A ‘HAUNTED’ medieval path through Cliffe Castle Park has been restored for the living.

Local people can once again walk the route reputedly used by Civil War raiders making their escape from Keighley.

The route of Dark Lane, which passes near the park bandstand and old pond, could date back as far as Roman times.

The path restoration forms part of the £4.5 million refurbishment of the park using Heritage Lottery Fund and Bradford Council cash.

The work on Dark Lane has been highlighted by Cliffe Castle Park Conservation Group and Deborah Rehmat, the artist it commissioned to sketch ongoing improvements.

Group members are this month inviting members of public to join them for a behind-the-scenes visit to see the work being carried out by contractors.

Group spokesman Sue Skinner said: “Although it was sad to see some of the old glasshouses and café at Cliffe Castle Park disappearing a few months ago there is now the excitement of watching the re-building.

“There will be an opportunity for interested visitors to join members of the group for a free tour of the park and an insight into what is happening during its restoration.”

A highlight will be the resurfaced Dark Lane, which runs from the park’s lower Spring Gardens Lane entrance to an existing tarmac path at the Beechcliffe end.

The entire route, laid down centuries before the 1825 construction of Skipton Road, connected Keighley to the villages of the Aire Valley and on to Skipton.

The possible use of Dark Lane as a route by a Civil War raiding party from Skipton has been mentioned in books by both Keighley historian Ian Dewhirst and ghost walk leader Malcolm Hanson.

A special commentary prepared as part of the Cliffe Castle Park lottery project reveals the more recent history of Dark Lane.

It states: “For the Butterfield family living at Cliffe Castle the Lane presented a major problem. It allowed townspeople and visitors to cross their grand new drive and to peer over the wall into their lavish new gardens.

“At first the Butterfields had the Dark Lane wall banked high with soil and had trees and shrubs planted on top to maintain their privacy.”

In 1891 Henry Isaac Butterfield successfully applied for an act of parliament to close Dark Lane, the same time donating £5,250 to create Victoria Park and Keighley Museum.

Sketches of the restoration work of Dark Lane are among dozens of drawings by artist Deborah Rehmat on her blog about the lottery project.

She said: “On the day repairs to the Dark Lane wall began I went up to do a quick sketch and found work had paused because a wasps’ nest had been disturbed – hidden deep in the wall where stones had fallen away.”

The walk is on Sunday November 20, starting at 2pm from the entrance to Cliffe Castle Museum.

Visit deborahrehmat.wordpress.com/blog to see the sketches. Visit cliffecastlepark.org.uk for details of walks and other activities.

.