Midwak two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Midwak here.

Walked from Wakefield to Middleton. A good route, mostly off road on good paths and fairly easy to follow. I walked it in shorts and had no issues with nettles and brambles. In summer conditions it is dry throughout but there may be a few wet or muddy places at other times.

The first part of the route out of Wakefield as far as Bar Lane is shared with the SlowWays routes to Rothwell. Here we turn left and soon branch right onto a fairly good path in a green corridor between a hospital and a housing estate. I made a slight navigational error and branched left too early, which was rewarded by a small park with a fine viewpoint from a hill top, from which another surfaced track rejoins the main path. We follow the edge of a bean field and further down follow a rough path through a shallow holloway to reach Ouchthorpe Lane, which we follow into Outwood. There is a pavement throughout but it switches sides.

There are pubs and shops in Outwood. We then follow Ledger Lane out - there is a pelican crossing just to the right on Potover Lane which can be used if it is busy. We then take the signposted footpath right, initially between fences through houses and then across a yard. The section through the trees is further east than the GPX plot and the right of way line but is shown correctly on OpenStreetMap and the black dotted line on the OS 1:25000 map. There is also an exit in the north east corner of the park, and some may prefer to remain in the park rather than following the path alongside the houses.

Either way we are soon in the country park occupying an old colliery site, and we follow the main paths around the edge to the exit on Lingmell Nook Lane. This side street and Castle Head Lane are quiet, so the lack of pavement is not an issue. There is a pavement initially on the far side of Lingwell Gate Lane, but it crosses sides at the railway bridge and stops altogether beyond the houses, so the short section from there to the bridleway may need care if the road is busy.

The bridleway starts at a gate in the hedge - there is a sign but it is disappearing into the leaves and can easily be missed from the far side of the road. This path is unsurfaced but mostly well cut, even though it diverges a little from the right of way line at times. It passes under Stanhope Road through a tunnel, beyond which a surfaced track takes us up to Station Lane, which we cross and turn right to find another surfaced path which crosses under the M62 and goes up through fields to a small housing estate at Thorpe on the Hill. The GPX plot here is good, as the supposed right of way path around the edge of the estate does not exist on the ground.

Cross Middleton Lane with care, turn right and another surfaced path takes us left through urban parkland. At the bottom of the park we pass through a hedge to a track that takes us left to St Georges Lane, which we cross and soon head right on a very straight surfaced path, which takes us most of the way into Middleton, and we follow the wide Middleton Park Road to the Middleton meeting point, a concrete bench by a bus stop.

This is a sound Slow Way and a good way to walk between Middleton and Wakefield. I walked it on a fairly wet day when it wasn't looking its best, but can imagine it's a real joy in the summer when the woods are greener and the fields are fuller.

I designed and checked this route, but am sure someone local could do an even better job.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.