Whirlow, Ecclesall Woods, Beauchief Abbey, and Woodseats

My original plan was to do a circular walk from Edensor today, but the Bakewell bus didn't turn up and so I got the next bus going out to the Peak District, but only went as far as Whirlow. I actually got off a couple of stops early so that I could take some photographs of some nice topiary.

I soon reached the path that goes down into Ecclesall Woods; the signage in the woods is very clear.

I briefly needed to walk along Abbeydale Road, going past Dore and Totley Station and then up Twentywells Lane for a few yards. As I went over the railway bridge I took a photo of the railway station; it looks like the improvement works are almost complete but I was surprised to notice that there aren't any platforms for the line heading to the south - I wonder why this is?

I was soon in a wooded area again, this time I had a steep, tiring climb up to the top. A few minutes later I managed to get a photograph of Beauchief Hall, there were some deer in the field but they were far away and difficult to see.

 

It was an easy walk down to Beauchief Abbey.

About a mile further on,  my right foot was staring to hurt, a blister beginning to form I think, and so instead of continuing on my planned route to Graves Park I turned left instead of right in Chancet Wood and after about a mile came down onto a housing estate quite near to the shops at Woodseats. Before I could even check the timetable at the first bus stop a double decker bus was approaching and so I boarded it.

Braithwell, Maltby, Roche Abbey, Stone, Firbeck, and Langold

I travelled to Braithwell and walked over to the church and took some photographs.

 

I then retraced my steps through the village and headed out to the east along the road that leads to the quarry. I took the footpath on the right going south at the side of a field and then through a wood until I reached the houses at Maltby. I walked along the High Street, passed through the shopping area and arrived at the church; it's a difficult church to photograph - it's hard to get the angles.

I followed the footpath that goes through the wood on the hillside above Maltby Beck for a mile and a half to Roche Abbey.

There's a lovely little grassy valley that leads from the abbey to the village of Stone, I kept stopping and turning around to admire the view of the ruins as I got further away from them.

There are some lovely limestone buildings in Stone.

The walk across the fields to Firbeck was quite boring, apart from the memorial to RAF Firbeck.

Firbeck is quite a pretty village and the church there is rather unusual.

There's some tumbling topiary in this photograph.

The topiary in the next photograph is neater and more upstanding.

I continued through the village and then climbed up the lane, crossed the road and took the footpath that goes across the fields to Langold.

Walking To Cusworth Hall By A Different Route

A walk today taking in a few footpaths in the Cusworth area that I haven't used before. As usual to get out to the area I needed to walk through the town centre - it was still quite deserted, although a few more shops are open now.

I continued over North Bridge and along York Road to the Sun Inn and then took the footpath that goes along the course of old Roman Ridge.

When I reached Green Lane I turned left and then almost immediately left again, going down Scawsby Lane, then crossing over Barnsley Road a couple of miles further out of town and continuing down Sheep Walk Lane.

Scawsby Hall is situated at the point where I crossed over Barnsley Road, it has some quite nice topiary.

I had been walking in open countryside for about a couple of miles when I reached a footpath which cuts through a ribbon of woodland, further on there was a short makeshift obstacle course set up for mountainbike riders.

The path towards Cusworth Hall Country Park goes across a field and downhill. Since I was already at the bottom of the hill that's where I stayed and walked along the path that goes at the back of the main lake and then returned back home by the shortest and quickest route, as I've done on a couple of previous lockdown local walks.