Billingley Green, Billingley, Middlecliffe, Little Houghton, Great Houghton, Thurnscoe, and Highgate

I caught the Barnsley bus to Billingley Green and walked up the road to Billingley. I then took the path that leads right to the northern tip of Middlecliffe and continued down the lane to Little Houghton.

I walked along Chapel Lane, which I remember as being the old pit lane used to reach to two former local collieries. Despite this area only being ten miles from my home in Doncaster, and the area I lived in until thirty years ago I still managed to find a path I'd previously not used, going part way up the former spoilheap, now landscaped...of course when I was younger there wasn't a path here. It leads to a location where there are now several large wind turbines and the layout of the landscape and footpaths is completely different as to how it's depicted on my Ordnance Survey map dating from the 1980s.

It wasn't difficult to select the correct path going up to Great Houghton. I walked through the village for about half a mile and then took a bridleway heading up towards Mount Pleasant Farm and then to the road that leads to Clayton.

Great Houghton has associations with the civil war and Oliver Cromwell, and that's why there's a statue of his helmet in the village.

I was now walking along the boundary between Barnsley and Doncaster which soon becomes designated as the Barnsley Boundary Walk which I stayed with for a while before branching off to Thurnscoe and continuing through the village and then along a track to Highgate from where I caught the bus back to Doncaster.

Family Health Issues

I've not been able to get out much walking in the past three weeks because of family health issues; my brother is in Barnsley Hospital recovering from pneumonia and my frail elderly father is now struggling having to manage on his own. I don't have a car and so it takes me two buses to reach the hospital and I'm finding it all a bit stressful and tiring.

Additionally I've been concerned about my own health, fortunately it's nothing serious, just a blood blister on the siole of my right foot - something known as 'talon noir' ; a French term meaning 'black heel.' It's a walking injury, caused by a new pair of boots that were very comfortable for the first three miles...and then they weren't.

Retford Charter Day

An inexpensive day out with my support worker today; Retford is only twenty miles away from Doncaster and so the mileage money won't be a lot...and it was free parking.

After spending three hours in the town we drove a few miles to Thaymar Ice Cream Parlour, Tearooms, and Farm Shop near Elkesley; it was very busy with long queues for the tearooms and ice cream, and the farm shop was tiny. There was an ice cream van parked outside and so we bought some from there; the vanilla ice cream was some of the best I have ever tasted. There were many other flavours for sale inside but we didn't fancy queueing.   

Newton, Sprotbrough, and Cusworth Hall Country Park

I've just got back from doing my favourite local walk, which I do at least once a year - walking alongside the river to Sprotbrough and then across the fields to Cusworth Hall Country Park and returning to the town centre.

The paths starting just beyond the town centre were both blocked; going alongside the river and the canal - fortunately there's a well used path that goes around the back of the prison that's not signed or on any maps.

There was an organised event taking place at the rowing club; there were certainly plenty of people on the water, not just rowers, but barges and pleasure cruisers. 

I bought an ice cream at Sprotbrough and a pot of tea at the tearooms at Cusworth Hall.

I didn't put on my proper walking boots, but a more comfortable pair...but weren't very comfortable though after a couple of hours - the last mile or so my feet were on fire.

An Hour In Barnsley

I had an hour to spare this morning in Barnsley as I waited for my dad to arrive so we both could go and visit my brother who's currently in hospital, and so I took a few photos.