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.