Edlington Pit Wood

I walked out to Edlington Pit Wood today, taking the route along the river to Warmsworth, passing through Hexthorpe Flatts park.

Just before reaching Mill Lane though I took an unofficial path that goes across a fallow field to the cemetery and then walked through the housing estate and down Lord's Head Lane.

This route took me to the old part of Warmsworth.

Taking this route was safer than walking up the hairpin bend as it comes out of the Don Gorge near to Sprotbrough - there are no causeways and a lot of overhanging branches. After I'd reached Hexthorpe Flatts park I was only walking through built up areas for a distance of less than a mile...until the return journey via the industrial areas at Balby and Hyde Park.

There were some areas of Edlington Pit Wood I didn't explore today, and I didn't go all the way up to the summit because there was a man with two or three big dogs up there - I'm still a bit wary after being attacked a few weeks ago near Bentley.

I enjoyed walking down this field full of ox-eyed daisies.

Beyond Edlington Pit Wood is the much older Edlington Wood and some patches of open ground.

I call this type of tree a 'urinal tree' - I used this one today.

I returned via Springwell Lane and the cycleway along the old railway embankment, and finished by taking a slightly different route back from the Lakeside Shopping Village...which I have to pass through, only the edge of it though; otherwise I'd be walking along a busy dual carriageway where there's no causeway or even grass verge. I don't hate out-of-town shopping centres so much that I prefer to risk getting run over.