Finningley, Austerfield, and Bawtry

The weather was quite nice this morning and so I went for a local walk, catching the bus to Finningley and walking over to Austerfield and then continuing on to Bawtry.

The bus does a loop around Finningley and then waits for a few minutes at a stop not too far away from where I wanted to be before it starts its journey back to Doncaster. So I got off rather than wait and headed for the church and then the route of the walk I'd planned.

I soon found my footpath, there's a sign that's set a bit back from the road and can be difficult to see, but there were plenty of dogwalkers for me to follow. The path goes across an area that looks like a grassy common, through a wood and then right next to a disused quarry that's used as a motocross racing track- further on there's an active sand quarry.

I don't remember the active quarry workings being there the last time I was here a few years ago; I'm assuming the footpath must have been diverted because I got lost but soon found my way back to the Thorne road just a few yards away from where I expected to be. I walked along the road for a while and then picked up the next footpath. There was a notice from last year stating the path would be closed for a few weeks but it was expected that the work that needed doing would be completed by September 2024. I assumed there'd be no problem; I checked my map and it showed the path going across the field but it now seemed to be going off to the right along the edge of the field. After a few hundred yards the well-defined path disappeared and I was faced with a recently ploughed field, which wasn't too difficult to walk on because I could follow the tractor tracks, but when I reached an overgrown ditch I knew that this wasn't the way. I looped back hoping to find the path over to the left, but I didn't and so I went all the way back to road and walked down to the next footpath which is actually a bridleway which utilises the driveway leading to Bawtry Golf Club.

It was easy going to Austerfield. Although Austerfield is now in Doncaster it used to be in Nottinghamshire and so therefore the ecclesiastical parish is in the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.

Something I've never seen before; a house wrapped up in blankets.

I finished the walk by taking a path that goes to Bawtry, leading right to the welcome sign.

 

Bubnell, Hassop, and Edensor

I travelled to the bus-stop for Bubnell and headed westwards over to Hassop, using a footpath across the fields and then a country road. I then took the path to Pilsley but didn't enter the village, I stayed to the west and continued on to Handley Lane, another country road, and then went down the bridleway to Edensor to catch the bus back to Sheffield.

I believe Edensor to be easily the prettiest village in the Peak District; every cottage is well worth taking the time to photograph it. I only photgraphed a few today because I wanted to reach the bus-stop in time though.

 

Two Sheffield Tram Termini

I caught the tram to the terminus at Middlewood and walked up through the housing estate to Loxley and Wadsley Common; Langsett Avenue is very steep.  

I then headed west for about a mile before making my way down to the River Loxley and following the Loxley Valley Trail to the other local tram terminus at Malin Bridge.

There are a lot of derelict industrial buildings in the Loxley Valley, most of them well hidden and not too near the footpaths.

There are also some beautiful houses.

Towards the end of the walk I climbed up to the former Robin Hood pub hoping to find a new route, instead I got lost in a housing estate at Stannington. Fortunately it didn't matter what time I got to the tram terminus at Malin Bridge, it's a frequent service back to the City Centre.

Chatsworth House and Beeley Circular Walk

I started the walk at Chatsworth House and headed south to Beeley.

 

At Beeley I left the village walking along a dead end street which became a farm track and then the footpath continues up the side of Beeley Plantation until it reaches an area of tree felling near the top and then passes through woodland right at the top.

I crossed Beeley Moor and then re-entered Chatsworth Park high up in Stand Wood to be greeted by this sign as I was climbing over the stile.

I finished the walk by finding the easiest way down to the bus stop, which has had its basic facilities upgraded.

It's been a cold overcast day in the Peak District but when I got back home to Doncaster there wasn't a cloud in the sky...and it was a lot warmer.

Darfield, Little Houghton, Great Houghton, and Thurnscoe

I caught the X19 Barnsley bus to Darfield, it was the noisiest bus I've ever travelled on; everything was shaking, vibrating, rattling, and banging. I walked down to the River Dearne, and then continued to Little Houghton. I went along along the former pit lane to Great Houghton and then up onto the higher ground north of the village.

I followed a couple of well defined paths which aren't shown on the map and ended up coming out at the lower part of the village. I joined what I think is a section of the TransPennine Trail [there are several alternative routes in this area] and headed east towards Thurnscoe where I popped in to see my dad for a few minutes before catching the bus home.