Walton, Wakefield

Walton is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Wakefield. It is on the Barnsley Canal and includes Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, the home of Charles Waterton, the man who made Walton Hall into the first nature reserve in the country, and who invented the bird nesting box. It also has a large protected reserve nearby, formerly a colliery, which has now been transformed into a popular wildlife destination, where entry is free and which people can walk round. Also in Walton is the recent construction of a new Junior and Infants School, replacing the two separate buildings which previously existed in Walton. In addition, there is a park, and a tennis club, adjacent to it. Although a fairly large village in its own right, it has since almost joined with nearby Sandal, which, in turn, runs into Wakefield.