Tracking down historic routes

THERE are several way to reach the Worth Valley: By road -- to reach Haworth by the scenic route follow the A56 through Colne and turn off to the right from Laneshawbridge. From Blackburn follow the A59 to Skipton and on to Keighley. By train to Keighley -- the Worth Valley Steam Railway shares the main line station.

ONE of the most talked-about aspects of our lives today is the state of the railways. Before the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, just about every village was in reach of a station.

Then came affluence with more and more people owning more and more cars. The recent remake of the film The Railway Children has brought nostalgia back and thank goodness we still have some steam railways running in our area.

For the next four weeks I will literally be on the tracks by enjoying strolls from the stations once full of passengers travelling to work or on holiday. I will also be exploring some disused tracks which now serve so well as nature reserves.

The 1840s was a decade when railway mania took off but some lines, including the Worth Valley, faced major engineering problems.

Many routes proved to be too difficult, including a Colne to Keighley route via Watersheddings, Trawden and Laneshawbridge.

This included the construction of a huge viaduct across the Worth Valley and nearby there was to be a station at Stanbury.

It was 1865 before the Worth Valley line was begun and it did not function properly until 1881, by which time the mighty Midland Railway took on the organisation.

This continued until 1961 when the last passenger used the route. The closure angered local people and in 1967 the preservation society created a steam-operated line.

Obviously income was a priority and film crews were attracted to the nostalgia for steam. The first film entitled The Railway Children brought lots of good publicity, as did the Sherlock Holmes series on television.

The Haworth and Worth Valley route is now frequently used by ramblers and also by less serious strollers.

I had a wide choice of strolls but I chose to base myself at Haworth Station and explore the area around the Bronte waterfalls.

I began at the station and then climbed the steep cobbled main street up to the Haworth Parsonage Museum, which is the base for the Bronte Society.

The weather was not brilliant but the traditional Yorkshire fog was far away. I thought about the late 1840s when the Midland Railway constructed a connection between Keighley and London.

Too many people think of the Bronte sisters as home-based weaklings. In fact, in terms of the age they lived in, the sisters travelled widely. They went to London to consult with Smith, Elder and Company, who were their publishers.

It is also said that the Brontes were a sickly bunch and up to a point this is true. But they did walk a lot and very few people survived a combination of harsh climate and hard work.

The sisters loved the stroll to the waterfalls which are situated about 2 miles from Haworth. The Bronte Falls are well signed and the present day walker will pass the Lower Laithe Reservoir, situated below the Haworth to Stanbury Road.

The track here follows the old Roman road and the natural history of the area is very rich indeed. The heather hereabouts is dominant in the late summer, while in spring the red grouse marks its territory by producing a sound which sounds very much like "go back, go back."

I descended to Sladen Beck and then on to an unusually-shaped rock which earns its name of the Bronte Chair. There was nobody about so I used the seat and enjoyed a can of lemonade and a bacon and egg butty.

I shared a few crumbs with a small flock of chaffinches and then went on to the waterfall, near which a grey wagtail was feeding its family of three youngsters.

Suddenly the weather started to improve and by the time I returned to Haworth I was hot but not bothered and ready for the steep descent down to Haworth Station. The river left me with one wonderful bonus -- the sight of a kingfisher.

Above the station is an observation platform and a pleasant picnic site. For those who do not drive, there are plenty of pubs which are advertised on a notice board -- a sort of Ale Trail.

Sometimes you can see more from a station than you can from the train itself. I watched a fireman starting up the boiler fire -- and what a hot job it was.

The train travelled slowly towards Keighley and I was able to compile a fascinating list of flowers, including dog rose, cowslip, mayflower, dog daisy, tansy, speedwell and self heal. The first few blooms of rosebay willow herb were appearing and in the late summer it will earn its name of fireweed.

Whenever I organise a walk from a steam train I think about people a century ago who used this as a day out in the open air. This is a case of drive and stroll but in those days ride and stroll was the order of the day.

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