Kendray, Locke Park, Stainborough, Hood Green, and Birdwell

I travelled a bit further afield today; I went on the bus to Kendray, about a mile before Barnsley town centre, and made my way over to Locke Park...somewhere I haven't visited for a very long time. Before reaching the park though I visited the municipal cemetery because I noticed a large folly there that looks as though it's been built to resemble the ruins of a mediaeval monastery...I certainly wasn't expecting to find this.

The next four photographs were taken in Locke Park.

There's a footpath that goes through the park and continues down to the TransPennine Trail near to the M1 motorway at Gilroyd. I was on the trail for about half a mile, heading west. I then walked down the road to Stainborough until I found the entrance to Stainborough Park, which is a rather nice archway.

The concessionary footpath going into the park was closed, and the gate locked; the sign tells people to walk up the drive to the information booth. It was quite a steep climb up to the top; I was expecting to be able to enter the park without paying, because it's always been free, but now that it's managed by the National Trust you have to pay. I wasn't expecting this and so went back down the hill, turned left and walked through the small village of Stainborough and then up the hill , the same hill but this time I was using the pavement running along the road going up to Hood Green.

Near to the top there's the entrance to Northern College, which still uses the castle for residential courses I think. Just inside the driveway there's a folly and a gatehouse that has a tower that looks like a church tower.

The bottom word that's been blocked on this sign south of Hood Green is 'cattery' and so I'm assuming the top one is 'kennels.'

I was walking along a bridleway at this stage - maybe the chickens might spook horses...I don't know.

 

I got lost a couple of times as I headed over to Birdwell and added quite a bit of mileage. I had planned to carry on as far as Ardsley and get the Doncaster bus home from there. Instead I caught the Barnsley bus from Birdwell, but it arrived in the bus station at a convenient time to catch the X91 back home.

There was some pleasant countryside in the areas where I went off my originally planned route though.

A few minutes after passing this sign attached to the southern entrance to Stainborough Park [the gate wasn't locked] I had a slightly surreal chat with an old man who was very worried because there weren't any frogs in his pond.