A Walk Along The Canal Towpath From Thorne To Stainforth

A significantly better weather forecast for Doncaster than the Peak District today and so I caught the Scunthorpe train to Thorne South railway station this morning. I haven't used this station before, neither have I used the recently built platform 0 at Doncaster Station from where it departs...it's quite a distance from the other platforms. I've been to Thorne plenty of times before but whenever I've caught the train I've always got off at Thorne North.

I walked into the town centre going via the church and the earthworks remains of the castle.

 

I popped in to one of the bakery shops and got a really good bargain, a dozen of yesterday's cakes for only 90p - I didn't eat any of them though since I'd already eaten my sandwiches on the train. I then walked along the canal towpath to Stainforth and caught the bus back to Doncaster. My foot was starting to hurt me, I'm convinced that it's a residual sixth toe I've got; I've never had the doctor look at it though.

Hooton Roberts, Old Denaby, and Mexborough

I caught the Sheffield bus to Hooton Roberts, the next village after Conisbrough, and headed north along the lane and then the footpath that goes up and then down to Old Denaby.

When I reached Old Denaby I went down Ferry Boat Lane to the lock; I had to cross over the railway line and the river first though. I couldn't access the lock, it appears to be fenced off and only users of the canal are able to reach it, so I wasn't able to take any photographs

I walked along the towpath for a few hundred yards until I reached a point to get off near to Mexborough Railway Station.

I went into Mexborough town centre and spotted a bargain, a large, 1 kg, pack of bacon offcuts for £1.

I had nearly half an hour to wait for my train back to Doncaster and so did a bit of trainspotting at the station..

Circular Walk From Castleton

I travelled to Castleton this morning and started my walk by heading out northwest along Hollowford Road and then a path that goes over to Mam Farm and comes out onto the broken road, about half way up.

There were no home baked treats in Millie's Honesty Box. Just beyond this point I had to do my only bit of serious climbing but I found a spot to have a rest and watch several cyclists struggle to get by a fallen tree which was blocking the path. Some carried their bikes. others pushed their bikes, and a couple tried to jump over the obstacle whilst riding...and failed miserably. I didn't say anything.

I walked up the rest of the broken road and then across a grassy area to the top of Winnats Pass and then descended to Castleton with plenty of time to catch the bus.

 

Bamford Clough - Walking Up The Steepest Street in the World

I was watching a video online last night when it was claimed that Leesdale Road, the paved road that goes up Bamford Clough is the steepest street in the world. So, I decided to incorporate it into my walk today.

I woke up late and so had to catch a later train to Sheffield; I'd still be able to get the same bus out to the Peak District though but I'd only have a few minutes to get to the bus staion...it's not far though. I needed to pee and so used the toilet on the train; it looked like it might be blocked and so I flushed first...and got hit in the face with a spray of high pressure water. Wow, super-efficient!

I got off the bus at Bamford Station bus turnaround and walked up the road to the village and then started my climb up the clough, a climb of about 500ft.

 

After having watched the video I knew that there was a seat half way up; I'd already had three or four rests by the time I reached it. There's a nice view though.

There's another seat further up, which wasn't featured on the video, there are views of Win Hill from there.

When I reached the top I got chatting to a young couple and an older man - being out of breath certainly helps me to correctly pronounce my aitches. I turned to the right and walked along the road for a mile before finding a route down into Hathersage and finishing the walk there.

Blyth and Langold Lake Country Park

Today didn't turn out as planned, it got off to a good start though; as I passed through the park to reach the bus stop I lingered for a while to watch the squirrels. Without moving from the main paved path I spotted three of them.

I caught the local bus to Blyth and took the footpath that goes over to Hodsock.

I got lost before reaching Hodsock though, the fields had been ploughed and I couldn't locate the route of the path. I decided to head in a general westerly direction to find another path going to Hodsock. Although this wasn't a footpath it was easy going and I could see horses had been using the route.

On the subject of horses....I heard a strange noise, as it got louder and closer I could see what it was, it was the local huntmaster blowing his horn followeed by a pack of yapping beagles.  I stayed out of sight until he'd passed and then got onto a wide track, not the one I was expecting though. I sat on a conveniently situated boulder to check the map and then all of a sudden dozens of horses came galloping towards me. I was safe, the rock was set well back from the track by several yards. After they'd passed I continued on my way,  only to be confronted by more people on horseback, this time a lot less threatening. There were more people, and parked cars further on; to be fair everyone seemed quite friendly, but I decided it was better to not take any photographs.

Somehow I'd managed to completely miss Hodsock and was now on the lane that goes to the main road and the entrance to Langold Lake Country Park.

Fortunately there was plenty of room to get out of the way of two tractors.

There's a cafe at the country park; I popped in for a Viennese slice and a pot a tea. I finished off the walk by doing a short circuit in areas of the country park I'd not been before - I ended up not seeing the lake though.

I didn't even need to walk up the road to Langold to catch a bus, there's a bus stop right outside the entrance to the car park.

Map My Visitors

It seems that the Map My Visitors app has stopped working, the one with the map at the bottom of the page. I only installed it about a month ago when I discovered the the previous app, Revolver Maps had closed down in April. I've now installed another one called Live Traffic Feed; I don't really like it though, the map's not zoomable and I don't think there's a cummulative tally. I like maps, and several years ago I included a route map for each walk but for some reason that I can't remember now I had to stop doing it.  

UPDATE: It's now working again.

Head Cold

I was all set to go walking in Nottinghamshire tomorrow but I've had to cancel because I've got a head cold that's just come on from nowhere. After having my tea I felt fine and got everything ready, my sandwiches, my drink bottles and my map...but a couple of hours later and my eyes are stinging and I'm sniffling and sneezing.

I hope it's only going to last 24 or 48 hours, they usually do, and I'll be fine for the weekend - I haven't checked the weather forecast yet though.

Hathersage, Leadmill, Offerton, Shatton, and Bamford

Today's walk started by going downhill and then uphill to Hathersage Church and then taking the back way to the centre of the village. I was interrupted though by two cows which were blocking the path at a narrow chokepoint. I couldn't go around them so I had to wait for one to move, and then the other one followed it. Another man was already waiting to come in the other direction and as we waited we had a rather pleasant conversation for a few minutes.

I then left Hathersage, going to Leadmill and briefly along the riverside path before climbing up to Offerton.

Like Leadmill, Offerton is just a collection of a few buildings. I continued walking down the lane into Shatton, a decent-sized village, and then along the road to the bus stop at Bamford Station.