14 October 2026
The walk around Aberford and Becca Banks was a wonderful autumnal walk, before the first storms took the colour from the trees.
The walk is a mixture of tarmac road, bridleways, fields and field margins, and woodland. Overall the paths are easy to follow, but there is minimal signage for the walk.
The walk starts and finishes at the Arabian Horse Pub / Village Cafe on Becca Lane.
After a few hundred yards walking on the road, after the last house, there is an unmarked, but well trod path into the woods.
This is an area of mature broadleaf woods, with considerable ground cover. After a few minutes walking the path reaches Becca Banks Crag. This is about 30 feet high and 100 yards long, exposed face of magnesium limestone.
After passing the crag, the woods are fenced off for wildlife conservation and the path goes back to the Becca Lane. The Lane is now bordered on one side and fields with grazing sheep on the other. It is heading towards Becca Hall.
Becca Hall is a country residence from the late 18th Centrury. It has had a varied history passing through several families and the electricity board until the current family moved in and restored period features.
There are not too many more landmarks on the walk. It now follows the edge of the wood away from the house then along a field, and Lane to Becca Hall Home Farm.
Turning left past the farm the walk then passes over a field and then along the margin of several fields and alongside the woods until it reaches a style to Potterton Lane.
There is around half a mile walk along Potterton Lane until a juction when the lane goes right and the walk goes straight ahead for close on a mile . All around there were trees displaying their autumn colours
The path bends round until theres an inviting tunnel through the trees.
On the other side is another section of the Aberford earthworks. The earthworks are a bit of a historical mystery. With the origins being given as Iron Age, defensive positions against the Romans or Middle Ages linked to the Kingdom of Elmet in different sources. They are historically important and are a scheduled monument.
The walk then crossed over a farmer’s field, this was interesting as we walked through a herd of cattle.
The walk is along Cattle Lane for a few hundred yards before a marked path through the field and the woods to the village.
The last part of the walk is over a very impressive bridge to cross Cock Beck, a relic from when Aberford was on the Great North Road with a coaching inn. The pasture to the left of the bridge is dominated by the huge willow tree. I can remember the pasture being flooded in the early 1970s for raft races as part of the Aberford Gala.
It’s a nice walk, like so many around and about, where there are a few things of note to see and a lot of fresh air to enjoy.