Autumnal Walks

Autumn is, without doubt, my favourite time of year. I love the changing colours of the leaves, the colder days, the way it suddenly becomes socially acceptable to live in a hoodie. This year, with the arrival of my dog, I have explored more and taken the time to appreciate the differences and changes of each passing day, the further Autumn progresses into Winter. Whilst I was always aware of the beauty in my local surroundings, the extensive walking and exploration that has taken place as a result of the dog walking has made my awareness so much more present.

Treacle being a daredevil and jumping up on to a wall overlooking the ‘Dark Arch’ exit

One of our favourite walks is a 6-mile plus round-trip that takes in the Aberford Fly Line, a long-since disused railway line that was used by the Gascoigne family to transport coal between their colliery in Garforth and a depot in Aberford. The entire line is now a public footpath and provides my dog and I with a long, yet relatively easy, walk, surrounded by the beauty of the Parlington Estate, which the majority of the Fly Line traverses.







Once you exit the Fly Line and arrive in Aberford, you can either get a bus back, or follow the road round and back to Garforth. As Treacle is usually muddy and I find the walk along the road just as beautiful as the walk through the woods, we always walk back. The path is narrow, and as you near Garforth, it crosses the A1/M1 motorway, although it is a relatively easy crossing.


The full walk is a significant time commitment, often taking us three hours, but the scenery and the relaxation it provides is well worth it, especially on a weekend when the weather is nice, which can be particularly difficult to find at this time of year.