedge. The trackbed is on private land beyond the A659 so some more on-road cycling is necessary, following the A659 in to Tadcaster. Some of the bridges on the former railway survive so it is worth popping off along the side roads to check out the surviving bridges. At the time of writing one of these was on Highway England's controversial list of bridges scheduled for in-filling.
On the left hand side of the A659 before it reaches Station Road in Tadcaster a path goes off, this follows an old railway line that went off to the north and crossed the River Wharfe on another viaduct.
Below - Viaduct over the River Wharfe at Tadcaster.
The maps show this serving a Corn mill on the river but ending there, yet it is clearly a substantial double track viaduct to have simply served a siding. It was intended to build a line from Tadcaster to York but this was never completed.
Tadcaster is noted for its breweries, particularly those of John Smith's and Sam Smith's, it is worth taking a look at the old brewery buildings whilst passing through the town.
Below - The John Smith brewery.
Below - The Sam Smith brewery.
The former station site is now redeveloped and between here and Church Fenton only a couple of fragments of the old railway can be seen. Leaving Tadcaster the back gardens of Stutton Road seem to have extended on to the trackbed. From Hawthorne Avenue a path follows the trackbed under the A64 (though in a modern subway) to reach Church Lane in Stutton. Stutton once had a railway station and this is also now a private residence. Stutton station was quite short lived, closing to passengers in 1905.
Open Street Map (this shows the footpaths in the Stutton area)
South of Stutton on Green Lane another bridge is in situ and another short stretch of footpath on the trackbed can be found.
Below - Railway bridge on Green Lane, Stutton.
There is quite a road detour here to reach Church Fenton, even the roads don't seem to go the right way.
The bridge that carried the A169 / London Road over the railway (shown on the above map as Towton Bridge) has been filled in but the stone wall of the bridge can be seen at the west side of the road. Much of the route east of here has been ploughed in to the fields, though it can be seen on the Google satellite images. Unfortunately to get to Church Fenton means heading away from the railway, east to Ulleskelf (there is a railway station here but with limited services) and then south to Church Fenton.
At Church Fenton station the former platform face where trains on the line we have followed departed is still there, however a fence runs along that platform edge and the trackbed is used for road access to the mainline for maintenance vehicles. The opposite side of what was once an island platform is now Platform 1 and is used by York bound trains from the Leeds direction.
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