THIS week's walk offers stunning views of Silsden Reservoir.

But there are other delights too, including the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the local countryside.

The walk has been provided by Bradford Council and others can be downloaded from its website, bradford.gov.uk

Step by step

To start, face the town centre clock, opposite Wesley Place car park and turn left to walk along Kirkgate and across Howden Road, until you reach the bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Walk over the bridge, keeping to the left hand side of the road, and just before the Bridge public house, go through a narrow gap and down the stone steps onto the canal towpath. Turn left to walk under the canal bridge.

Follow the towpath for half a mile (0.8km) until you reach Cowling Swing Bridge 191. Turn right and cross the bridge to go through the gate or over the stile on the opposite side, before turning sharp right, to ascend the wooden stepladder down into the field. Walk in the opposite direction to which you came and follow the canal bank for 300yds (274m), before turning left uphill across the field to the corner of the dry stone wall.

Continue uphill crossing the farm access road before turning left after only a short distance to go through the second gateway onto a field access track. Follow the vehicle tracks as they turn right uphill and continue straight up the field ignoring the stile on your right, keeping close to the dry stone wall/hedge on your right.

At the top end of the field, continue straight ahead ignoring the stile on your right to go through the wide gap in the hedge into the next field. From here the footpath bears to the left across the field to a stile under the trees. Over the stile, follow the fence on your left as you walk uphill towards the left hand corner of the buildings at Park Green.

Climb over the stile at the side of a large metal gate, before climbing a second stile in the dry stone wall out onto Skipton Road. Turn right along Skipton Road, walking between the buildings at Park Green before crossing over to your left, to turn left up a narrow surfaced farm access road to High Cross Moor Farm. Half way up the access road the road divides, turn right, following the sign for High Cross Moor Farm. After only a short distance, leave the track by climbing the stile at the side of the field gate. Head diagonally left, heading for the stile in the dry stone wall at the top left hand corner.

Climb over the stile and continue straight ahead across the next field, following the hedge and wall on your right, eventually reaching two farm gates on the right. Here, at the junction of another footpath, continue straight ahead again across two more fields. At the far end of the second field the path

joins a concrete track. Follow the track downhill into the woodland and over the stream, turning right, then left uphill still following the concrete track, which will lead you to Low Brackenhill Farm.

Go through the gate into the farm and turn right amongst the buildings, to eventually reach the centre of the farmyard. The footpath divides here; our route

is left through the gate out onto a track. Continue along the track crossing two cattle grids before emerging onto Bradley Road. Turn left and walk up Bradley Road for a quarter of a mile (0.4km), passing Raikes Head Farm on your right and Hole Lane on your left, before turning right along the first turning on your right down the unmade lane (Hayhills Lane).

After only a short distance, look out on your left for the stile in the hedge. Here leave the lane and climb over the stile into the field, to walk in a straight line towards the left hand side of the buildings of Upper Hayhills Farm. On reaching Upper Hayhills, climb the stile and walk across the access road to climb over a stile on the opposite side. Continue straight ahead across the next field, heading towards the bungalow, to another stile in the fence/wall.

Once over the wall continue straight ahead for 25yds (22m) before climbing the stile in the fence on your immediate right.

Turn left to cross the field diagonally to the right along the shallow depression in the surface of the field. Continue across the field until you are adjacent to the side of the bungalow on your left. Here change direction by bearing to the left, walking to a stile in the top left hand corner of the field. Climb over the stile onto the surfaced road and turn sharp right down the access road to Pickersgill House.

Follow the track a short distance to where it divides and continue straight ahead through the smallest of the three gates to walk in front of the former farm

buildings. At the far end of the buildings, between the cottages and the garage, climb over the stile in the wall, leading into the pig and sheep pens. Once over, turn left to exit the pens through a small gate.

The path divides here; our route is to the right across a small grassy area before crossing the surfaced turning area in front of a recently built house. Climb a stile over the stock fence into a field, continue straight ahead across the field, heading slightly to the right hand side of the caravan park, which can be seen ahead. At the bottom end of the field, go through the small gate and into the caravan park. From here the path bears to left and should go in a straight line across the caravan park, but a short diversion around the trees is necessary.

Here we suggest you bear to the left to cross over an access road and down the side of the trees and over the rough grass area, before bearing slightly to the right onto a mown grass area on the opposite side of the trees, before bearing left back onto the line of the path. Continue across the mown area, crossing a second access track to the stile hidden under the trees in the fence line ahead. Over the stile the path continues straight ahead across the field, heading in the direction of a chimney-like structure.

At the far end of the field, near to the junction of three drainage ditches go through the metal pedestrian gate and continue straight ahead down the next field. Halfway down the field ignore the small wooden bridge and stile on the right, which is hidden under the trees, and continue down the steep slope, still following the fence. Nearing the bottom of the slope, bear slightly to the right and ignoring the gate, turn left downhill following the worn footpath down into the woodland. At the bottom of the hill near the stream, turn left across the narrow footbridge. Climb the few steps at the opposite side and turn right to walk along the stream bank for 75yds (68m), before turning left up the steep grassy hillside under the trees.

At the top of the steepest part of the hill continue straight ahead across the field to the fence, turning right to follow the fence line on your left until you reach a stone step over stile in the dry stone wall. Climb the stile and continue to follow the fence line on your left as it eventually changes from a fence to a dry stone wall before going across a track and passing the ladder stile on your left.

Just beyond the ladder stile the footpath continues to follow the dry stone wall/fence in a straight line, going over three stiles to the farm buildings. On reaching the farmyard, turn left up the incline to walk between the house and the barn. At the far end of the barn, to the left of the gate climb the steps over the stone wall onto a surfaced parking area and continue in front of the house to another gap, to go through out onto the main road (Bolton Road). Cross over Bolton Road and turn left to walk uphill the short distance before turning right to walk along Fishbeck Lane. Follow the lane with its views across Silsden Reservoir all the way to the T-junction with Brownbank Lane. Here turn right to walk downhill along Brownbank Lane for approx 300yds (270m), to turn first left along Swartha Lane. Follow Swartha Lane as it weaves its way through the countryside and eventually between the houses and farms of Swartha.

After passing through the hamlet of Swartha the road goes downhill, where after 250yds (225m) it turns sharp left and joins Hawber Lane. Leave the road on the corner, by going through the gap in the wall ahead. The footpath divides, our route is left downhill following the wall and the line of trees on your right. At the bottom of the first field go through the dilapidated kissing gate to again follow the hedge line down the field, ignoring the stile you pass on your right, to the bottom right hand corner.

Turn right over the stile and into the next field, to turn immediately left over a second stile and out onto Hawber Cote Drive. Walk downhill to the next road junction turning left down Banklands Avenue. At the bottom of the avenue at its junction with Banklands Lane, cross over straight ahead onto the rugby ground. Go down the small embankment to walk straight ahead behind the rugby goal posts and down a much steeper embankment to the surfaced path between the children's play area and the building.

Follow the path as it bears to the right to go down the stone steps, to walk between the skateboard and mountain bike trail area and continue across Silsden Beck, walking straight ahead between Silsden Methodist Church and Mount Carmel Catholic Church. At the end of the street, turn right and then left in front of the Catholic Church to bring you back to Wesley Place car park.

Fact file

Start: Silsden town centre

Distance: 5.5miles (8.8 kilometres)

Terrain: Farmland, canal towpath, woodland and road, stiles and gates.

Parking: Car parking at Wesley Place car park (pay and display).

Transport: Bus service from Keighley to Silsden and the Keighley to Ilkley service passes through the town. Call 0113 245 7676.

Refreshments: Plenty in Silsden

OS Map: Explorer 297