A couple of years ago I walked along the canal towpath from Sheffield City Centre to Meadowhall; today I took the Five Weirs Walk which follows the course of the River Don downstream. When I reached Meadowhall I continued going until I reached Rotherham.
The beginning of the walk is at Lady's Bridge and it's clearly marked all along the route, which is fortunate for me because I lost my map the other week and still haven't been able to get a new one. The reason that the route is well marked though I suppose is because in certain locations the walk diverges from the actual riverside, going along streets and through industrial areas.
Early on on the walk there are some statues set in the middle of the river, they look like mini totem poles made out of scrap metal.
The next point of interest is the Spider Bridge which is a suspended walkaway which goes right out over the river as it flows under the Royal Victoria Hotel.
[I couldn't see where the parking area that this refers to.]
Some parts of the route are quite green and semi-rural. This is a riverside local nature reserve - I didn't go to investigate though because it looked quite overgrown and I would have got my trousers wet...they weren't my hiking trousers, just normal flannels.
A bit further on...
I'm assuming the Five Weirs Walk isn't a definite footpath because the next section is closed after five thirty in an evening.
All distances along the route are measured in precise fractions of a mile - none of this newfangled metric stuff here.
I popped in to Wetherspoon's for a glass of Pepsi Max when I reached Meadowhall; I appreciated the chance to sit down for a wile and the shelter from the rain. The pub's conveniently situated right next to the riverside path.
After a short stretch of walking along the road I arrived at the canal towpath which I followed all the way to Rotherham. There are some really quite attractive areas on the way to Rotherham, if it wasn't for the constant traffic noise and the sounds coming from nearby factories I could have imagined that I was out in the countryside.
I was overtaken by a speed walker, he was really determined and was so quick that his training partner had to jog to keep up with him. His gait looked very awkward, contrived, and unnatural, probably even painful for him.
I saw my first boats on the canal about a mile south of Rotherham.
New York is an area of Rotherham quite near to the town centre.
Obliviously the timings on this sign refer to cyclists, it had taken me about three hours, including my stop at Meadowhall, to reach this point.
I spent a few minutes in Rotherham town centre since a train back to Doncaster wasn't due for a while.
It rained for most of the time, I didn't mind though, wet miserable weather and urban decay and dereliction seem to go quite nicely together.
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