From the Archives: Barnburgh

Barnburgh, about five miles west of Doncaster is situated in an area of nice countryside but it is best known for the 'Cat and Man' legend which goes back to the fifteenth century and features Sir Percival Cresacre, who lived in Barnburgh Hall at the time. He was riding home after a night out in Doncaster and was attacked by a wildcat or lynx and thrown off his horse. A fight then occurred between Percy and the animal as he struggled down Ludwell Hill towards the village. He managed to reach the porch of the church but before he could open the heavy wooden doors he died; the cat died from its injuries a few seconds later at the same spot, where the stonework is supposedly stained red with blood that cannot be washed away...it's just part of the natural coloration of the local limestone though.

The photograph I've selected features what I know as 'The Lightning Tree' just to the west of an area called 'Barnburgh Cliff.' I was there only a few weeks ago and although I wasn't specifically looking out for it, I didn't see the lightning tree...so maybe it's no longer there.

Pedometer

I've just bought a pedometer in the New Year Sales. It only cost £7.99 and it's full function, featuring number of steps taken, distance walked, and calories. I'll be wearing it all the time, not just on my walks...if I remember. I haven't a clue how many steps I'll clock up in a month; my friend in Leeds who works in a warehouse did 500,000 steps for the first time this month.

From the Archives; Beeley

Beeley, one of the Chatsworth Estate villages is somewhere I tend to walk through rather than start or end a walk there. I did once call in the local pub, The Devonshire Arms, for a glass of Diet Coke or Pepsi and took this photograph of the barter board.

Not As Planned: Conisbrough and Cadeby

Well...today didn't turn out as planned. I was sitting on the train on platform 5 at Doncaster Station waiting for the 08:04 service to Sheffield to set off when the guard announced that due to over-running engineering work there would be nothing departing until at least nine o'clock. So, a quick walk over to the bus station was required to see what my options were. The X78 bus was due, so I caught it to Conisbrough.

My day had been ruined, but at least I'll probably qualify for compensation from Northern Rail; a voucher for one day's free travel on their entire network.

When I got on the bus I broke the ticket machine...again. As I struggled to place my pass in front of the scanner my knuckle caught the lid of the machine, pushing it open and knocking the roll of paper into the air. Fortunately the driver was easily able to make repairs...at least a temporary fix anyhow.

Every bus operator here has a different type of ticket machine, with a different type of scanner. With some machines you need to press your pass at the front of the machine, but for others you just place it on top. I much prefer the latter. As usual, this morning the driver was sitting behind a transparent perspex security shield with a hole low down for people to pass their hand through. This is what causes a problem for me, for someone as tall as me with poor co-ordination and no proprioceptive sense. The hole is so low that I struggle to correctly position, twist, reach, and orientate my hand; I really don't have that much control. If there's no-one standing behind me I can get on the bus stooping like an old man so that I can more easily line up my hand and reach for the scanner. [I once forgot that there were people behind me and took a step backwards in order to be able to bend down a bit...with the expected results.] Oh, how much simpler things were when all I needed to do was show my pass to the driver and state my destination.

So, today's walk began, and ended, at Conisbrough. I took advantage of the early hour; the sun had just risen and so I was able to get some good, well lit photographs of both the church and castle. I observed something interesting at the main castle gates, a very athletic young man dressed all in black walked up to the gates and in one deft, militaristic movement got down on one knee, crossed himself, and then slapped each shoulder, much in the manner that I've seen mediaeval knights do in films when pledging allegiance to a king.

I then walked up on to the Crags and also along some riverside meadows where I was able to view Conisbrough Viaduct from some different angles.

From where this photograph was taken it's quite a climb up to the top of the crags. I then walked along the road to Cadeby and took some photographs of the church, or chapel - I'm not sure what the difference is.

By lunchtime it was starting to cloud over and becoming rather chilly so I decided to head off home. As I was walking past the railway station at Conisbrough I noticed that a train was due in two minutes, twenty five minutes late, so I decided to catch it back to Doncaster - it only takes a few minutes. Northern Rail's problems this morning had worked to my advantage this time.

The Lanes And Tracks Of Hathersage

To the north of Hathersage there are a lot of lanes and tracks, I've walked up and down some of them, but there are still sections I haven't explored yet...and of course, they're all linked together by a dense network of footpaths.

I started the day with an apology.

The first lane I walked along, but only for a few yards before I took the footpath that leads towards the church, was Baulk Lane. I've not taken this path before and it was interesting to see views of Hathersage from different angles as I climbed up the side of the field - it was a well-maintained gravel path though, fenced off from the field.

'Little John' is supposedly buried at Hathersage church; I took several photographs of his grave but none of them really showed how large it is; I've settled for this shot of the church itself instead.

After leaving the churchyard I took one of the footpaths that eventually leads to North Lees Hall, crossing a road that I think is called 'Birley Lane.'

Just beyond North Lees Hall I took the path which leads to the left, in the direction of Green's House. When I reached Hood Brook I had to make a decision; the brook is usually only a trickle here and it is easy to just step over it, or ford it...not today though; it was an angry, raging torrent of wild water. Here's a link to a short video I filmed. 

The water seemed to be too deep and too  fast flowing for my liking, and since there was an alternative route that led down to a footbridge, that's the way I went.

Just after Green's House I spent a bit of time walking along the upper reaches of Coggers Lane, my third, and final,  lane of the day; there are several more though.

I then found a path that I was particularly keen to locate because it isn't marked on my map; it's only quite recently been designated as a concessionary footpath. I only found out about its existence by looking on the Streetview feature on Google Maps.

By now the weather was closing in and visibility was quite poor. I could just about make out Stanage Edge, Win Hill, and the entire length of the Great Ridge. On a warm sunny day in the spring or summer I can't imagine there are many places with better views to sit among the wildflowers listening to the cricket commentary and enjoying a steady supply of chilled drinks, chocolate, and a selection of cakes.

The path came out further down Coggers Lane; I soon took the path that took me past Thorpe Farm, which sells its own ice cream - I wasn't the least bit interested today.

I got a bit lost as I crossed Sickleholme Golf Course and in the end decided to head straight for the club house. A couple of footpaths cross the course and it's accepted practice to just plot your own route, causing as little disruption to the golfers as possible - I noticed a sign stating that the course was closed today though; I did observe that a couple of the greens were waterlogged and nearly every bunker had a large puddle in it.

The bus was a few minutes late arriving at the bus stop at Bamford Station. It lost even more time when it reached the outskirts of Sheffield. I have never seen so many people get on the bus as it travelled down Ecclesall Road. I think this is likely due to the re-organisation of bus services undertaken by the Sheffield Bus Partnership. I've been following developments online and it seems that there are now a lot fewer buses serving Ecclesall Road. Bus users in the city aren't very happy; provision in many other areas is also a lot worse; fortunately the buses that run out to the Peak District have hardly been affected. In truth, now that there's a regular service from the city centre out to Bradfield it can even be claimed that there's been a significant improvement. I used this bus service on my previous walk in the Peak District.