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Walk Summary:  Moderate 6.3 mile circular walk from Lower Cumberworth through Denby Dale, along the Dearne Way, and then up to Shepley outskirts and back to Lower Cumberworth
Start : Forresters Arms pub at Lower Cumberworth
Locality: Lower Cumberworth
Area: East
Start OS Grid reference: SE2225309447
Start What3words : gobbles.liberated.decreased
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance miles: 6.3
Ascent meters: 278
Estimated Walk Time hours: 3.6
Pub & Locality: Forresters Arms at Lower Cumberworth
Parking: Pub Carpark
Public Transport: Bus X1 Explorer Holmfirth Bus Station to Wakefield, stop at Shelley Woodhouse Lane.  Journey time 30 minutes. Check bus times.
Walk Description: From the Forresters Arms car park, walk west along Cumberworth Lane, turning right along a track after the Cricket ground, on the line of the tunnel carrying the Penistone Line (1) railway. Walk across the fields on the KIrklees Way olong a track to Long Royd. Pass in front of the houses and follow Long Royd Lane.  Cross over Birk House Lane, still on the KIrklees Way,  and on to High Moor Lane.  Walk across the top of Yew Tree Wood to the outskirts of Shepley. Continue along The Knowle Road to Victoria Mills, turning left in front of the building down a track and across the fields to Lower Carr. On reaching Carr Lane, turn left and then after 100m take the path on the right towards Upper Cumberworth. Head south, crossing the A635 Barnsley Road. Take the path between the houses, crossing Cumberworth Lane, then southwards over the fields towards Park Dike.  100m after crossing the stream, turn west along Park Lane, following the Dearne Way.   Turn right before the Lane Head housing along a track track through Stephen Wood following Park Dike. The track eventually crosses the River Dearne at Carr Bridge, then enters New Park wood, and joins Toby Wood Lane at Wood Farm.  This road follows the river to join the A635 Barnsley Road. Cross over and turn right along the A635 road to Hartcliffe Mills (2). In front of the mill buildings take a path to the left leading to the Denby Dale Viaduct.   On reaching the viaduct, turn left and take the path into Denby Dale (3) going under the viaduct close to the river.  Follow Bank Lane along the river, passing the tennis club on the left. At the next junction take a left turn down Norman Road to the A636 Wakefield Road. Cross over and continue northwards along Wesley Terrace past the war memorial to join Cumberworth Lane near the Methodist Church.  Turn left and after 100m take a right turn down a road between the houses leading onto a track heading north east towards Wither Wood. On reaching Leak Hall Lane, turn right then turn left past Leak Hall Barn down a road between the houses.  Still heading north east, walk along a track behind the houses along the south eastern edge of Wither Wood. On reaching Gilthwaites Lane near Denby Dale First School, turn left and then right down a track heading north east. After the last house on the right, turn left northwards. still on Gilthwaites Lane, heading for Thorpe Dike.  Just before reaching the Dike, turn left along the Kirklees Way and follow this back to Lower Cumberworth and the start of the walk at the pub. 
Other comments and Points of Interest:  (1) Penistone Line – the section between Huddersfield and Penistone officially opened on 1 July 1850. It was constructed by the Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway to connect with the existing Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway at Penistone.  It includes the Penistone Viaduct, a striking 21-arch stone structure built in 1880 spanning 300 metres over the Dearne Valley. The line faced significant closure threats in the late 1970s and 1980s due to low patronage. It was preserved through local advocacy, leading to its rerouting via Barnsley in 1983 and the formation of the Penistone Line Partnership in 1993—the UK’s first community rail partnership.
(2) Hartcliffe Mills is a historically significant site as the only surviving working textile mill in the village. Founded in 1766 by Zaccheus Hinchliffe, it is still owned and operated by the Hinchliffe family and remains a central part of the village’s industrial identity. 
(3) Denby Dale Pies – the village’s most famous tradition began in 1788 to celebrate the recovery of King George III from mental illness. To date, 11 giant pies have been baked, including (1) Victory Pie (1815): Celebrating the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, (2) Golden Jubilee Pie (1887): Famous for going rancid in hot weather and having to be buried in quicklime; it was replaced a week later by the “Resurrection Pie” (3) Millennium Pie (2000): A 12-tonne monster that was roughly 40 feet long, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records (4) Diamond Jubilee Pie (2012): The most recent bake, weighing 3.8 tons.

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