Darfield, Little Houghton, Grimethorpe, Clayton, Thurnscoe, and Hickleton

I managed to fit in an afternoon walk today after my lunchtime appointment in town. I caught the Barnsley bus to Darfield and headed north towards Little Houghton and then Grimethorpe.

The first interesting thing I saw to take photographs of was the memorial to Houghton Main Colliery at Little Houghton; most former pit villages have a similar memorial featuring the winding wheel from the pit's headgear.

After only briefly visiting Little Houghton I walked down the pit lane and then across a variety of different countryside landscapes on my to Grimethorpe, probably not as bad a place as its name would suggest.

This sign was mostly likely in the parish of Great Houghton...

...and these two shots of the local landscape were taken a bit closer to Grimethorpe. 

It was a steady climb up to the top of Brierley Common and Howell Wood Country Park. The approach to the country park meant me having to go straight through a bean field because the path was indistinct, I didn't find the correct exit from the field and so needed to climb over a wobbly gate.

The location of Howell Wood Country Park is a bit unusual because although it's inside Doncaster Borough the only road access requires a vehicle to pass through parts of Wakefield, or even both Barnsley and Wakefield if you want to use the most direct route from many areas.

I spent far too much time in Howell Wood literally walking in circles, or turning back on myself, until I found a way out. It wasn't where I wanted to be, but I could get to Clayton from there.

When I reached the 'Welcome to Doncaster' sign I noticed that someone had dumped their rubbish on the road right next to the sign.

I quickly passed through Clayton, only briefly pausing for a drink at the village pond, my orange squash was delicious.

I decided that I needed to jog for part of the time for the last mile or so to Hickleton to make sure I arrived in time to catch the bus. I went down Chapel Lane at Thurnscoe because I think it's a bit quicker going that way - and it's certainly easier for jogging. I got to Hickleton with enough time to spare to take some photographs of a few of the pretty cottages in the village.