Castleford

West Yorkshire


Castleford is a town in the Wakefield metropolitan district of West Yorkshire.

The town is one of the so-called 'Five Towns' making up the eastern part of the Wakefield metropolitan district, the others being Pontefract, Knottingley, Featherstone and Normanton.

Castleford had its origins around a Roman settlement near the River Aire.

The town expanded rapidly in the 19th century as collieries opened around the town, but by the end of the 20th century the industry had closed.

Already suffering from the end of coal mining, Castleford has suffered further blows from the relocating of other industries from the town. These include the closure of its Nestlé confectionery factory in 2012. One company which has stayed in the town, after having recently considered a move to Leeds, is fashion retailer Burberry, a company which has been established for more than 100 years and famous for its heritage trench coats which are made in Castleford.

Castleford has indoor and outdoor markets in its town centre, but in Glasshoughton village to the south of the town there is also a large outdoor outlet shopping centre near to Junction 32 of the M62 motorway and an indoor ski-slope and leisure complex with restaurants and multiplex cinema.

There are railway stations at both Castleford and Glasshoughton. While the present Castleford railway station consists of only a shelter, it is nevertherless a busy point where regular trains operating in both directions between Sheffield and Leeds, Knottingley and Leeds and Castleford and Huddersfield all reverse at one of the platforms of a line which continues towards York and Selby, but has no passenger services in that direction. The service to Huddersfield is a recent introduction and by changing there allows journeys to Manchester and its airport more quickly than the previous need to change at Leeds.

Two major Yorkshire rivers come together at Castleford where the River Calder joins the River Aire.

One of the oldest structures remaining in the town is its stone three-arch bridge across the River Aire, built in 1808 to replace one which had been used for many centuries. A new curved pedestrian bridge was opened nearby in 2008, close to the town's old flour mill, as part of a riverside regeneration project.

Castleford is the home of Rugby League team Castleford Tigers. The Superleague team won the League Leaders' Shield in 2017 for the first time in their 91-year history. In 2021, they are Rugby League Challenge Cup finalists.


 Town features


The town is on the River Calder and River Aire.
Castleford is on the Aire and Calder Navigation.
The town has a shopping centre among its range of shops. Castleford offers bakery goods, butchers, clothes, flowers, furnishings, gifts, jewellery, indoor and outdoor markets#(Mon Thu Fri Sat).
The town has a Post Office.
Castleford has bank and building society branches.
The town has pharmacies.
The town has pubs and social clubs.
Castleford has a selection of places to eat.
A wide range of takeaway food outlets can be found in Castleford.
The town has a library.
Castleford has a museum.
There is a multi-screen cinema in the area.
Castleford has a theatre.
The town has a leisure centre with swimming pool.
Castleford has a community centre.
There are public toilets in the town - including at bus station (20p).
Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Islamic, other.
The town has a historic bridge, mill and buried Roman remains.

Travel


Castleford Station

Castleford station Powell Street

With two platforms now open at the improved Castleford station, there are now TransPennine Express services running between York and Manchester Piccadilly via Wakefield and Huddersfield. Other services at the station reverse there on their journeys between Leeds and Sheffield via Wakefield and Barnsley and between Leeds and via Pontefract to Knottingley, occasionally extended to Goole.

Towards York
York 30 Towards Wakefield
Normanton 7 - Wakefield Kirkgate 12 - Mirfield 21 - Deighton 26 - Huddersfield 30 - Slaithwaite 37 - Marsden 41 - Greenfield 48 - Mossley 52 - Stalybridge 57 - Manchester Piccadilly 1hr 13min
Normanton 5 - Wakefield Kirkgate 11 - Darton 22 - Barnsley 29 - Wombwell 35 - Elsecar 39 - Chapeltown 44 - Meadowhall 51 - Sheffield 59 Towards Leeds
Woodlesford 9 - Leeds 20Towards Pontefract
Glasshoughton 5 - Pontefract Monkhill 10 - Knottingley 16 - !! Whitley Bridge (for Eggborough) 22 - Hensall 26 - Snaith 33 - Rawcliffe 38 - Goole 47
Knottingley (dep) 22 - Pontefract Monkhill 27 - Pontefract Tanshelf 29 -Featherstone 35 - Streethouse 37 - Wakefield Kirkgate 47 - Wakefield Westgate 51 - Leeds 1hr 6min


1hr 8min - typical fastest journey times in hours/minutes.
Red - stations in West Yorkshire ticket area.
⇆ - most trains to Knottingley return to Leeds via Featherstone (and vice-versa).
!! - only one service a day operates east beyond Knottingley. None on Sunday.

Station managed by: NORTHERN.   Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station info
External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).


Castleford bus station

Castleford bus station Albion Street

Castleford bus station at Albion Street is about 4 minutes walk from Castleford railway station.

Destinations include Featherstone 25, Pontefract 25, Wakefield 30, Garforth 32, Leeds 37, Knottingley 4037 - typical fastest journey times in minutes. Some routes may take longer.
Red - places in West Yorkshire ticket area.
 Metro - Castleford Bus Station
Link to Metro - external web page with details of services and buses at this bus station.

Road travel

Castleford can be reached via the (M62) A639 A655 A656 A6032 A6539

Places to Visit


Sandal Castle

Sandal Castle

Manygates Lane, Sandal Magna, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire
About two miles south of the city centre, the ruins of the medieval motte and bailey castle are freely open to the public and overlook the River Calder and the city. Some walkways at the castle, including steps to the keep, have recently been undergoing renovation and repairs following a £700,000 investment by Wakefield Council. The castle stood just above the site of the War of the Roses Battle of Wakefield in December 1460. Its damage, however, was ordered by Parliamentarians after the surrender of a Royalist garrison there in October 1645 during the English Civil Wars.

More information at the  Wakefield Council - Sandal Castle web pages.
Find on map:  Sandal Castle


The Hepworth, Wakefield

The Hepworth, Wakefield

Gallery Walk, Wakefield
A modern building next to the River Calder in Wakefield provides purpose-built gallery space for a collection donated by the family of Wakefield-born artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, who died in 1975, together with visiting contemporary art exhibitions.
Find out more at  The Hepworth website.
Find on map:  The Hepworth, Wakefield


National Coal Mining Museum for England

National Coal Mining Museum for EnglandNational Coal Mining MuseumWakefield Road, Overton
The National Coal Mining Museum for England is mid-way between Wakefield and Huddersfield, about 6 miles from each, on the main A642 road at Overton. It is also around 10 miles from Barnsley and just under 5 miles from Dewsbury. The former Caphouse Colliery has exhibits showing the history of mining in the Yorkshire coalfield and beyond. The museum also offers the chance to don a miner's helmet to take an underground tour down the mine. The tour takes about an hour and shows the changes in mining and conditions in the pit through its history. There's also chance to meet pit ponies, to take a trip on a colliery railway, to walk its nature trail or relax with food or a drink in its cafe.
More details at the  National Coal Mining Museum website.


Yorkshire Sculpture Park

West Bretton
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the UK's leading open-air sculpture gallery, situated at West Bretton, between Barnsley, Huddersfield and Wakefield. Set in around 500 acres of beautiful parkland within the Bretton Estate adjoining Bretton Hall, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park offers what is probably the finest outdoor exhibition space in the country for modern and contemporary sculpture, attracting regional, national and international exhibits. The museum also has indoor exhibition spaces, cafes and shops. The museum car parks are accessed off the A637 Huddersfield Road between West Bretton and junction 38 of the M1. From 2020, the Yorkshire Sculpture Pak has introduced an admission charge with advance booking required. Parking is included in the admission fee.

More information at the  Yorkshire Sculpture Park website.
Find on map:  Yorkshire Sculpture Park


Nostell

Nostell
off Doncaster Road, Wragby, near Wakefield
The site of a medieval priory, Nostell features a mid-18th century Palladian-style house which has been described as an architectural masterpiece. It includes interiors added by Robert Adam and furniture by Yorkshire-born furniture designer Thomas Chippendale. The house, 6 miles south-east of Wakefield and 5 miles south-west of Pontefract, is set in more than 120 hectares of parkland, including lakeside walks. Feature gardens include a kitchen garden with many varieties of rhubarb and vegetables typical of those grown in the 18th and 19th centuries and also the Menagerie Garden, created in 1743 and once the home of several exotic species. Nostell is managed by the National Trust.
More information can be found on the  National Trust - Nostell web pages.


Pontefract Castle

Pontefract Castle

Castle Garth, Pontefract
Once the most impressive castle in Yorkshire, Pontefract Castle has been a ruin for nearly 380 years. It is believed to be the place where King Richard II died in 1400, the king having been imprisoned there in 1399. The castle was referred to (as Pomfret) in William Shakespeare's play Richard III as the place where Richard II was 'hack'd to death', although many historians put starvation as the likely cause. Mystery still surrounds the death as there were also stories of Richard's escape to Stirling in Scotland. The castle was visited in August 1541 by King Henry VIII with his queen of the past year, Catherine Howard, and also Thomas Culpeper. Culpeper was at the end of that year beheaded in London for his alleged adultery with the queen, who was herself executed a few weeks later. Pontefract Castle was a royalist stronghold in the English Civil War and was beseiged several times by Parliamentarian forces before its remains were destroyed in 1649. Low and excavated sections of the castle's once formidable walls and towers and parts of the cellars of the castle are all that remain today. The castle is managed by Wakefield Council.

More information at the  Experience Wakefield - Pontefract Castle website.
Find on map:  Pontefract Castle


Fairburn Ings

Near Fairburn
Situated 2 miles north-east of Castleford (3.5 miles by road), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve at Fairburn Ings offers hides, trails and a visitor centre. It has a variety of birdlife habitats, including lakes, woodland and wet grassland with resident and migrating birds depending on the season. The visitor centre is open each day except Christmas Day. The reserve holds events and discovery days through the year and there are also opportunities for pond-dipping.


Emergency services

West Yorkshire Police  West Yorkshire Police website.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service  West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust  Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.


Local government



Metropolitan district council

Wakefield Council
Wakefield Council covers an area extending many miles beyond the city of Wakefield itself. The area includes many separate small towns and villages, among them Castleford, Featherstone, Hemsworth, Horbury, Knottingley, Normanton , Ossett, Pontefract, South Elmsall and Stanley.

The council is made up of 63 councillors elected 3 per ward across 21 wards. Elections held in 3 in every 4 years elect one councillor per ward for 4-year terms.

Political composition after May 2024 election:

563 3 1
63 members
Link to  Wakefield Council website .


County strategic authority

West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Covers some combined services of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire -  Bradford,  Calderdale,  Leeds,  Kirklees and  Wakefield — which were at one time provided by a West Yorkshire metropolitan county council, with the addition of the non-contiguous unitary authority area of the City of  York council as well as the unelected Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. Since 2021 it has operated with an elected mayor as chairman and decision-maker for some responsibilities. These include transport, housing and planning and finance powers. The responsibilities also include those of Police and Crime Commissioner, a role substantially delegated to an appointee deputy mayor.

Elected mayor: Tracy Brabin Labour & Cooperative
 West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.


Police and Crime Commissioner

The Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire
This role has become one of the many responsibilities of the West Yorkshire elected mayor since May 2021.

 West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.


National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Fire Authority

West Yorkshire Fire Authority
The fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.
 West Yorkshire Fire Authority web pages.


Parliamentary constituency

Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
Elected MP: Yvette Cooper Labour

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

West Yorkshire

Historic

-1974 Within the West Riding of Yorkshire



Also in Yorkshire.guide

 New    Places to visit    Gazetteer   



Yorkshire.guide - a dotguide.co.uk website. Made in Yorkshire UK   |  Terms of use  |  Privacy policy  with  No cookies  |  Contact  |