Wortley round walk including Wharncliffe Crags

This walk follows a section of the Barnsley Boundary Walk and explores the countryside to the west of this town. The route also includes Wharncliffe Crags which offer some fine views.

Technical sheet

293005
A Wortley walk posted on 04/07/16 by Walking Britain. Last update : 23/09/16
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.10 km
  • ◔
    Calculated time: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 217 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 217 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 282 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 121 m
  • ⚐
    District: Wortley 
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 53.49034° / W 1.53757°

  • Today’s forecast: … Loading…

Description

(S)From car parking opposite the church (grid ref. SK307993) in the centre of Wortley, walk down Park Avenue then bear right down The Flats lane. Continue on the track after going through the wrought iron gates into the Wharncliffe Estate. Carry on for a mile until you reach Westwood Lodge at the junction with Carr Lane and Westwood Lane. It is a very pleasant walk through Wortley Park.

(1)Cross the road at the information board and take the path leading off on your right through the trees parallel to Westwood Lane. The path comes onto the lane in order to pass under the A616 then take the lane on the left up towards the woods. Bear right into the woods and follow the tracks through it (which can become confused as they seem to be used for moto-cross) until you come to the A61.

(2)Cross the road taking the path opposite down the steps and into Westwood Wood and take path southwards until you come out on Greaves Lane at Westwood Bridge. Go back, initially on the same path back up towards the A61 again. The next 2.5 miles is on the Barnsley Boundary Walk - marked with a B.

(3)Cross the A61 - the BBW continues some 50 m up the road - then descend down to the fields and at the left of Storrs Dike. Take the path to your right through the hedge, marked with a B sign but can be easy to miss (see the photo), come out into a field and head towards the tree in the middle of the field and the buildings at Carr House Court further behind it.

(4)Go left at the junction down Bromley Carr Road to Howbrook. At the crossroads go straight across onto Berry Lane then after 50 m, take the signed footpath to the right up the track to West Side. At the top of the track take the footpath between the house and the barn then follow the field boundary, keeping the hedge to your right. The markers are not clear at this point so aim for the nearest corner of Booth Wood then follow the south east edge of the wood until, as you come downhill, there are handrails which indicate the path down towards the How Brook then back up to the A629.

(5)Cross the road and take the signed path opposite and at the junction of paths bear left then follow the field boundaries to Bank Lane. Turn right, left at the road junction then off right on the farm track, Rough Lane. When this bends to the right, go left and climb up the field to the gate in front of another path where you turn right and keep the trees on your right.

(6)When you come to the paths that enter Wharncliffe Woods bear left picking tracks that keep the wall between the Woods and the Moor just to your left. After a quarter of a mile you will come to the path that runs northwards along Wharncliffe Crags. As you get closer to Plank Gate, below you on the left, follow the crag path right and then left, passing a small pond on your right and finally onto the Plank Gate track as it descends down to the A616.

(7)Immediately after going under the road in the tunnel go through the stile on your left taking the "Upper Don Trail", Pass the Mallard House Riding School on your right and the old Wortley Station. Go over the Finkle Street bridge, pass the farm buildings then about 20 m before the next road bridge turn off right and back down the lane towards Finkle Street. Just before the junction bear off left over a stone stile and follow the footpaths which are clearly seen as they head off across the fields towards Wortley church. Come out on the A629 by the church and cross over back to the parking.(E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 228 m - Car park opposite church
  2. 1 : km 2.25 - alt. 175 m - Cross road and take path on right
  3. 2 : km 3.56 - alt. 149 m - Cross road and take path opposite
  4. 3 : km 4.32 - alt. 128 m - Cross A61 and descend to fields
  5. 4 : km 5.2 - alt. 160 m - Go left at junction
  6. 5 : km 7.16 - alt. 217 m - Cross road and take path opposite
  7. 6 : km 8.63 - alt. 281 m - Bear left at Wharncliffe Woods
  8. 7 : km 11.45 - alt. 174 m - Take tunnel under A616
  9. S/E : km 13.1 - alt. 228 m - Car park opposite church

Useful Information

This is another walk based on a route described in http://www.stocksbridge-walkers.org.uk/W... although continuing on to Wharncliffe Crags adds some great views into the Don valley - as well as an additional half a mile.

Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Clarity of route description
3.7 / 5
Clarity of route map
3.9 / 5
Walk interest
4.3 / 5
David R
David R

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 01/11/22
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A well written walk guide. I only went wrong the once and this was easily rectified. I had my Sprocker Spaniel with me and she absolutely loved it. So much time for her to be off the lead and exploring

HiFlyer
HiFlyer

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : 01/04/22
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We enjoyed this 10 mile walk with sun and snow in April to add to the experience. About 5 hours but with a 20 minute error and a lunch stop. If you follow the map and the instructions and don't get tempted to follow other public footpath signs, you will get around OK. Using a compass app on your mobile helps as well. Views were good and the crags were craggy.

bga
bga

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : 16/09/20
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Staying at Wortley Hall, this walk was ideally situated.
We adapted the start to include Wharncliffe Wood, before ascending along Wharncliffe Crags which offer some good views of the area. Various species of fungi seen. Would recommend if you're in the area.

Barnsley lass
Barnsley lass

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : 24/05/20
Clarity of route description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Found the route instructions hard to follow. And the map was not detailed enough. We spent a lot of time trying to work out which way to go. Interesting route but difficult to follow

Steve Waterhouse
Steve Waterhouse

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : 13/08/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Got lost once. I missed some handrails in a wood, but once you do the walk it won’t happen again, some great views

ariddle
ariddle

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : 02/06/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Good walk, Map can be misleading at times.

Sarita J
Sarita J

Many thanks for your feedback. If you have any suggestions on how the walk description could be improved it would be most appreciated. Please also feel free to post any photos of the walk if you have any

gaffer72
gaffer72

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : 06/04/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice walk but some of the instructions were a bit vague. Having said that we made it to the end and enjoyed the walk. Some great views from the Craggs.

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