Thurnscoe, Great Houghton, Clayton, and Goldthorpe

Another walk from Thurnscoe having first visited my parents for an hour or so. I left their house just after midday and walked along the old railway embankment towards Great Houghton. There are some decent views from this elevated route...and quite a few wildflowers too, and some maybe not-so-wild flowers as well.

The wildflowers I was able to identify were cranesbill, willowherb, and thistle...although I actually call the first two wild geranium and railway flowers.

These are two plants I couldn't identify...although I'm sure I've seen the first one before.

UPDATE: I've been told that the flower in the photograph above is a musk mallow, or at least some type of mallow.

I crossed the road at the bottom of Great Houghton and continued along the perimeter of Sandhill Golf Course and then turned right up the hill to reach the church at Great Houghton, unusual in the fact that it's one of the very few churches to have be been built during the Commonwealth era.

I walked along the high street and then headed up onto the fields at Mount Pleasant Farm.

After a few minutes I reached the road, which I walked along until I found the footpath which leads back to Clayton via Howell House Farm - at the farm I saw a young woman polishing her horse; it was standing perfectly still like a statue and glistening in the bright sunlight...it seemed quite magical and out of place. I've never seen a horse looking anything like this before.

I walked from one end of Clayton to the other, from west to east.

I took the bridleway that leads back to Thurnscoe, but after about a mile forked off in the direction of Stotfold Farm.

The farm track from Stotfold to the main road just before it reaches Thurnscoe gives good views of Hickleton Golf Course; it's a very scenic course, and some holes are quite difficult due to the hilly nature of the terrain...one of the holes is known as 'Heart Attack Hill.'

Finally I climbed up to the summit of Phoenix Park, where there are lovely views of Hickleton village...looking like a bit of the Cotswold that has crash landed in South Yorkshire.

I arrived at Goldthorpe at 3:45 to find most of the shops closed and shuttered; is this usual for a Saturday afternoon? I did find a shop that was open where I could buy something to drink though.