Friends of Burley Walkers are Welcome

Enjoy walking in Burley-in-Wharfedale and the surrounding area? Then become a Friend of Burley Walkers are Welcome and join our mailing list to keep in touch with our activities. No annual fee or membership required. We just need your email address, so contact us at [email protected] 

---

Sunday walks

Receive regular reminders about our monthly walks programme which started in September 2016. We meet on the third Sunday each month in the car park at Burley station at 10.00 am and walk 4 to 5 miles, back for 1.00 pm.  Where possible we will use footpaths that are not so well known. We also normally include a refreshment stop towards the end of the walk - indoors or outdoors depending on the weather! As well as getting to know the countryside around our village, it is also a great way to meet new people. ​Just turn up, or contact Ann on 07789 771240 for more information.  We celebrated our 50th Sunday walk in January 2022 with scones at Clevedon House restaurant.
​

Friday walks

We started monthly weekday walks on Friday 1 December 2017. Same arrangements as for our Sunday walks:  We meet on the first Friday of the month at the Burley Station at 10.00, but this time we walk between 3 and 3.5 miles, back in the centre of Burley for 11.45. There will then be an option for having refreshments together, venue depending on the time of year and the weather!  Great for people who can't make a Sunday and / or prefer a slightly shorter and less challenging walk.  Please come and enjoy what is a very sociable group walk around our local footpaths!

Walking events

We will alert Friends of any walking related events that we hear about in the village or in nearby communities.  This will include early details of walks that we will be providing as part of the Burley Summer Festival which takes place in the week before and including the August Bank Holiday weekend.  In 2016 we organised 6 walks of varying lengths, eleven in 2017, and thirteen in 2018! Let us know if you are interested in leading one of our walks. 

Protecting our footpaths

We aim to keep a close eye on all the footpaths in and around the village, including on the Askwith side of the river, to make sure they remain accessible and in good condition. We hope that Friends will alert members of the steering committee if they find a problem that needs sorting, such as a broken stile or vegetation that needs cutting back. We will then alert Bradford Council's Countryside Services team and monitor the situation until resolved.  

Working parties

We will let Friends know of  opportunities to contribute to any working parties being planned to improve the network of paths in and around Burley. We started in 2016 by installing two kissing gates, building a bridge built and resurfacing a footpath. Three kissing gates were installed in 2017 along with reclaiming derelict footpaths in Stead.  Two more stiles were replaced during 2018 along with path resurfacing work, and two sets of steps in Stead. In December 2018 two working parties undertook preparation work for a new footpath alongside Moor Road in Burley Woodhead. Further projects took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021.. Projects were initially coordinated with Lower Wharfedale Ramblers, but since 2020 have been undertaken just with Bradford Countryside Services. By January 2022, 27 gates had been installed on footpaths around Burley, along with many other improvements. Materials are funded from a range of sources, including grants, sponsorship and from the sales of our walking leaflets. Please  get in touch if you would like to join in. No previous experience is necessary

Sunday walk descending to Burley from Stead. Photo: Steve Broadbent

---

Working party 2016

View More