Thurnscoe, Clayton, Frickley, Hooton Pagnell, Bilham Row, Broodsworth, Pickburn, and Woodlands

I started today's walk after first having visited my parents at Thurnscoe, about eight miles from my home. My mum's not well, she's got terminal cancer, and I'm needing to spend a lot more time with them both.

Thurnscoe is a decent place to start a walk from though, it's situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Magnesian Limestone Ridge and there's some lovely countryside and very pretty villages nearby, 

My parents' home is quite near to the church and so that was the first thing I took a photograph of today. The church isn't really very old, most of it is an eighteenth century re-build. 

I then walked through the estate and across the fields to Clayton, where I ate my sandwiches sitting on a bench at the Millennium Green across from the village pond.

I turned down the lane leading to Teapot Corner and then took the track to the few houses at Frickley, and then Frickley Park. As I was walking along a stretch of one of the estate roads I arrived at a massive steel gate that was closed, and could only be opened by residents of the hamlet by using a keypad. It wasn't a problem for me to get by, I just stepped over a low wall at the side. As long as I've been alive this has always been a public right of way for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic and I'm not happy about this development. Technically there is an alternative route through a small wood, but this is a long detour...and certainly is no use to anyone in a car...or a delivery van.

At times it was difficult to find the path as a walked up the hill to Hooton Pagnell, one of my favourite villages anywhere. There are so many beautiful cottages in this limestone estate village; it wasn't quite looking its best today in the quite cloudy conditions. I'm sure everything will be ready for the annual Summer Fete in five weeks' time though - I'll be there again if the weather's fine.

I then took a route down to Brodsworth which was new to me, first arriving at Bilhan Row. I continued along the road to Pickburn and then over the footbridge over the motorway to reach Brodsworth Community Woodland and then finally the shops at Woodland where I waited for a bus back to Doncaster.