Leeds Country Way 3-Day

I normally only blog about events, but there's been precious few of those happening in the past years, so I guess I have to make my own entertainment!  I've spent the last three days running/walking/jogging/shuffling the Leeds Country Way, a just-shy-of-100km lap round the outskirts of the city. This was supposed to be a shake-down for the Great Lakeland 3 Day on the May bank holiday weekend, but it's been postponed until August, so really it was just a way of using up some leave days and seeing how I coped with three solid days on my feet - no rushing, no racing, no major stress, just a way of getting out and about for a while. While the 'stay local' fit was maybe a bit tenuous, I can at least say I didn't leave the city!

Day 1 - Golden Acre to Woodlesford - 37km, 6:23
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6484859223

Harewood House
Mainly known trails, through Harewood and across the fields to Bardsey, ticking off the roads I was crossing as I meandered around the north and east sides of the city. Stopped in a little sheltered patch of sunshine for some food and to air my feet out - I'd had some blisters on one foot recently and was keeping an eye on them carefully. Crossing the A64 and trotting down into Barwick-in-Elmet to the maypole where you'd finish Day 1 if you were doing a 4-day split of the route, grabbing a coffee and a top-up of water and juice from the village shop. A little bit of 'new to me' path and then back onto known ground across Barnbow woods, over the motorway, into Garforth and down the Lines Way (old railway) for a little while. Horrible stinking section of gravel track past Brecks farm - I'm assuming they were either spreading or stirring the slurry pits - then past Swillington and a little sit at a picnic site where it seems the local entertainment is shooting airguns at signs. Another gentle trot along the roadside then lanes round the edge of St Aidan's nature reserve to finish just outside Woodlesford. Stop the watch, shamble up to the station and get the train back home.


Day 2 - Woodlesford to Morley, 29km, 6:11
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6490596967

Remains of Howley Hall
A less pleasant day. Some nice sections of trail, but poor signage, blistered feet and the ever-pervasive hum of the motorways - you never really get out of earshot of the traffic through this section and it's a constant reminder that while you're outside, you're not completely away from it all. Aiming for Morley but with a couple of other get-outs marked on the map just in case it was all going south - it never totally did, but I wasted a lot of time having a quiet word with myself at far too regular intervals. Really, really poor signage: sometimes utterly non-existent at intersections, sometimes there's places where the LCW shares paths with other trails - Trans-Pennine, Kirklees Way - and there isn't even a sticker or disk to indicate the shared trail. A lot of feeling rubbish but actually making steady progress, a stop for lunch and to sort my feet out near Thorpe on the Hill (and my one trig pillar of the three days) - and to put headphones on to get away from the drone of the motorway traffic. A fairly uninspiring trudge round West Ardsley reservoir before some much more inspiring running past the remains of Howley Hall and through Cliff Wood to Howden Clough road and a short shamble to my finish line for the day. Stop the timer and shuffle the couple of km to Morley station - not the best.


Day 3 - Morley to Golden Acre 31km, 5:28
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6496146900

Cockers Dale
With the feet sorted a bit more definitively - took the decision to lance and tape the blisters in the morning, and should probably have done so sooner - and a later set-off time to wait out the early rain and a much better day. An urban trudge to begin with gave way to the nicest sections of trail of the week, through Cockers Dale and then up Pudsey Beck, following the meandering stream through the woods in peace and quiet and sunshine, past little gravel beaches, pools and sections of water that as a kid I would have loved to play in, build dams in, sit and splash in, that kind of stuff. Across the railway at Duckett's Crossing and into Thornbury on the Leeds-Bradford road, a quick dive into McColls to grab snacks and a top up of water and juice and over the road to sit at the sunny edge of a cricket pitch for lunch. Another fairly pleasant 6km or so round Calverley golf course and onwards to Apperley Bridge and back into 'known ground' with 10km left to go. A steady trot along the river bank to Cragg Wood and then starting the horrible climb back out of the valley. A small rainbow greets me at the top of Hunger Hills as I message the other half with "I can see the 'ouse from 'ere!" - shame I have to run the best part of 5km past it.  Past Trinity uni, down and across the fields I've been running regularly for a year now, across Moseley Beck and the little snotbag of a climb up from it, round the cricket pitch, across the road and into Pinfold Lane and the final mile of very well known trail, down to the tunnel to stop the clock: LCW completed over 3 days: 97km, total time 18hrs 2mins.


Start ...
... middle ...
... end!


Overall, pretty happy with how it went, as a shakedown and kit test. Niggles with my feet, sore ankles and some shuffling round of equipment, but all in all a lovely and relatively successful three days out on foot exploring and playing, which was pretty much what I needed it to be! Splitting over 4 days would have made for less foot pain I think, but was harder for public transport - car shuttle wasn't really an option and using trains made for easier access than buses. It all worked out alright in the end though.


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