Hawksworth Wood

Hawksworth Wood is just over 8 acres in size, nestled discreetly between Hawksworth, Kirkstall and Horsforth around 5-miles from Leeds city centre.

Propped up on Butcher Hill alongside Vesper Road and the A65. This beautiful piece of Leeds is commonly called “The Hawk” by the locals.

When visiting Hawksworth Wood you will have the opportunity to experience the natural wood and the recreational park, sat side by side. It’s a two for one at Hawksworth Wood!

Friends of Hawksworth Wood

The Friends of Hawksworth Wood meet on the second Saturday of every month from 10am to maintain and improve the wood. The stuff the volunteers get up to include litter-picking; tree thinning; maintaining benches; controlling invasive species; and keeping the steps and paths in good accessible order. For more information on how to get involved, check out the Facebook page or contact Countryside Ranger Heather using the details above.

Hawksworth Wood Circular Walk

This circular walk takes in the pretty sights of Hawksworth Wood, Kirkstall Abbey, Hunger Hills, and the River Aire – Leeds Liverpool canal. Keep an eye out for an array of wonderful flora and wildlife on your journey – our best bits can be found below. And you can check out the full route details over at Walking Englishman.

Bouldering

Keep an eye out for the dwarf sized boulders dotted about the woodland. These are perfect for the little ones that enjoy climbing over stuff.

Flora

At the northern end of Hawksworth Wood is a wildflower meadow that has clusters of colour exploding into bloom at different times of the year. Look out for species like red valerian, creeping buttercup, wood anemones, red campion and the Spanish bluebell. Further into the depth of the woodland the greenery gains height with oak and sycamore trees a common, and towards the wood floor you’ll notice holly, hazel, guelder rose and rowan.

Wildlife

In and amongst the lush flora this piece of woodland has become home to a variety of wildlife that includes: woodpecker, kingfisher, mistle thrush, eurasian blue tit; and roe deer

With the trail complete and the wood explored you’ll wonder out either end of Hawksworth Wood into an open field with some activity stations to enjoy…

Exercise Park

The exercise park has a range of equipment to keep fit on, including some special calisthenics equipment that uses your body mass to do all the strengthening work… that’s pretty efficient! Alongside this you can hop on the bikes or steppers, or work the legs and the arms on the presses and pull downs.

Skatepark

Next to the exercise park is a concrete skatepark that comes ready with bowls, rails and boxes for a skater, bmxer or even a scooter to trick on.

Basketball

In the centre of the field is an all weather basketball court with full markings. Just bring your ball along and starting shooting some hoops!

Football

A youth sized football pitch is permanently setup with fixed goal posts for the young’uns to use at their leisure. No jumpers for goal posts here!

Playground

At the back of the field close to the hedgerow separating the wood from the field is a playground. Your options are limited but you’ve got the classics including the swings and slides with the added bonus of a mini climbing wall thrown in.

Dog Friendly

Hawksworth Wood is a great spot for walking the dog. Let your four legged friends stretch their legs and play fetch along the open field.

Friends of Hawksworth Wood

The friends of group host regular mini-events that take in guided nature walks; rambles; and even animal discovery adventures for the little ones. For up and coming events keep an eye on their Facebook page.

Orienteering

The ‘airienteers’ host an orienteering event as part of their regional event series in Hawksworth Wood. For the next event date keep checking their event page.

Hawksworth Wood was given its name by the monks at Kirkstall Abbey who used its resource for shelter, fuel and building resources. As time passed the area became a quarry site for millstone grit, before it naturally reverted back to woodland and scrub and the lush greenery you now see.

If you look carefully you’ll come across a metal hatch entrance to an old explosive store that’s been wrongly mistaken for a Second World War shelter. The TNT that was stored here was used to quarry the stone!

By the end of the First World War Leeds city council were on a drive to build new council houses, and by 1930 there were 7,000 new ones erected including the estate surrounding Hawksworth Wood.

Rubbish and dog waste bins are provided on routes within the woodland and parkland.

Just off Butchers Hill to the east of the wood is The Dalesman pub offering a decent selection of drinks and food to be enjoyed indoors and outdoors. In chilled out surroundings you can grab a bite to eat from the British pub themed menu. And while you’re there you can release the inner sports fan and watch the big sporting events on a big screen.  It’s a dog friendly pub too!

Our second pick comes at the bottom of Butchers Hill, just over the Oil Mill Beck. The Bridge, estimated 1868, was recently voted pub of the year in 2019 by readers of the Yorkshire Evening Post. This traditional public house offers a great choice of homemade meat and vegetarian options, including a daily specials board.

There is no dedicated parking area when visiting Hawkswood Wood. We recommend you park on the residential street of Vesper Road, postcode: LS5 3NB (Google Map Directions)

Hawksworth Wood can be accessed via Vesper Road, Cragside Walk or Butchers Hill. Please bear in mind that if you come from the Cragside entrance, you will have to navigate a set of steep steps down to the main path. The main path through the wood is flat and broad enough to accommodate a wheelchair or pram. But, this level of accessibility lessens when you venture onto the trails.

Train

Kirkstall Forge station is a 5-minute train journey from Leeds station, with trains running every 30-minutes to and from Kirkstall. Once at the station walk 5-minutes over the River Aire via the footbridge and join the Hawksworth Wood trail off Abbey Road.

Bus

Bus number 50a takes you from the Civic area of Leeds city centre to Butchers Hill on the eastern edge of Hawksworth Wood, here you can access the main route.

Taxi

It’s a 15-minute taxi journey from the centre of Leeds.