Conisbrough, Clifton, Micklebring, Braithwell, Wadworth, and Loversall

I travelled on a bus for the first time in four months today. My invisible disability mask exempt card and sunflower lanyard arrived in the post yesterday and so with a degree of trepidation I ventured out to my local bus stop. I caught the first bus that I was able to board that was going to anywhere appropriate to start a walk...and it was Conisbrough this morning. I found it quite nerve-wracking, but fortunately I was only on the bus for fifteen minutes.

I got off the bus on Doncaster Road and walked to the start of a footpath that leads towards the south. The first path I reached, and the one that I was expecting to use was clearly signposted but totally blocked by builder's rubble and overgrown with brambles and nettles. I continued on to the next footpath, just a few yards further...and this is what I saw; what a lovely start to my walk today.

At the location where this next photograph was taken I had to get down onto my hands and knees because the stile was missing, I could have chosen to vault over the timber obstruction if I'd preferred.

I was following a well-used path, but not the one marked on the Ordnance Survey map; this one was more interesting than the wide track that should have been my route - I passed through woods, areas overgrown with bracken, a sunny meadow, and ended up down in an old abandoned railway cutting.

This graffiti on the brickwork helped; I chose the direction that only leads to Clifton.

The approach to Clifton was lovely.

The postbox in the village is 'priority postbox.'

Just beyond the village is Beacon Hill, it's not the highest point in Doncaster but it's certainly the most prominent, with widespread and distant views.

I continued along the footpath to Micklebring, passing under the motorway. There's nothing to photograph at Micklebring...the village doesn't have a church.   

I headed east along the road to Braithwell where I photographed the church there.

Still using the road, I headed northeast towards Wadworth.

It was more roadwalking to Loversall and then my regular way back home along a country lane, a cycleway along the route of an old abandoned railway line and finally through an industrial area. As I was walking along the tarmac of the cycleway I briefly saw a juvenile grass snake, about a foot long. It had disappeared into the undergrowth before I could get my camera out. I'd not seen one before; I've seen quite a few adders though, England's only venomous snake.