The Friends of Middleton Park are hosting a free guided walk in Middleton Park on Sunday (15 June 2025) exploring the history of railways in the park.
Events across the country celebrate 200 years of the Stockton & Darlington Railway this year. While Locomotion was making its debut, steam locos here in Middleton had already been taking coal into Leeds for over a decade. We’ll walk along old coal waggonways from the 1750s and learn how the Middleton mines pioneered how to get a railway built in 1758 and put steam engines to use on one in 1812.
Join us at 1:30pm this Sunday (15 June) at the Visitor Centre in the park, there’s no need to book. The walk will last about one and a half hours. Walks in the park may often include muddy or wet wooodland paths, so please wear boots or walking shoes, and appropriate clothing for the weather. A version of the walk covering most of the sights but sticking to tarmac paths (though uphill at the end) will be possible for anyone with mobility scooters, wheelchairs or pushchairs.
The Visitor Centre is accessed off Town Street, LS10 3SH. The Middleton Railway has a model railway show on the same weekend. Anyone wishing to combine the two events, the park visitor centre is about 15 minutes walk from the railway’s Park Halt (along a former waggonway).
This post was written by Kris Ward
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