Spen Ringway
Spen Ringway
Spen Ringway is part of a disused railway line from Ravensthorpe to Leeds. The completed section of the Ringway goes from Royds Park at Rawfolds (on the A638 near Spen Valley Leisure Centre) southwards to Heckmondwike. It's a traffic-free, smooth tarmac'd path suitable for walkers, wheelchair & pram users, and cyclists. Some of the route is high on the valley side, giving you great views to the Pennines. The last section in Heckmondwike (pictured above) is in a deep curved cutting arched over by 7 bridges, a stunning visual and engineering feature. It passes the Old Hall Pub with a beer garden and finishes right in the centre of Heckmondwike by the Sir Robert Peel pub on High Street. It was hoped the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart would give an opportunity for a "legacy plan" to extend the Spen Ringway through Heckmondwike to connect with Spen Greenway at Walkley Lane, and possibly northwards from Royds Park to the old site of Cleckheaton's Spen Station, where a viaduct crosses Spen Valley and would connect you through Cleckheaton onto the Greenway at Tesco's. If achieved, the Spen Valley would have a brilliant 7 mile circular green route. Sadly, nothing has happened so far. At one end of Spen Ringway, you'll find a miniature railway in Royds Park, a fun ride for kids and parents, which opens on certain Sundays.