Walks near Bradford by train
Stations: Bradford Forster Square · Bradford Interchange
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Bradford and plan your next day of green.
Settle Circular via Malham Cove (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Limestone outcrops, crags, pavements, caves, dry valleys, steep pastures, gravel farm tracks, stony ground, moorland and panoramic upland views.
Time: 6h
Warnings: Hard on feet/knees.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Gargrave to Skipton (Yorkshire)
45 minutes from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Easy, peaceful Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath: locks, swing bridges, wharves and the River Aire near St Andrew's Church, Gargrave to Skipton.
Waterway: almost all along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Time: 2h–4h30
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Hellifield to Gargrave (Yorkshire)
45 minutes from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Southern Dales fields and woodland crossing the River Aire, past Otterburn and Airton, descending over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to St Andrew's Church at Gargrave.
Time: 3h–5h30
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Giggleswick to Long Preston (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Ribble Way riverside through the market town of Settle, Runley Mill, Turnpike House and a viewpoint towards Pendle Hill.
Time: 3h
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Settle (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Wild remote fell, moorland plateau, Pennine Way paths, lonely pastures, limestone country, waterfall, elevated bridleways above valley and views of green dales and tarn.
Time: 3h–6h
Warnings: Can be boggy/rough.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Clapham to Giggleswick (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Limestone hill country of caves, cairns and crags, dropping to the hamlet of Feizor and rising again with views to Pendle Hill and Giggleswick School Chapel before a steep descent. One of the finest of the Bentham Line walks.
Time: 4h30
Warnings: Strenuous full day over limestone hill country; sturdy footwear and a map recommended.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Accrington Circular via Baxenden (Lancashire)
1 hour direct from Bradford Interchange.
Moorland circular up the high ground above Baxenden along the closed Accrington-Manchester railway, past bridge piers, old stone waggonway, the castellated New High Riley farm and broad town viewpoints.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Barnsley Interchange to Dodworth (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Interchange, with one change.
Derelict Barnsley Canal towpath, riverside paths, a stillwater fishery and field paths into Dodworth. Industrial heritage of coal and glassmaking.
Walk details: Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership (PDF).
Hadfield to Marsden (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Bradford Interchange, with one change.
Spectacular views of valley while crossing dams. Primarily along the Pennine Way. Pennine Way since 1965. Hadfield = Royston Vassey in League of Gentlemen TV series. Longdendale Chain reservoirs (1830s-1884) supplied Manchester. Derelict textile mill at walk's end.
Time: 6h30–13h30
Warnings: Steep section beside Rakes Rocks; cliff edge high above clough; long flight of stone steps to descend near Marsden.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Wombwell to Barnsley Interchange (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Interchange, with one change.
Trans Pennine Trail through ancient woods, farmland and disused railway viaducts, past Dearne Valley Park (good for kingfishers), Monk Bretton Priory ruins and the old Barnsley Canal aqueduct.
Monk Bretton Priory: The ruins of a monastery founded in 1154 as a Cluniac house, now in the care of English Heritage.
Dearne Valley Park: A green corridor extending two miles along the River Dearne and one of the best places to see kingfishers in the valley.
Walk details: Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership (PDF).
Settle to Hellifield (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Bradford Forster Square, with one change.
Recommended: The views are great - especially from the top of the hill. Climbs steadily out of Settle, the first kilometres uphill and quite steep but on tarmac and good tracks, then becomes a wide track over open moorland before descending towards Long Preston, finishing across lanes and fields. A few gates, no stiles and a lot of it is on old tarmacked tracks. Long Preston, about two thirds of the way, has pubs and a station, so the walk can be split there.
Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Time: 2h30–5h30
Lunch: A couple of pubs at Long Preston, roughly two thirds of the way.
1 end-of-walk reward: the Black Horse
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Todmorden to Hebden Bridge (Lancashire)
30 minutes direct from Bradford Interchange.
Recommended: A very enjoyable, direct and straightforward canal walk, almost entirely along the Rochdale Canal towpath following national cycle route 66. The terrain is nearly all level with a mostly gravel surface, though bridges and slopes past locks have cobbles and canal overflows run over cobbles across the towpath in several places. Tree cover gives a green-tunnel feel. Follows national cycle route 66 along the Rochdale Canal. Canalside interest: locks, houseboats, mileposts and stone bridges.
Waterway: almost all along the Rochdale Canal.
Time: 2h–4h
Lunch: Refreshment opportunities along the canalside towards Hebden Bridge.
Warnings: Canal overflows run over cobbles across the towpath in several places, with a raised plank alongside to keep feet dry.
Walk details: Slow Ways.