A market town, with a Charter since 1240, Wetherby is a small town with a big riverside frontage. The Wharfe provides visitors with fine riverside walks, picnic areas and a free car park by the riverside Bandstand.

Wetherby Railway Path not surprisingly runs through Wetherby (that is more than the trains do Dr Beeching). Now starting in Spofforth it follows the old railway track through Kirk Deighton and the railway triangle to the town centre where it is joined by the West Yorkshire Cycle Route. By now it has been named The Harland Way after the late Lions Club president. Then it has been extended to Walton Gate and Thorp Arch Estate.

Sustrans invest in Cycle paths but this route is suitable for walkers, riders and horses. It will eventually be extended to Tadcaster and    York whilst the West Yorkshire cycle route heads off south.

Other Locations and Factoids

1. Over the sticks Wetherby racecourse is Yorkshire’s premier National Hunt venue and home to some of the best races in the National Hunt Calendar. It boasts some of the best facilities in the North of England and has a fantastic atmosphere to rival any sporting occasion.
2. The town centre is full of interesting small shops selling a wide variety of goods. Not too many multi-nationals to force the locals into homogeneous shopping.
3. ‘From 1318 to 1319 the North of England suffered many raids from the Scots. After the battle of Bannockburn. Wetherby was burned and many people taken and killed. It is said that Scott Lane is so named because it ran with blood.’
4. During the World War II Tockwith airfield was renamed ‘Marston Moor Airfield’ to avoid confusion with Topcliffe Airfield. Clark Gable was stationed here. Part of the airfield is now used as a driver training centre and the old control tower is used as the offices but bits of the runways can still be seen.
5. The bridge on the Old Great North Road is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II listed structure. As a result of its situation a large number of coaching inns, now pubs, were established in Wetherby.
6. Tadcaster and  Boston Spa lie to the south-east; other villages nearby renown for executive housing include Sicklinghall and Kirkby Overblow, and Linton.
7. Under Wetherby Attractions on the Wetherby website there are no attractions except for a list of other Yorkshire towns and villages

Keighley has two claims to fame, the first being the pronunciation of it’s name Keeth-lee. The second item amused me when Bill Bryson asked why the Army used beautiful countryside for munition target practice, rather than a place like Keighley.

What to do On a Visit

1. Visit Cliff Castle museum to see a good collection of fossils, geological samples, Victorian stuffed animals and the grotto pictured above. Set in a parkland with hillside walks.
2. Keighley is the home base of the Keighley and Worth Valley Steam Railway. ‘The steep gradient up the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus has been a challenge for locomotives ever since the line opened on 15th April 1867. The sound of a steam engine tackling this climb echoes from the steep sides of the valley, while great clouds of steam and smoke add drama to the scene.’ from KWVR site
3. Keighley has been a location for several films and TV dramas the best known being  The Railway Children. Others include Blow Dry and the film of the Pink Floyd musical The Wall plus several Asian documentaries.
4. The TV series episode Sharpe’s Justice, which focuses on the roots of the title character, is actually set in and around Keighley. The local Utley cemetery contains the grave of war hero Christopher Ingham, a veteran of the 95th Rifle Regiment and conflicts against Napoleon. Some local historians believe Mr Ingham’s heroism may have inspired the author Bernard Cornwell’s saga about Major Richard Sharpe, played by Sheffield-born Sean Bean.
5. Timothy Taylors has been brewing in Keighley for 150+ years and has supplied Madonna with Landlord a much loved and good strong ale.
6. The 17th century East Riddlesden Hall’s tumultuous past, which includes tales of ghosts and dastardly deeds is now managed by the National Trust.
7. Keighley has far less textile engineering than in better days but the shopping and indoor market is good value to cheap, reflecting the hard time some of the community are suffering.
8. Read the Keighley News for local colour and latest information.
9. I am struggling to find 10 items of note even though the rivers Aire  and Worth meet in Keighley I can’t say it creates a local beauty spot.

“I’ll tell you now and I’ll tell you briefly, I don’t never want to go to Keighley.” John Cooper Clarke