The Friends of Middleton Park are hosting a free guided walk in Middleton Park on Sunday (21 June 2026) exploring the Waggonways and Railways within the park.
Middleton Park is the home of the historic Middleton Colliery – supplying Leeds with coal from the early 1600s. In the early 1750s the colliery embarked on an ambitious project to build a wooden railway (a waggonway) to take horsedrawn coal trucks to the river Aire. The coal to be shipped onwards to Leeds and elsewhere. This, at the time, was pioneering
technology and allowed far more coal to be moved quickly and economically than the previous carts and pack horses.
A little later, in 1758, the Middleton Railway to Leeds was built to take coals directly into the city – such was demand for the high quality Middleton coal. For over 50 years this railway relied on horse power, but in 1812 was converted to steam to become the first successful commercial use of steam locomotion in the world!
Amazingly the routes of the waggonways in the park were so well constructed that they are still being used as roads today. So join us as we walk these waggonways to the railway and back, past mine shafts and pit heads over 200 years old and hear some of the tales of those times from the local guides.
The walk starts at 1:30pm, prompt, this Sunday at the Visitor Centre in the park, and will last approximately 1½ hours. It will be on hard surfaces and is suitable for wheelchair and mobility scooters users – though there are hills.
The Visitor Centre is accessed off Town Street, LS10 3SH.
This post was written by Jim Jackson
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