Midweek: Hawksworth, LS5

Another day, another pre-breakfast run. Hard to believe, but it happened. Today was the final day of our trip to Leeds and I was granted another pass out, which was most welcome. 🙂

This time, I decided to avoid having a ruinously steep hill near the end of the run and so just planned to run around the Hawksworth housing estates rather than dip down towards Kirkstall Abbey again. I briefly checked Google Maps to plan the exact route and then headed out.

The idea was to head north till I hit the ominous sounding Butcher Hill, then take that road east as far as Spen Lane. From there, it would be south until I passed under the railway line and then west back up Vesper Road to the Airbnb. Everything went exactly to plan... until I got to Butcher Hill and saw fairly well worn but unofficial tracks leading into an area of scrub and trees. Curiosity piqued, I headed off into the wilderness instead of sticking to the road. I'd be rubbish in a horror film.

This wooded area, which ran alongside a railway line, turned out to be a bit of a tip, if I'm honest, but it was fun to explore. Bounding up and down over fallen trees and brambles, it felt a lot like orienteering country. Those brambles got their hooks into my legs at times and my pace dropped markedly as I had to pick my way through them, but at least I didn't stumble across any obvious glue dens (which wouldn't have felt out of place). In fact, I got more wildlife than I was expecting, causing a squirrel to fly up a tree at one point and then startling a pair of small deer as I ran into a clearing they'd been occupying.

Eventually, I reached a dead end and looped around and back out the way I'd come in. Figuring I'd spent a fair chunk of time getting precisely nowhere, I then scaled back my plans for the rest of the run and ran to the west instead of the east, intending to stay closer to home than Spen Lane. A short while later, not long after passing the 2km mark, I found myself running next to a large area of open grass with views over Leeds centre(?) in the distance, so I darted off-course again to enjoy the greenery. Had I had more time, I would've ducked into more woodland alongside Oil Mill Beck, but it felt like time to round things out.

After passing Hawksworth Skatepark, I headed back into the housing estate and, casting glances at the map on my phone, attempted a return. Unfortunately, my map reading skills while running left something to be desired. Instead of running south east, I ended up running due east, overshooting and adding the best part of another kilometre to the 3k I had planned.

Regardless, all went smoothly hip-wise and it was another run under the belt to set me up for... dare I say it... a parkrun this coming Saturday? If anything scuppers it this time, I'll miss out on getting my Monthly achievement in the 5k app, as this weekend is my last chance to notch up a February run. I'll be gutted if I don't make it...