The Five Weirs Walk, And Then Along The Towpath To Rotherham

A couple of years ago I walked along the canal towpath from Sheffield City Centre to Meadowhall; today I took the Five Weirs Walk which follows the course of the River Don downstream. When I reached Meadowhall I continued going until I reached Rotherham.

The beginning of the walk is at Lady's Bridge and it's clearly marked all along the route, which is fortunate for me because I lost my map the other week and still haven't been able to get a new one. The reason that the route is well marked though I suppose is because in certain locations the walk diverges from the actual riverside, going along streets and through industrial areas.

Early on on the walk there are some statues set in the middle of the river, they look like mini totem poles made out of scrap metal.

The next point of interest is the Spider Bridge which is a suspended walkaway which goes right out over the river as it flows under the Royal Victoria Hotel.

[I couldn't see where the parking area that this refers to.]

Some parts of the route are quite green and semi-rural. This is a riverside local nature reserve - I didn't go to investigate though because it looked quite overgrown and I would have got my trousers wet...they weren't my hiking trousers, just normal flannels.

A bit further on...

I'm assuming the Five Weirs Walk isn't a definite footpath because the next section is closed after five thirty in an evening.

All distances along the route are measured in precise fractions of a mile - none of this newfangled metric stuff here.

I popped in to Wetherspoon's for a glass of Pepsi Max when I reached Meadowhall; I appreciated the chance to sit down for a wile and the shelter from the rain. The pub's conveniently situated right next to the riverside path.

After a short stretch of walking along the road I arrived at the canal towpath which I followed all the way to Rotherham. There are some really quite attractive areas on the way to Rotherham, if it wasn't for the constant traffic noise and the sounds coming from nearby factories I could have imagined that I was out in the countryside.

I was overtaken by a speed walker, he was really determined and was so quick that his training partner had to jog to keep up with him. His gait looked very awkward, contrived, and unnatural, probably even painful for him.

I saw my first boats on the canal about a mile south of Rotherham. 

New York is an area of Rotherham quite near to the town centre.

Obliviously the timings on this sign refer to cyclists, it had taken me about three hours, including my stop at Meadowhall, to reach this point.

I spent a few minutes in Rotherham town centre since a train back to Doncaster wasn't due for a while.

It rained for most of the time, I didn't mind though, wet miserable weather and urban decay and dereliction seem to go quite nicely together.

Brough, Hope Station, Aston, Hope Cross, Thornhill, and Bamford.

The guard on the train this morning always calls Meadowhall MeadowHELL. He's obviously not a fan of this particular large out-of-town shopping centre. Personally I reckon that Meadowhall is no worse than any other, and is probably better than most: it certainly has good public transport connections.

I got off the bus at Brough and walked down the lane which leads to Hope Station, crossed over the quite ornate footbridge and continued slightly uphill across fields to reach the western edge of Aston. I then continued climbing, firstly walking along a lane and then track which petered out into a footpath as I reached open moorland.

As I got higher the views were getting better; the first photograph shows the Great Ridge, and the second one Edale valley and Kinder Scout in the distance.

I soon reached Hope Cross, an ancient milepost and boundary marker high on what is, I think, a stretch of Roman road. Here's a link with more details...and photographs.

http://www.derbyshireheritage.co.uk/Menu/Ancient/crosses/Hope-cross.php


The next section of the walk was down through the densely wooded plantation: it was very dark inside here. I reached the bottom and then walked along the southern shore of Ladybower Reservoir. The next section was along the Thornhill Trail, the trackbed of the old railway which was used to transport stone for the construction of the dam.

The final part of the walk was across fields towards Bamford Mill, where a crossing of the River Derwent is required, first across a narrow rickety footbridge, and then a series of wobbly stepping stones and sections of duckboard - the river seems to be very wide here, and full of rocks and debris.

It was then only a short walk down the road to the bus-stop. When the bus arrived I did a bit of an experiment and discovered that my travel pass can be scanned upside down; meaning either face down, or with the text upside down. This knowledge has made my life marginally easier.

Sheffield Railway Station To Fox House.

At the end of June I walked the Meanwood Valley Trail in Leeds with a friend who's from Leeds; so today it was time for me to reciprocate and show him what I consider to be the equivalent walk in Sheffield - from the railway station out to Fox House, via the Porter Valley. Unfortunately it doesn't have a name though as far as I know...of course it's a much nicer walk,  my friend even admitted that.

I had planned to walk through the old cemetery but got a bit confused with the roads; so we walked along Ecclesall Road until we reached the entrance to Endcliffe Park: from this point the walk really begins, with nice parkland, industrial heritage and then open fields...and finally, high moorland.

I was surprised at how quickly we reached Forge Dam Café; a lovely spot.

I was hoping to at least stay and have a cup of tea, but my friend was on a schedule: he needed to meet his wife at the Meadowhall shopping centre later. So, after stopping briefly to eat our sandwiches on a nearby seat we continued on.

Our next pause was at the toposcope at the head of Porter Clough. We could clearly identify the plumes from the six observable power stations in the Aire Valley and the Trent Valley...and the TV mast at Emley Moor. I estimate the visibility to have been over thirty miles; pretty good, but still a bit too hazy to see the Humber Bridge or Lincoln Cathedral, which are both included as landmarks. In the other direction, to the west; the only landmark identified is Chicago!

Beyond this point we entered the Peak District and were walking across open fields, quite muddy and boggy in places, and then across Houndkirk Moor...with a gentle descent down to Fox House.