Walks in Killingbeck
From easy city strolls to challenging trails, discover the best of Killingbeck on foot.
Walk: Around Colton
An amazing jaunt around Colton and the outskirts of Leeds - all from the Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa. The Route what3words for start point: ///pitch.values.cool Start / Finish Point: Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa, 1150 Century Way, Leeds LS15 8ZB Distance: 6 Miles GPX Route Map walkshirearoundcoltonforthorpeparkhotelandspa-1Download Walk Description Leave the hotel using the pedestrian gate and walk to the roundabout. Turn right onto Century Way and keep to the right hand side of the road until the next roundabout. Turn right slightly and then left to cross over the dual carriageway. Turn right and cross the entrance to the shopping outlet, and then cross over the A63, using the crossing points. Follow the walkway as it rises to the left and continue to follow the path until you reach a junction. Turn right here to cross over the M1 via the footbridge, and continue to follow the path until it meets the end of Barrowby Lane. Turn left down the snicket and cross over the railway carefully using the level crossing. Once across, head left and follow the road called Nanny Goat Lane, which heads underneath the M1 via a tunnel. Turn right, and then left, to walk alongside the boundary of a field. After the first field, carry on, but then turn right along the maked public footpath across Barnbow Common to reach the left side of a manor house. At the two public footpath signs, turn left to walk alongside the boundary of the field. Just at the edge of the row of trees, turn right and follow the path over Cock Beck to reach the end of Ells Lane. Turn left and follow the track through Garforth Golf Course, cross over Barnbow Lane and continue on the track into the woods. As the wood begins to clear, head to the left and follow the line of the field in an arc to reach Manston Lane. Cross over and follow the footpath sign to cross the railway and then onto Barrington Way. Continue on, back onto the footpath and around to the right, keeping the ponds on your right, and then turn left through the row of trees into Barrowby Woods. Cross over Barrowby Lane and head down Barrowby Avenue to the end and turn left to walk along the side of the A6120 Selby Road. At the roundabout, turn left onto Century Way and back to the hotel and spa.
Walk: Around Colton (Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa)
Around the urban Colton, there’s some pretty lovely open spaces, from the Thorpe Park Hotel to the grounds of Temple Newsam. Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa Picture The Route what3words for start point: ///nuns.dizzy.tricks Start Point: Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa, 1150 Century Way, Leeds LS15 8ZB Finish Point: Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa, 1150 Century Way, Leeds LS15 8ZB Distance: 4 Miles GPX Route Map walkshirearoundcoltonthorpeparkhotelandspa-2Download Walk Description With the hotel behind you. Walk towards the roundabout and cross straight over to follow Century Way to the big roundabout with the A6120 Selby Way. Turn left to walk past the petrol station and cross over Selby Road using the pelican crossing. When on the other side pavement, turn right to walk down Stile Hill Way. At the next roundabout, turn right to cross over Stile Hill Way as the pavement is only on this side of the road, and then turn left. The road is now Bullerthorpe Lane. When this pavement stops, turn right between the trees and carry straight on along the track as it turns to the left. As this track joins another coming in from the left, carry straight on and follow this track through two double bends to emerge opposite Colton Farm at the bottom of Park Road. Turn left over the stile and follow the clear path into the trees and to the edge of Menagerie Pond. Turn right and follow the path between the car park on the left and the rose garden on the right. Continue on the path and take a path to the right into the wood. Then, at the next junction, turn left and follow this path through the wood all the way to a track. Take the direct line straight in front of you across the grass to a cycleway, turning right to follow it. Continue on this main cycleway and cross over Colton Lane, continuing on it on the other side. Eventually, turn left at the junction of tracks to reach the side of the A6120 Selby Way. Turn right and walk to the pelican crossing. Cross Selby Way here, and turn right, following alongside the dual carriageway and crossing over several roads until you reach the big roundabout again. Turn left and follow Century Way back to the Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa.
Walk: Leeds Dock to Knostrop Lock
A riverside walk from the heart of Leeds Dock to Knostrop Lock. The Route what3words for start point: ///hurray.social.museum Start Point: Leeds Dock Finish Point: Leeds Dock Distance: 4 Miles GPX Route Map leedstoknostropDownload Walk Description Starting the walk from Leeds Dock, situated on the Aire & Calder Navigation, the walk is easy to navigate by following the riverside path to Knostrop Lock and Thwaites Mill. This route makes up part of the Trans Pennine Trail. As you leave the city centre from Leeds Dock look out for the street art that has been installed on the riverside. You will pass under the new rust coloured steel pedestrian bridge, which opened in 2019, linking the CITU development to the heart of the city. Moving further out you will walk around the edge of the Knostrop Quay housing development. After passing the estate you will need to cross the pedestrian bridge to follow the riverside path on the far side, where the route becomes more of a green corridor. Following the path, you will cross the river again on a footbridge bridge and arrive at Knostrop Lock. Continue downstream, passing the small stone circle, until you reach Thwaite Watermill. Once you reach the mill you can follow the road round and pick the path back up at Knostrop Lock. You will need to cross the lock before retracing your steps back to Leeds Dock.
Walk: A lunchtime stroll in Leeds City Centre
An extremely short walk in Leeds City Centre, perfect for a lunch break. The Route Start Point: Leeds Bridge Finish Point: Leeds Bridge Distance: 1.24 miles GPX Route Map dnaire-lunchtime-stroll-inleeds-city-centreDownload Walk Description what3words for start point: ///chest.doing.forced The walk that graces the city of Leeds is not merely a stroll through its streets; it's a journey through time, technology, and transformation. It starts at a place that carries the weight of history and the lightness of innovation—Leeds Bridge. Leeds Bridge, a structure so integral to the city's identity that it commands the singular name "Leeds Bridge" amidst numerous others, stands as a testament to the legacy of human ingenuity that spans back to the middle ages. The present bridge, cast in the robust iron of the early 1870s, serves as a silent observer to the march of time, witnessing the city's pulse through centuries. As you stand on this historical bridge, you connect not only to the banks of the river but to a moment of groundbreaking achievement. Imagine the year 1888, with Louis Le Prince, the Father of Cinematography, capturing the world’s first moving pictures right from this vantage point. The very first frames, immortalizing the hustle and bustle of Victorian Leeds, were filmed here, marking the spot as a cradle of the motion picture industry. From the bridge, your journey takes you along Dock Street, a roadway that has evolved with the city itself. In the 1800s, during the peak of the Industrial Revolution, this street was a bustling artery of commerce. Boats docked along its edge, loading and unloading goods into the hungry warehouses, fueling Leeds' rise as a nexus of industrial power. Today, as you amble down Dock Street, it whispers tales of its industrious past amidst its modern calm. The old warehouses, once teeming with the clamor of workers and goods, have undergone a chrysalis transformation. Now, these restored buildings serve a new age, housing apartments and businesses, a vibrant example of urban regeneration and the delicate balance of preserving the past while embracing the future. Your footsteps will next lead you to Centenary Bridge, a relatively young addition to the cityscape, yet one with its own historical significance. Unveiled in 1993, the bridge commemorates a centennial of progress since Leeds was elevated to city status. This modern structure does more than span the physical Aire; it bridges the gap between eras, a symbol of a city that honors its history while steadily stepping forward. Crossing the Centenary Bridge, you experience the improved pedestrian link across the Aire, a thoughtful element in city planning that prioritizes the human scale amidst urban sprawl. The waters beneath the bridge, once vital trade routes, now reflect the changing sky and the city lights, echoing Leeds' enduring connection to its waterways. This walk through Leeds, while physically spanning a modest distance, is expansive in its historical and cultural reach. Each bridge crossed is not just a passage over water, but a step across epochs. Each street followed tells a story of change, resilience, and the ever-evolving story of a city that has seamlessly woven its industrial tapestry into the fabric of modern urban life.
Walk: White Rose Way
From Leeds to Scarborough across the Vale of York and the more rugged North York Moors the final 2 miles of the White Rose Way was once voted the world's most romantic walk. The Route what3words for start point: ///poet.tries.jars Start Point: Black Prince Statue in Leeds City Centre Finish Point: South Bay, Scarborough Distance: 104 Miles GPX Route Map whiterosewayDownload Walk Description Take as long or as little as you want (somewhere between 4 and 10 days but 7 would be sensible) as you walk 'Across Yorkshire' from Leeds to Scarborough. The walk was created by local author Paul Brown. Starting in Leeds the route follows many existing sections of long distance footpaths and linking them with lesser known paths. It is a walk where you need to be alert to the map reading challenges of lesser used paths and the exposure of the high moors. However at the end you will have a much greater appreciation of the fine county of Yorkshire. From Leeds the route heads north to Harewood House before following the River Wharfe in to Wetherby. Continue east through attractive villages to the brewery town of Tadcaster and join the Ebor Way towards York. Passing the city to the south the walk turns north to follow the River Derwent past villages and the battleground of Stamford Bridge to the abbey ruins at Kirkham. Eden Camp and the town of Malton are next before arriving in the North York Moors at Thornton-le Dale. From here enter the spectacular Dalby Forest and continue via the pretty Moors valley of Harwood Dale to the coast at Heyburn Wyke. Follow the coast south for the last few miles to Scarborough South Bay and the finish.
Aire Valley Towpath Walk
Follow the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the River Aire from Leeds to Bingley on this waterside cycle or walk. The Route Start Point: Leeds Finish Point: Bingley Distance: 16 miles GPX Route Map aire-valley-towpath-route-1Download Walk Description what3words for start point: ///swung.landed.notion Follow the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the River Aire from Leeds to Bingley on this waterside cycle or walk. The route runs for about 16 miles following National Cycle route 66 past Kirkstall Abbey, Bramley Fall, Rodley, Calverley Woods, Apperley Bridge, Thackley, Shipley, Hirst Wood and Dowley Gap with both countryside and urban sections to enjoy.