Mount Pleasant Hotel and Rossington

Just a short local walk this morning organised at short notice so that I could get out in the countryside for a couple of hours to enjoy the sunshine, which has been very rare in recent days.

I caught the Worksop bus and travelled south on the Great North Road for a few miles to the Mount Pleasant Hotel and took the footpath that leads to Rossington Hall. I was assuming I'd be able to access the grounds of the hall, which I have done previously, but the route is now blocked by a locked gate. I then meandered through the local countryside, generally heading in a northerly direction back to the church at Rossington. 

The last time I was here this pile of rubble was a building, part of what remained at the time of an old quarry I think.

I noticed two of these remote-controlled machines painting the lines on the football pitches as I was heading towards the bus stop near the church. When I got there it was just after eleven o'clock and they were holding a Remembrance service at the cenotaph across from the church and so I stayed well away.

Fox House, Totley Bents, and Dore

It was misty today, not very good for taking photos and so I've only included a few.

The train arrived on time at Sheffield and so I was able to catch the 272 bus to Fox House. I walked across Totley Moor and then explored the Blacka Moor Nature Reserve, taking some paths I'd not used before. 

At Totley Bents there is a series of carvings of animals placed in various gardens and paddocks, they're quite hidden away, some of them in overgrown areas, and are difficult to photograph. I managed to capture five of them, but I spotted at least two more.

 

I then walked up the hill to Dore village and continued up to Hathersage Road to catch the bus to the city centre.

The highlight of my day, by a long way, was when a man got on the bus with a quite large dog sitting on his shoulders.

South Carlton, Woodsetts, and Gildingwells

I caught the Worksop bus to South Carlton and headed out across the fields to the west until I reached Woodsetts. I walked through the village and turned to the north at the crossroads. I  returned by a different route which started at the southern extremity of Gildingwells.

Not long after getting off the bus I got talking to a man and his dog for ten minutes or so until we went our separate ways; the dog was called Toby, but I can't remember the man's name.

There are several attractive buildings at South Carlton near the church.

Otley and Otley Garden Centre

I was checking the weather forecast and researching market days last night before I decided to go to Otley today with my support woorker. The market turned out to be rather disappointing, only half a dozen stalls, and I also had a problem with the car parking, meaning that I'm £2.50 out of pocket, which I'm hoping will be refunded by Leeds City Council.

We only looked round the shops, I was hoping to pop down to the riverside or drive up to the Chevin to enjoy the views, but Siobhan's hip was hurting her and she needed to take things easy.

 

There are quite a few similar murals around the town, mainly in the windows of shops that are empty.

We called at Otley Garden Centre on the way back home and had tea and cakes. I had to photograph my scone, it was a work of art.

 

Bamford, Thornhill, Hope, and Castleton

I travelled on the 272 bus from Sheffield to the bus stop for Bamford Station and made my way over to Thornhill, utilising a short footpath that I hadn't previously used, I'm always on the lookout for these...there were a couple of humorous signs.

I then took the path that goes alongside the sunken lane to Aston. Before reaching Aston I cut across the fields to Hope and then followed the course of Peakshole Water upstream to Castleton. 

Fox House to Curbar Crossroads

A real test for my knees today; up on the moors but staying to a well-defined and quite easygoing footpath. I travelled to Fox House and headed south along Froggatt Edge to the bus stop at Curbar Crossroads.

Early on though, as I was walking through the Longshaw Estate my right knee started to hurt and so I had to strap it up, the first time I've needed to do this in many months.

A few minutes later I heard a stag bellowing, it was only a few yards away and was very loud. Despite being relatively near the zoom on my camera was insufficient to capture any close up images.

The Grouse Inn is situated on a short stretch of road I needed to walk down.

I briefly studied my map at Curbar Gap and decided that it would be an easier walk to the bus stop at Curbar Croosroads via the Wellington Monument rather than going down to Baslow Nether End.