Fairburn: what to know before moving day
Until the A1(M) opened in 2005, the old A1 split Fairburn in two, and the halves were joined by one road bridge and one footbridge. Both have since been removed, and the old road through the middle is now the A1246, still named the Great North Road. Many of the older houses are built from the magnesian limestone of the ridge the village stands on. Silver Street, Gauk Street, Caudle Hill, Cross Hill and Newton Lane run through the village, along with closes such as Lakeside Gardens, Ings Mere Court and Orchard Drive.
South and west of the houses is RSPB Fairburn Ings, a nature reserve in the Lower Aire Valley whose lakes formed where old coal workings subsided, with the River Aire beyond. In the village you will find the Three Horse Shoes and the Wagon and Horses, St James church, the community primary school, the community centre and the cricket club. Fairburn was a township of the ancient parish of Ledsham and became a civil parish of its own in 1866.
How the van gets to Fairburn
Coming from Bradford, the M606 joins the M62 at junction 26 and the motorway runs east past Leeds to junction 33 at Ferrybridge, which serves the A162 and the A1. The A1(M) section that bypasses Fairburn opened in April 2005. In the village itself the van uses the A1246 Great North Road, the former A1, which runs north to Selby Fork on the A63.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 40 to 50 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Fairburn
Each service below links to its Castleford page, which covers how the job works in and around Castleford.
Fairburn: questions before you book
Why does Fairburn have a Knottingley postcode if it is in North Yorkshire?
Postcodes follow the Royal Mail sorting area, not the county line. Fairburn is in the WF11 district with Knottingley, but postcodes.io places WF11 9JT in the Fairburn parish and the Monk Fryston and South Milford ward of North Yorkshire. Give the full postcode and the van finds the right street.
Is the Fairburn Ings visitor centre in the village?
The reserve lies right beside the village, on its south and west sides, and has its own visitor centre. For a house move, the street address and postcode matter more than the reserve, so send both.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- WF11 9JT: Fairburn parish, Monk Fryston & South Milford ward, North Yorkshire, Selby constituency
- Fairburn: civil parish about 10 miles east of Leeds, near the A1(M) and M62, split by the old A1 until 2005 with one road bridge and one footbridge (both removed), magnesian limestone ridge and stone houses, Fairburn Ings beside the village, township of Ledsham parish until 1866, Selby District 1974-2023
- Fairburn Ings: RSPB reserve in the Lower Aire Valley south and west of Fairburn, lakes from mining subsidence
- A1(M): section bypassing Fairburn opened April 2005
- M62: M606 at junction 26, junction 33 serves the A162, A1 and Ferrybridge
- A63: at Selby Fork the A1246 continues south along the former A1
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Great North Road (A1246), Silver Street, Gauk Street, Caudle Hill, Cross Hill, Newton Lane, Lakeside Gardens, Ings Mere Court, Orchard Drive, Three Horse Shoes, Wagon & Horses, St James, Fairburn Community Primary School, community centre, cricket club, River Aire