Shepley Trail

Shepley isn’t famous for its giant pies like neighbouring Denby Dale, but it is home to Shepley Spring, one of the largest bottled water companies in the UK. The name Shepley is derived from the Old English words sceap (meaning “sheep”) and leah (meaning “clearing”), and the village is an old one, named as Sceaplei in the Domesday Book and suffered during William the Conqueror’s Harrying of the North. Today, it is a pleasant rural village with a pub and a couple of churches. The walk takes in the heart of the village, and loops out into the surrounding countryside, which offers some splendid views.

Shepley Trail Google Map

Shepley Railway Station was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1850 and now lies on the Penistone Line. The original station building survives, but is no longer in use. We leave the station on Station Road; if leaving from Platform 1, turn left, and if leaving from Platform 2 turn right over the bridge. Immediately turn right and follow a footpath between houses to reach the end of Station Lane, then follow this until it ends at Abbey Road North. The currently closed Cask and Spindle public house is on the left, clearly having seen better days. Turn right and follow the road under a railway bridge, then turn left and follow a metalled track uphill until it ends at The Knowle. Here, turn right and follow this, ignoring all turn-offs and passing the Shepley Spring premises, until it ends at Abbey Road South.

Turn left and follow the road uphill, looking out for an old milestone on the right hand side of the road. Turn left along Lea Drive, then right along Stonecroft Gardens. Turn right and follow a footpath to a T-junction, then turn left and follow the path to a gate, passing Shepley First School on the right. This Grade II-listed school was built in 1896 and was originally a Board School. Walk through the gate and follow a path diagonally across a football pitch to a bridge over a ditch, and continue through a wood to reach Shepley War Memorial, a striking monument bearing a statue of a soldier and notable for its isolated but pretty location. Continue past this, following a path across two fields and eventually passing through a metal gate to reach a drive.

Shepley War Memorial.

Turn right and follow the drive between two lines of trees to reach Carr Lane. Turn right and follow this to Lane Head Road, then turn left. Take the next right turn along Holmfirth Road, passing the Sovereign public house on the corner, and after walking a short distance along the road turn left to follow Piper Well Lane uphill to a junction. Turn right here and follow Wall Nook Lane, gradually cresting the brow of a hill, where panoramic views of the surrounding countryside can be seen. Continue to follow the lane, ignoring all turn-offs, as it becomes Gate Foot Lane and descends a hill to end at a crossroads. The Toss o Coin public house – another now closed tavern that has seen better days – is on the left.

Cross Penistone Road and continue straight ahead along horn lane. On reaching a group of houses, turn right and follow a drive between them, which eventually becomes a footpath and runs downhill between fields to end at Acre Lane. Turn right, then almost immediately turn right again and follow a path uphill next to a band of trees, bearing right to follow a path between fields. The path soon joins the end of a track (Long Close Lane); continue to follow this to a crossroads, then turn left along Wood End Lane.

When the lane bends left, turn right and follow a signed footpath through a farm gate and across fields, then turn right across a wooden footbridge over a ditch and follow a path next to Shepley Cricket Club. The path crosses three stiles and turns left and then right, before crossing a field diagonally to run between houses to Marsh Lane. Here, turn left and follow the road, passing the Farmer’s Boy, yet another public house that is currently closed. Turn right along Cliffe Road and follow this, continuing straight ahead at a crossroads, and after this look out on the left for a footpath through Push Dam Woods that leads to Push Dam; take an optional detour to visit this. Otherwise, continue along Cliffe Road, looking out for Cliffe House on the right. This Grade II-listed building was originally built in 1888-1891 for a local brewer.

When Cliffe Road ends at Lane Head Road, turn left, passing Shepley Methodist Church on the right. Turn left along Marsh Lane, passing the Black Bull public house (which, happily, is still open at the time of writing), and follow it as it bends left, shortly reaching the Church of St. Paul on the right. The Grade II-listed church was built in 1848 in the Gothic Revival style, with a chancel added in 1868. Turn right past the church along The Nooks, then turn right and follow a footpath to Jos Lane. Turn right and walk to Station Road, then turn left and stay on this, eventually returning to the railway station.

The Black Bull.

From Shepley our next stop is just a stone’s throw further along the Penistone Line, at the tiny hamlet of Stocksmoor.