Wetherby is a town 12 miles to the west of York, and is an interesting place for a short walk along a disused railway that has been converted to a cycle path. The main part of the route is between Wetherby and Spofforth, which is around 3 miles.
In Wetherby itself there was a triangle of lines which have been converted, and the walk around the triangle is about 1 1/2 miles. This triangle of routes was in a cutting, and here in this shot we can see the western side of the triangle, with an arch of trees over the route.
The triangle was converted to a cycle route in 1993, by the local Lions Club. The route is named after Peter Harland, the late former Lion President.
The long term plan is to extend the route east to York, and already the first section to Thorp Arch has been opened.
The original railway lines linked Wetherby to Leeds, Harrogate and Church Fenton, but today Wetherby has no surviving rail connections.
Thank you all for your generous comments and favs, they are appreciated.
I should make clear my own views on converting disused railways into cycle routes - I'd much rather the routes remained as railways, but if that isn't possible then a cycle / footpath route is a good alternative. However, the behaviour of a small minority of cyclists does make it dangerous for walkers if it is a shared space, so ideally there should be segreagtion of the route between a walking lane and a cycling lane. I've seen this work really well on a disused viaduct in Paris, it's just a shame that it doesn't happen more often.
Ian
July 30th, 2016
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This makes me want to go exploring along the track......
Thank you all for your generous comments and favs, they are appreciated.
I should make clear my own views on converting disused railways into cycle routes - I'd much rather the routes remained as railways, but if that isn't possible then a cycle / footpath route is a good alternative. However, the behaviour of a small minority of cyclists does make it dangerous for walkers if it is a shared space, so ideally there should be segreagtion of the route between a walking lane and a cycling lane. I've seen this work really well on a disused viaduct in Paris, it's just a shame that it doesn't happen more often.
Ian