Conisbrough, Denaby Ings Nature Reserve, Billingley, and Highgate

I went to the railway station this morning to see if a train going to Conisbrough was due but it was thirty minutes for the next one and so I walked to the adjacent bus station and caught a bus...which was already waiting at the stand and set off almost immediately. The short journey took nearly three times as long, but it was still a better option than just waiting on the platform. 

The bus took me right into the town centre at Conisbrough; the railway station is at the bottom of the valley, a good fifteen minutes' walk away. I bought something to snack on later and then headed for the church and the castle to take some photographs in the early morning sunlight.

I still needed to go the railway station though because that's where there's a footbridge over the river which allows access onto the TransPennine Trail - the sign explains the exact current situation.

When I reached Denaby Ings Nature Reserve I did a circuit of the lake; it's a lovely walk and I took some photographs from one of the hides; the other one was already occupied.

I'd been walking along, or parallel to, the Dearne for over five miles when I left the river just north of Broomhill and turned north and headed uphill towards the main road and then along a footpath to Billingley.

Here's a true story, a bit ghoulish though I suppose, about the village...thanks to Wikipedia for the extract from the article about the village:

'Billingley was founded in the late 15th century by a small number of Dutch cattle farmers who lived on the surrounding land. Notable among them were Leeuwen and Gerte Van Halen, of whom rock legend Eddie Van Halen is a direct descendant. The village served as a place to meet and trade farm produce, as well as exchange news and stock market tips.

Tragedy struck, however, in the aftermath of the Dutch Tulip Bubble, in which many of Billingley's wealthy speculators blamed their heavy losses on their Dutch neighbours, by now a minority in the thriving village. Among the victims of the ensuing violence were the by then long deceased Van Halens, who were unceremoniously dug up from Billingley cemetery and thrown into a peat bog. Eddie has never spoken publicly about his feelings regarding this incident, but many interpret the signature Van Halen tune "Jump" as an angry response to the treatment of his ancestors.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

I approached close to Thurnscoe but didn't enter the village; the path ran right along the bottom of some gardens though. I arrived at Highgate just before two o'clock and only had fifteen minutes to wait for the bus back to Doncaster.