Outwood is a district to the north of Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

, a city in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The district is centred on the A61

A61 road

The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...

 Leeds Road south of Lofthouse

Lofthouse, West Yorkshire

Lofthouse is a village in West Yorkshire, England between the cities of Wakefield and Leeds. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough but with a Wakefield postal address . It is mentioned as Locthuse also Loftose in the 1086 Domesday Book....

. It was originally a small pit village

Pit village

A pit village is a term used in the UK for the village serving a deep coal mine.Many of the workers lived in houses that were provided by the colliery. Many villages have experienced depopulation after colliery closures forced people to move to other towns and cities where there are jobs for them...

, but there has been so much new housing in the last twenty years that the old village is now only a minority of the district. In 2001, it has a population of 7623.

The area near the train station was once the site of Lofthouse pit, that is known for the disaster in March 1973 that claimed the lives of several miners. The site of the mine is now a golf course and housing estate.

The Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate is also situated near to Outwood.

Transport

Outwood railway station

Outwood railway station

Outwood railway station is situated in the Outwood district of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England.Outwood is the first stop on the Wakefield Line after Leeds for trains going towards Wakefield Westgate, Doncaster and Sheffield....

 is an unmanned station, served by Northern Rail

Northern Rail

Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

, offering rail services towards Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

, Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 and Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

. The A61 (Leeds Road) runs through the middle of Outwood, connecting towards Leeds to the north and Wakefield to the south. Junction 41 of the M1 is also close-by.

Education

Outwood is home to Outwood Grange Academy, one of the largest secondary schools in the UK with over 2000 students.
The local primary schools are St Peter's CofE Primary & Nursery School, Ledger Lane Junior & Infant School (headteacher Mrs Goff), Jerry Clay Lane Primary and Rooks Nest Primary School. There are plans to build a Children's Centre at St Peter's school to open in Spring 2008.

Sport and recreation

Outwood is home to one park. Outwood Park has facilities for football, 5 a side, crown green bowling and a children's play area. Outwood is also home to two other playing fields and another play area.
Local teams include Nightingale Football Club and Outwood Rangers Junior Football Club.

Local agriculture

Outwood is located within the Rhubarb Triangle

Rhubarb Triangle

The Rhubarb Triangle is a triangle in West Yorkshire, England located between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell famous for producing early forced rhubarb. It includes Kirkhamgate, East Ardsley, Stanley, Lofthouse and Carlton. The Rhubarb Triangle was originally much bigger covering an area between...

. Because of its mining history Outwood has good supplies of soot and ash to condition its soil, which provide good conditions for the plant to grow.