The Ale Trail

A grand cycle tour of Timothy Taylor’s country | 20 miles

Traditional Timothy Taylor’s Yorkshire pubs and classic South Pennines countryside are a match made in heaven. This 20¼-mile S-shaped route starts in Keighley which has been our home since our foundation in 1858.

As well as our brewery, we also have two pubs located in Keighley – Taylor's on the Green and the Boltmakers Arms. There are also four additional pubs in our estate to choose from elsewhere on the route – The Grouse Inn at Oldfield, The Fleece Inn in Haworth, the White Horse in Thornton and the Dog & Gun in Oxenhope. The Brown Cow at Bingley is included in the Ale Trail Extra route.

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1

From the roundabout at the Albert Hotel in Keighley take the B6143 heading south-east. After ½ mile fork right up Fell Lane. Continue for about 1½ miles and, at T-junction, turn left up Mattingstone Lane then, soon after, at a crossroads turn right down Slack Lane signed to Oakworth Crematorium. Take the second left down White Lane which becomes a stony bridleway that bears right after entering some trees.

2

Emerge on a road opposite The Grouse Inn. Turn left, go downhill and then turn sharp right down Oldfield Lane. Proceed to and through Oldfield then, at the end of the road, turn sharp left onto Colne Road. Proceed to and through Stanbury on the opposite
side of the valley.

On the outskirts of Haworth, just after the sign for the Brontë Parsonage, turn right down Changegate (also signed for pedestrian access) which leads to the top of Main St. Descend to The Fleece Inn and down to the bottom. (You may want to push your bike as the road is very steep and busy with pedestrians). Turn right to pass the entrance to Central Park.

3

Cross the river and railway then turn right up Brow Rd to begin a very steep (20%) ascent. Cross the A6033 and keep ahead. At crossroads with A629 keep ahead again towards Cullingworth.

In the village pass under the old railway viaduct then, at roundabout, left down Halifax Rd. Soon turn left signed to The Great Northern Trail. At the end of the road fork left to join the trail.

Continue over two viaducts to the end of the trail. (For a good view of the Hewenden viaduct leave you bike here. Turn right through a stile beside a gate and along a walled path then turn left into a field. The public right of way south from this point is a footpath only so you can’t cycle along it).

4

Turn left onto a gravel track that soon becomes Station Rd. Turn right at T-junction in Harecroft then soon right signed to Thornton down Old Allen Rd. Keep ahead at crossroads.

At the Rock & Heifer pub on Egypt Road turn right down Rock Lane. At T-junction turn right to reach the White Horse. At the end of the road turn left at the T-junction just after Keelham Primary School.

(Note: Don’t turn right which appears to provide a more direct route to Oxenhope as it is a no through road. Even if you push you bike along the short one-way stretch at the end you will have to cross a dangerous road with poor sight lines immediately after).

Soon, at the crossroads turn right onto the B6145 signed to Denholme.

5

At T-junction with lights turn right onto the A629 signed to Keighley. Just before Denholme turn sharp left down Long Causeway. Ascend then descend to the Dog & Gun. Continue ahead towards Oxenhope along Station Rd going over a small roundabout to reach Oxenhope Station.

Use the Keighley & Worth Railway to return to the start. Alternatively, you can cycle along the A629 to Keighley (about 5 miles).

Places to visit en route

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Opened in 1867, this is the only complete preserved standard gauge branch line anywhere in the UK. Famous for providing locations for The Railway Children film. The exhibition shed at Oxenhope displays some coaches and locomotives that are not currently in service.

Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth. The lovingly preserved, original home of the literary family includes family memorabilia, manuscripts, letters, early editions and original furniture.

Parking

You can park free of charge at weekends in the car park at Keighley station (on Low Mill Lane) providing you are using the railway (£1 charge Mon-Fri) and also in Keighley College car park next door.

There is also free parking on the road beside the car park too.

Bikes on trains

It’s free and easy to carry your bike on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Load your bike in the goods wagon which is often roughly in the middle of the train. The wagon is used by wheelchairs which means the doors open up wider allowing easier access for bikes.

A single adult fare from Oxenhope to Keighley
is relatively cheap and the journey takes 20 mins.
For more information and timetables see kwvr.co.uk.

Ale Trail Extra

As an alternative for less experienced and younger cyclists, cycle from Keighley along the canal towpath to Bingley and back, all of which is along a signed cycle route and mostly off-road. The route passes the National Trust’s East Riddlesden Hall, a 17th century manor house with romantic gardens, as well as Bingley Five Rise Locks.

These are staircase locks meaning that the bottom gates of one lock are also the top gates of the next and the water from one lock fills the lock below. Boats take 1½ hours to work through the locks, the steepest in the UK.

Your destination is the Brown Cow, a family-friendly pub with a superb riverside location. The return distance is 9 miles. Nearby is St Ives, an intriguing estate with lake, mansion, follies and carved wooden figures lurking in the trees.

Explore on foot or by bike using the bridleways. You can always return to the towpath and continue to Saltaire or even Leeds with railway stations in both places providing the option of a swift return passage.

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Directions

From Keighley station turn right then right again at Asda down Dalton Lane. At Dalton Mill turn left down Worth Bridge Rd signed (on a lamp-post only) for route 696 of the National Cycle Network. A short way down fork right onto the Aire Greenway. The cycle path bears right to run parallel to the A650 then sharp left to go beneath it via an underpass.

Emerge on Aireworth Grove and proceed to the end. Turn left down Aireworth Rd. At the end cross over the main road using the pelican crossing and turn right. Use the cycle path that runs immediately alongside the road. Cross the river then, just after the Co-op, turn left down Bar Lane.

Go ahead at the roundabout and at the canal turn right and keep going all along the towpath all the way to Bingley. At Three Rise Locks, just as you begin to descend, dismount and leave the towpath to the right using a green steel footbridge to cross the A650 and railway. Descend to the B6265 and cross it using the pelican crossing.

Turn left then immediately right down Millgate passing the Azzurri hairdressers. Cross the bridge over the river and the Brown Cow is on the left. Return the same way.