A ribbon of woodland and grassland in the heart of surburbia!
If you fancy a walk that’s a bit different why not have a stroll through Gledhow Valley Woods. You can even feed the ducks at the Lake.
Gledhow Valley Woods trail follows Gledhow Beck and leads around the medieval Gledhow Lake a small but important conservation area and holds a huge variety of flora and fauna with a range of birds to spot on your adventure.
Gledhow Hall is built on what was monastic land, the property of Kirkstall Abbey. The abbey was the major landowner in the Allerton area in the 13th century.
The abbey lands were seized by the Crown in 1539 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Alderman John Thwaites bought part of the land and built Gledhow Hall in the 17th century.
At the bottom of the Valley you can find an open air bath house known as Gipton Spa built in 1671 complete with a small fireplace and a plunge pool that took its water from a nearby spring. The ice cold plunge pool; approx 1.75m deep, and 3m wide attracted many to take full advantage of the holistic properties and it’s beautiful surroundings.
Gledhow Hall stayed in the Thwaites/Waddingtons family till the 18th Century when it was remodelled between 1764 and 1767 by John Carr for Jeremiah Dixon, who was by then the owner. It is now apartments but you can still see the unique details that its owners have added over the years!
Did you know Gledhow Valley Woods is home of the Horsetail? Horsetail is a very old plant that dominated the forests of the dinosaur era. So this is a perfect place to visit for your Dinosaur fans to see what was consumed by their favorite prehistoric animals.
Let us know if you find a Horsetail and tag us in your pictures!
