Crossing boosts bridleway trail

From the archive, first published Friday 26th Jan 2007.

Horse riders, cyclists and walkers will no longer have to dice with heavy traffic to cross a busy road when trekking along a national trail.

A special crossing, costing £100,000, has been set up on the A629 near Cullingworth as part of the development of the Calder Aire link to the Pennine Bridleway Trail.

The Pegasus crossing - named after the mythical winged horse - has special features to suit riders.

It has high-level buttons that can be reached from horseback while the horse is positioned safely back from the edge of the carriageway.

Lower-level buttons and a separate lane are provided for other trail users.

It has been funded by Natural England, formerly the Countryside Agency, Sport England and Calderdale and Bradford councils.

The installation has been overseen by Bradford City Hall's regeneration department working closely with the Countryside and Rights of Way department, which is co-ordinating the development of the link.

The Calder Aire link is 21 miles long and largely off-road. Its construction is expected to be completed this spring.

It starts at the St Ives estate near Bingley before threading its way across the moors through Bronte country.

It will link to the 47-mile-long Mary Townley Loop through Calderdale, Lancashire, and Rochdale.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's executive member for environment and culture, said: "The Calder Aire link should be a great asset to the district encouraging people to explore the beautiful countryside Bradford has to offer."

Julie Thompson, Pennine Bridleway co-ordinator for Natural England, said "The new crossing is fantastic news.

"It will enable riders and those wishing to visit and explore the area to access the routes that were previously inaccessible because of the busy A629."

When completed the Pennine Bridleway will extend almost 350 miles, running from Middleton Top in Derbyshire, through Lancashire, the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria to Byrness in Northumberland.

e-mail: clive.white@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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