Acouple of centuries ago, the 40 hectares of woodland covering areas of South Bradford would have been filled with the sound of packhorses clip-clopping along rugged pathways and wooden wagons creaking beneath the weight of heavy coal-loads. But on Sundays, locals would take a break from the toil of industry to stroll to the pleasure gardens operated by the North family. In the mid-1800s, Judy North, or ‘Gurt Judy’ as she was known, sold ginger beer, parkin pigs and sticks of spice from her cottage near Horse Close Bridge.

Judy’s memory lives on in the woodland, which today goes by the name of Judy Woods. It’s the third largest woodland in the district and played a significant role in its industrial development.

This week has been particularly poignant for the wood, with the opening of Tinker’s Trail, a footpath named after Bradford Council’s former parks and landscape manager, Barrie Tinker, who died in 2008.

The Council worked with the Friends of Judy Woods to create the footpath, which runs through the woods from the Woodside entrance. It takes in kissing gates and picnic sites, with native shrubs and trees along its route.

Records show that the wood dates back to before the 17th century, giving it ancient woodland status. Walking through it is like taking a journey into the past that is woven into the ground in criss-crossed ancient trackways linking settlements in the area and the old ‘main road’ from Bradford to Halifax.

The trees are historic too, with the oldest beech trees around 200 years old. According to the Friends of Judy Woods website, they were fashionable trees to plant in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the wood was used for bobbins in the textile industry.

They may have been planted as an investment for the future – unfortunately by the time the trees matured, the demand for bobbins had dried up. Logs from felled trees provide homes for a variety of bats, birds and assorted mushrooms.

The area surrounding the woods was once-fertile mining land, with more than 70 coal and iron ore pits. At least two pits in the woodland were part of a colliery running in the 1780s. One of the information plaques dotted around the wood told us that cannons used in the Napoleonic Wars was made with iron from the Low Moor iron works, fuelled by the woodland pits.

The ironworks owners bought the Manor of Royds Hall, which included the woods, for its mineral rights. Remains of coal workings – ‘bell pits’ – can be found around the woods, along with what’s left of a former mineral line which carried coal to the ironworks.

We entered the wood from the Wyke end, along a route to Low Wood by an ancient ‘motorway’, an old packhorse path used to transport coal. Nearby was the site where Judy North’s cottage once stood, and a pretty stone bridge still standing to the left.

The ground was muddy and the air was biting cold, so we turned and walked up Royds Hall Beck and back out to Station Road, but on a better day I’d like to press on further ahead. The wood stretches out to Halifax Road, linking the Wyke, Norwood Green, Shelf and Buttershaw areas.

A combination of industrial ravages and neglect have plagued the woodland over the years, but, thanks to sterling work by the Friends of Judy Woods, it’s now a popular beauty spot. One thing we felt was missing was a little cafe, something along the lines of the food stall ‘Gurt Judy’ used to run for pleasure-seekers back in her day.

The main threat to the woodland these days, say the Friends, is vandalism and damage caused by motorcycles, but the stretch of woodland we covered was a beautifully-preserved, tranquil spot where families, hikers and dog-walkers were enjoying the crisp winter sunshine.

Factfile
* Judy Woods is accessible by car on Station Road, Wyke, or Halifax Road, Buttershaw, or on the 363 bus from Bradford.

* For more information ring (01274) 434826 or e-mail info@judywoods.org.uk.