Shibra three

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Shibra here.

I was the divisor of the Shibra 1 route in 2021. Routes for the whole country were done by a group of volunteers, during a 3 or 4 week period , during COVID times, working from OS maps and Google Earth. For me I was able to use a bit of local knowledge on this route, but today was the first time I had walked it all.
I am grateful that Irene and Mary have pioneered the route and made some amendments, I was aware that the new houses must have been an issue, and that some of the paths were untested.
I walked in the Shipley to Bradford direction on a mostly cloudy June morning.
The path started off between a railway line to the west and Bradford Beck to the east. Here it crossed a field which was quite a diverse and colourful wildflower meadow(photo). The path was consequently a little overgrown, The vegetation may be shorter at other times of year.
However, 5 minutes later, I was onto the well maintained tarred track which is also part of the Shipley to Bradford Sustrans cycle route Route 66. It was clearly popular with locals and cyclists.
After about 10 minutes a left turn took me onto the only major up slope of the route, perhaps 15 minutes. At first this was on a pavement next to roads, but then, at the end of Primrose Lane, I had to pass between a narrow gap in the railings and then up a very steep little path for about 10 minutes. However, the views were great, and there were many wildflowers, (see photos).
There are several footpaths, either side of a sandstone quarry, and the recently restored Bolton Woods. Views are great looking towards west Bradford, and the prominent Listers Mill and chimney.
The designated path on the route map was fine and dropped down to the new houses in Poplar Park Road, and then onto an old snicket between the houses down to Brow Wood Crescent. At this point there is a choice. The easiest and quickest way would be to walk all the way down this residential road to the main Kings Road and turn right. The more interesting and, in parts, scenic route, is to turn right just before Brow Wood Crescent on a path through a woodland. I missed this track at first because the entrance was a little overgrown. But, in the main it was a good track, though there was a little fly tipping and some muddy and scruffy bits! To find this track coming the other way look for Hollin Close Lane street sign off Bolton Lane (photo).
After crossing main roads at traffic lights the route soon took me into the Boars Well Urban Nature Reserve, where the trees are now quite dense, but the path is good. The main road sounded close but was not visible. This came out onto the main road on a little cobbled street called Coleman Street (photo).
Here I met a well equipped hiker coming the other way. I had a chat with him to ask if he was doing the Slow-way and he said he was doing the Yorkshire Heritage Way. This, (new to me), I found out, goes from Bradford Cathedral to Ripon Cathedral, and the Bradford to Shipley section is almost identical to the Slow-way.
5 minutes later I was at the Cathedral. Here there are 2 sets of steps down to the city centre. The steps nearest the cathedral are more scenic but not open 24 hours. (see photo from the bottom).
From here another 5 minutes walk through or around city centre shops took me to the train station.
I was pleased with the route. Interesting, varied, and fairly direct, and nearly all away from roads, especially busy roads.
The route is certainly not accessible for wheelchair users, but is close to the Sustrans Cycleway Route 66. This runs, mainly, close to the Shipley Bradford Railway line and is accessible and almost flat.

I walked this route again, in the opposite direction, before I read Irene’s description, to find the correct entrances/exits from the paths, and this is what I successfully walked.
After passing near some of Bradford’s grander buildings the route goes up steps behind the cathedral and on up back streets and a buses-only road to cross the busy A650 at pedestrian lights. A short way up Bolton Road there is a cobbled turnoff which the footpath starts from. This goes through woods, and past Spink Well and under a pylon. It feels quite isolated and yet it is not far above the main road. It comes out over some gravel, onto Kings Road close to another pylon.
Soon after crossing at the busy crossroads, you arrive at Hollin Close Lane, which is a puddly dirt track. A little way along here, the route turns right just before a house, up a narrow, walled footpath, then between some metal posts and onto a grassy footpath. This appears to be a bit of a fly-tipping spot, but soon you are onto green paths and fenced walkways through a new housing estate.
At Poplars Park Road a long fence behind new housing prevents you from using the original route onto the Bolton Woods hill and you have to go up a lane, which is at least partially signposted as a public bridleway – another fly-tipping area. There is room to walk around the side of the locked green gates before turning left onto the field.
There seems to be a variety of rough paths mostly following the contours around the hill but even from the lower route I used, you get a fantastic view over Bradford. The football ground is quite prominent. You will probably pass near some tethered horses along here, and also some woods. I tried to find a route off the fields onto Chestnut Grove, but the owner of the house at the end has gone to some effort to make that difficult, and you can either go a lot higher up (as Irene described, in reverse, and as I did in Shibra 2) or you can descend a steep rough path down to the end of the cul-de-sac of new housing of Primrose Lane. It is a bit of a scramble like all the possibilities here, but at least there is no blockage.
A steep walk down the road brings you to a pleasant easy off-road cycle-track, then a footpath between river and railway, leading round to Shipley Station.

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