Cycling in Yorkshire
Cycling in Yorkshire
29th November 2021
This bike ride is from Centenary Square in the centre of Bradford to Bowling Park. It is Stage 10 of the Sustrans Slow Tour of Yorkshire.
Although there are some very busy roads in this area, the route developed by Sustrans keeps you away from the traffic. Even where roads are quieter, the pavements are shared use so if you're with children you don't need to mix with vehicles at all.
The ride takes you from the heart of Bradford to a park in the south of the city. It is 4 miles, or 6.4 kilometres, there and back.
The Google map above shows the route from Bradford City to Bowling Park in yellow.
This is the ride on Plotaroute; you can download a navigation file from there.
The ride starts from Centenary Square in Bradford city centre.
Leave Centenary Square using the shared use pavement by Prince's Way. The Alhambra is on the other side of the road, as is the Science & Media Museum.
Cross Prince's Way. There are silver cycling signs here, but you can't rely on them for the whole route - they will let you down at key points.
Having crossed Prince's Way, there are more crossings at the Jacob's Well roundabout, then you're on a shared pavement by the A641 Manchester Road.
This is a typical example of British urban planning. Vast swathes of space are given over to the form of transport the authorities do not want to encourage - the private car. Those on foot and on bikes are lumped together in the tiny amount of space left over.
Turn right up Reyhill Grove, to these brutal tower blocks.
At the foot of the towers, veer left on a shared path called Croscombe Walk. It crosses Park Road at Gentz Cutz.
There's a noble tradition of dubious names for hairdressers, but compared with its Laisterdyke neighbour Hair We Are, Gentz Cutz is a positively sensible title.
The shared path becomes Hawkshead Walk. The width and surface are
fine, but there was a very large amount of broken glass on the path
when I was there, and I had to carry my bike for quite a distance to
avoid getting a puncture.
Now you come back to Manchester Road. After a short distance on the shared use pavement by the main road, turn right up Newall Street, then left on Hutson Street. A short section of path in Trident Park lines you up for the Red Bridge.
On the other side of the bridge, ride along St Stephen's Road. At the junction at the end, turn right on Gaythorne Road, past a jolly Off Licence.
At a shabby Pound + Shop, turn left.
This is Birch Lane. At the end, there's a path past West Bowling Social Club to New Cross Street.
Like many other buildings on this route, West Bowling Social Club is solid, almost grand, but has seen better days.
Turn left on New Cross Street, which brings you to Bowling Park. The paths through the park are wide, and cycling is allowed.
Have you done this bike ride? What did you think of it?
The Bradford City to Bowling Park ride is covered by the 1:25,000 OS Explorer map of Bradford & Huddersfield, number 288.
The rides starts from Bradford City Hall, in the city centre.
The space in front of City Hall is known as Centenary Square. It is also called City Park - I think it's two names for the same place. City Park was the name they came up with when they redeveloped the square and put in the water feature that has 100 fountains and laser lighting.
The water feature is known as the Mirror Pool, and is the largest urban water feature in the UK. It is sometimes referred to as the Magic Puddle.
There are cafés around the edge of City Park, and the Impressions Gallery for photography exhibitions.
Bolling Hall is off Bowling Hall Road, which runs along the edge of Bowling Park. The Bolling family owned the estate from 1316 until the late 1400s.
Bolling Hall dates back to the 1300s, and is a museum that's free to visit.
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