A Walk to Cadeby Church

It started off by being not ideal for walking today, misty and cloudy, but it brightened up after lunch and ended up quite pleasant in the afternoon - I needed to get out of the house and do something positive for a few hours, so as long as it wasn't raining, it was fine. The lockdown has been getting me down again, especially some of the current developments.

I decided to visit Cadeby today and the small decommissioned church there, designed by George Gilbert Scott, the same Victorian architect who designed Doncaster Minster - I think he worked on both buildings at the same time. 

I walked to Conisbrough Viaduct, going via Hexthorpe Flatts park and the right bank of the Don. I found quite an attractive path that I'd not used before, going just to the north of Hexthorpe Flatts. It's not very far from the houses or the railway line but it's like being out in the countryside - it finished with a steep slippery descent to the riverside path.

This path goes under the motorway bridge and beyond Sprotbrough passes the location of the small lime-making community of Levitt Hagg.

I turned back a couple of times as I was exploring the network of footpaths and quarry roads in this area. I'd planned to go down into Steetley Quarry, but all of the paths were very steep - I wasn't wearing my hiking boots, only a pair of sturdy trainers which didn't have much grip on the soles though.

I crossed over Conisbrough Viaduct and then walked down the road to Cadeby; it's quite a pretty  village, but it's small and there's nothing else to photograph there apart from the church.

I continued to Sprotbrough along the road and then the footpath that goes right alongside the road. The next photograph features the furthest east to date of the signs erected by the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society.

A few hundred yards beyond this point I lost the track of the official footpath and ended up down in an old abandoned railway cutting. There was still a well-defined path - but there was this obstacle in the way. I had to decide whether to go under or over, and I chose the latter.

I entered Sprotbrough from an unexpected direction; it was quite busy at Lower Sprotbrough down by the river. There was an ice cream van and a concession selling hot drinks and snacks since the pub is still closed and boarded up like everywhere else.

When I reached the motorway bridge I took the steps going up the hillside out of the gorge and then the path that goes near to the housing estate and then across the fields eventually to Sprotbrough Lane, from where I walked along the road to the town centre and then home.

A Circular Walk Form Baslow

Visiting Baslow, Hassop, Pilsley, Edensor, and Chatsworth House; four villages, three churches, two pubs and [almost] a fight.

A grey, misty and miserable day for the most part today, although it did brighten up for about half an hour when I was at Chatsworth House. So, it wasn't very good conditions for photography; however I was determined to make the best of it, specifically spending more time taking photographs today, many of which are presented in black and white for better effect. Of course the murky conditions limited what I was photographing; no landscape shots today...just moody close-ups of buildings...with a couple of exceptions.

I got off the bus at Baslow Nether End and went to the toilets; inside there was neatly folded up pair of clean underpants waiting for me on the table at the side of the sink. I wonder if this is a new service for walkers being provided by Derbyshire Dales District Council? Probably not.  

Still wearing my own underpants I stepped outside and walked over to the cafe and started taking photographs.

I soon took a short path which I haven't used before, across a field  to come out further down the main road in the village. I stopped at the church to take more photographs, specifically remembering to get a clear shot of the unusual clock face on the tower.

I then walked over the old bridge, with its peculiar toll booth, and continued up a narrow ginnel between two houses to reach open countryside.

I had to walk along the road for about a mile in order to reach Hassop. Although the weather was still grey there was plenty of colour to photograph at The Eyre Arms.

It's back to black and white for pictures of the unusual Catholic church at Hassop, and the gatehouse at the hall.

The next section of the walk was along the bottom of a pretty valley and then up the track to Pilsley, where I stopped for a pot of tea at the Devonshire Arms. The taps inside the gents' toilets are the most complicated I've ever come across; I needed to lift, twist, and then pull to get any water. 

Refreshed, I walked through the village and down the road to Edensor. By now the sun was struggling to come out and so some of the outdoor photographs are now in colour again.

There are some beautiful cottages here.

I've not been inside the church at Edensor before, there always seemed to be a wedding or something else happening when I was passing...but not today - I had the church to myself. I've always wanted to have a good look inside because the building was designed by George Gilbert Scott, the same architect who designed Doncaster Minster...of course this church is much smaller.

I walked across the grassy parkland to Chatsworth House, passing Queen Mary's Bower and then going up to the Courtyard.

On my way back to Baslow I went up for a closer look at something I've previously wondered about when I've seen it in the distance. It's a wonderful piece of sculpture, although I actually think it's one of the fences or hurdles for the show jumping course.

I had to run the last few yards to catch the bus at Baslow as I could see it approaching the bus-stop and there was no-one else waiting. When we reached the busy traffic in Sheffield I thought the bus driver was going to jump out of his cab and beat up a driver who had jumped a red light, cut in front of us, and had held up everybody else until the traffic was able to move away at the next green light phase at the junction. He was livid and was hurling abuse at the top of his voice. A few minutes later he was being aggressive with another car driver who was a few seconds late at moving off at a green light. I think he was a bit unstable.