Worksop, South Anston, Woodsetts, and South Carlton

There are four buses an hour going to Worksop but they travel along two different routes and I have to walk in opposite directions to get to the relevant bus stop...so I always have to make a decision. Today I chose to travel via Tickhill.

I started the walk by walking westward along the canal tow path leaving Worksop.

I could see Shireoaks church in the distance.

I continued along the canal for about five miles until I reached a footpath which led northwards towards South Anston.

At the beginning of the footpath I had to cross over the railway line; it's not a very busy route though.

The last time I was South Anston church I couldn't go inside because of a wedding - I couldn't go inside today either because the door was locked.

I headed back east, walking through Anston Stone Woods. There was a short distance walking alongside the busy A57 road and then I entered some more woodland until I reached a bridleway which skirts Woodsetts to the south.

There are some nice houses here.

There's also a top secret missile launching facility, code name 'Nirvava' which isn't very well camouflaged...and doesn't seem to be guarded at all.

The route continued as a footpath at the edge of the golf course and then across the fields until I reached the country road that heads towards the Worksop to Doncaster trunk road.

I took the first path across the fields to South Carlton.

It was then a short walk down the lane to the main road where I caught the bus; perfect timing, only a few seconds to wait. 

Bakewell, Great Longstone, Little Longstone, Monsal Head, Sheldon, Magpie Mine, and Over Haddon

I didn't wake up until 7:15 this morning but still managed to reach Bakewell within two hours. I cut through Bath Gardens in the town and headed north to Great Longstone.

It then didn't take me long to walk to Little Longstone; despite the sign, the small chapel there was closed.

I continued up the road to Monsal Head and then along the footpath which goes gently down through the woods to Monsal Dale. I followed the river downstream at the bottom of the valley until I reached Lees Bottom and then climbed up to Sheldon and the ruins of Magpie Mine. It was a steep and quite difficult ascent on the wet limestone.

The church at Sheldon is one of my favourites.

Magpie Mine was looking as stark, bleak, threatening, and mysterious as it ever does in poor weather conditions...although the effect was somewhat tempered by the presence of two hiking groups which had stopped to eat their sandwiches there.

Finally I made a good pace across the fields to Over Haddon and then down to Bakewell.

  

Doncaster, Newton, Sprotbrough, and Cusworth Hall

Public transport finishes early today and so I just went on a local walk along the river to Sprotbrough, returning back to the town centre via Cusworth Hall. After a few minutes walking along the river a couple of rowing boats sped by; the boat with only one person sitting in it was just as fast as the larger boat with two people rowing - I wonder what the optimum number of rowers is so as to maximise the speed of the boat?

Newton is less than two miles from the town centre.

Just beyond Newton I took the path that goes to the disused railway embankment, now a stretch of the TransPennine Trail long distance cycle route - I can't remember ever having gone this way before. I re-joined my regular route just before the motorway bridge that crosses over the Don Gorge.

It was only about another half a mile until I reached Sprotbrough.

I then walked across the fields to Cusworth Hall and returned to the town centre using the bridleway, and then Sprotbrough Road.