Oakworth & Laycock

Oakworth sits in the Worth Valley within the City of Bradford district, alongside the River Worth. The village grew around textile mills and the line of the preserved Keighley and Worth Valley Railway; Oakworth station appears in the 1970 film The Railway Children and still handles steam services on a heritage timetable. Buildings are mainly stone, with short streets and small yards that reflect the area’s industrial past. The river and valley shape the layout, with paths running alongside mill chimneys, bridges and the station forecourt where volunteers maintain rolling stock.

Laycock lies on higher ground above the valley and is reached by narrow lanes and footpaths that drop toward Oakworth. Farms and parcels of pasture are divided by dry-stone walls and hedgerows, with occasional low-built barns and field gates. Public rights of way link the village to ridge routes and to valley paths, so walkers move readily between upland pasture and riverside tracks. Local life centers on farming, smallholding and the network of lanes that thread the hillside.