Denby Dale, Upper Cumberworth, Skelmanthorpe, Emley, and West Bretton...and then Wakefield City Centre

I travelled to Denby Dale today and headed over to the west, I briefly went the wrong way as I left the railway station though, but it gave me a better view of the viaduct I'd just travelled across. My photographs aren't very good.

I made my way to Upper Cumberworth; his would be as far west as I'd be going, for the majority of the walk I'd be working my way back to  the northeast.

I then went north, passing the entrance to Shelley Station, one of the termini of the Kirklees Light Railway, and then took the path that goes right alongside the track for about a mile - for most of this distance the railway is up on an embankment. This section of the walk has been designated as part of the Shelley Welly Walk - when I first saw the logo on the badge though I thought it was a teddy bear.

I briefly entered Skelmansdale near the college and this is where I took the next photograph, probably the nearest point I'd come to the Emley Moor TV mast.

The climb up to Emley was quite steep near the top as I approached the village. The church was open; a lot of care had been taken when setting up the chairs.

A fat person wouldn't fit through this squeeze stile;

there's a space of less than eighteen inches...otherwise I suppose they'd have to climb over. I just made it through without having to remove my rucksack - it wasn't my large one though.

After dealing with the stile it turned out that I'd gone the wrong way, the wrong side of an impenetrable hedge, and so I had to squeeze back through again. I'd already diverted the walk because I didn't fancy jumped over, or wading through, a deep fast flowing beck, but just after this point I couldn't locate the path and had to climb over two rusty gates and then  I got entangled in some thick bramble. Despite wearing thick heavy trousers my legs got shredded - my hands were cut as well.

I didn't know whether to stride or flop over the brambles, try to push them aside or just walk straight through them. I think I did a combination of all three which really made them angry so that they tried to trip me up, strangle me, and scratch me like wild animals wherever they could reach...and grabbing my wrists and ankles like desperate drowning children.

I got to a bus stop and saw that a bus going to Wakefield was due in fifteen minutes and so I abandoned my original plan to continue walking to Newmillerdam and just stayed where I was. I'd had enough; my hands and legs were stinging and itching and my feet were waterlogged. The prospect of a few home comforts was very enticing. According to the information at the bus stop I was at West Bretton.

I just missed the train back to Doncaster and so went into Wakefield City Centre to take some photographs. I stumbled upon an interesting scene; a burly security guard crawling about on the pavement outside a bank picking up a lot of spilled coins and a young female cashier bent over almost exposing her knickers. I would have liked to take a photograph...but decided not to and put my camera away.