Billingley Green, Billingley, Middlecliffe, Little Houghton, Great Houghton, Thurnscoe, and Highgate

I caught the Barnsley bus to Billingley Green and walked up the road to Billingley. I then took the path that leads right to the northern tip of Middlecliffe and continued down the lane to Little Houghton.

I walked along Chapel Lane, which I remember as being the old pit lane used to reach to two former local collieries. Despite this area only being ten miles from my home in Doncaster, and the area I lived in until thirty years ago I still managed to find a path I'd previously not used, going part way up the former spoilheap, now landscaped...of course when I was younger there wasn't a path here. It leads to a location where there are now several large wind turbines and the layout of the landscape and footpaths is completely different as to how it's depicted on my Ordnance Survey map dating from the 1980s.

It wasn't difficult to select the correct path going up to Great Houghton. I walked through the village for about half a mile and then took a bridleway heading up towards Mount Pleasant Farm and then to the road that leads to Clayton.

Great Houghton has associations with the civil war and Oliver Cromwell, and that's why there's a statue of his helmet in the village.

I was now walking along the boundary between Barnsley and Doncaster which soon becomes designated as the Barnsley Boundary Walk which I stayed with for a while before branching off to Thurnscoe and continuing through the village and then along a track to Highgate from where I caught the bus back to Doncaster.

Deepcar to Penistone

I needed to travel on the tram for part of the journey to Deepcar at the start of my walk this morning. When the tram reached Hillsborough the driver had to get out of his cab and manually change the points; I've never seen that done before, so they must have been faulty. It only took him a few seconds and so there was no delay.

There was nothing to photograph at Deepcar and so I headed north to the Barnsley Boundary Walk. 

It wasn't long until I came across an unexpected hazard:

The reason for the sign is that shunting operations for the steelworks probably reach beyond this point and sometimes wagons will be moving slowly, and silently, and the driver in the locomotive will be few dozen yards away out of site around the bend in the track. Maybe occasionally there are long delays here for pedestrians using the level crossing - looking at the map I could see an alternative route though that wouldn't cause too much inconvenience.

About two miles further on I discovered that I was walking along a classification of footpath that I'd not been previously aware of - the sign explains it all. The sign was lying on the ground; interestingly it wasn't covered up by the fallen leaves. 

Along this section I was walking along the route of the old railway which was used for transporting men and supplies during the construction of Langsett Reservoir. I also passed right next to a glass fronted building that must be four hundred yards long.

I left the Barnsley Boundary Walk just before I reached Langsett and headed north, up through a small wood and then across the fields and down a country road to Penistone. I had decided to cut short the walk because it had started to rain. The weather was lovely and sunny when I was walking in rather uninteresting and definitely not scenic countryside, but as soon as I reached wide open countryside where electricity lines and pylons and mobile phone masts weren't spoiling the views the weather turned for the worse.

There was a dead sheep with its eyes pecked out in a field at the side of the road, but I decided not to photograph it...a bit later I took this photograph though.

I didn't know anything about these historical features near the railway in Penistone.

A train had just departed for Barnsley and Sheffield and so I walked into the town centre and caught a bus to Barnsley, and then another bus back to Doncaster.

The final photograph features the market hall at Penistone - despite its appearance, it's actually a quite modern building.

A Circular Walk From Oughtibridge

A walk today covering an area right on the edge of two of my Ordnance Survey maps, The Dark Peak, and Sheffield and Doncaster: two maps and two different scales to complicate things for me.

When I got off the bus it was quite grey and misty at Oughtibridge, the only thing interesting that I could find to photograph, and with a bit of colour, was these blue wheelie bins. As predicted by the weather forecast it did brighten up later and turned out to be a lovely afternoon.

I crossed the river and walked up the hill to where I found my first footpath, just at the other side of the single track railway line which goes to the steelworks at Stocksbridge. I think there's only one return trip every working day and I did manage to hear the train going along the line when I was up on the crags...I didn't see it though.

The next two miles or so were easy,  but quite boring walking along a wide forestry track until I was overlooking Deepcar. At this point I turned right and uphill and went past a small pond before reaching Wharncliffe Heath Nature Reserve and then walking along the top of Wharncliffe Crags. There wasn't much for me to see up here, it was still quite misty; even if it wasn't misty the pylons and power lines would have ruined the view anyhow.

This image of a tree turned out alright though.

I walked across some open heathland and then along another forestry track. As I approached a pretty location called Hannah Moor the sun came out for a few minutes; I didn't miss the opportunity to get my camera out and take time with the composition of each shot I took.

I got lost as I needed to pass a couple of farms on the next part of the walk; I ended up in the wrong field...but it was a lovely view from where I ended up. This point was just about the furthest point east I went - well into Wortley parish in Barnsley borough.

I soon found the route of the path and climbed up to the road. I was now walking along the route of the Barnsley Boundary Walk...and hoped to continue doing so for a while yet. Unfortunately the detail isn't very clear on the 1:50,000 scale map and I couldn't find the path where it seemed to pass at the side of a farm. A few minutes earlier I'd noticed a gate that led onto Access Land, so I re-traced my steps and walked across a section of Wharncliffe Chase. It was quite boggy in places and there was plenty of tussock grass and bracken; it reminded me a lot of the Eastern Moors, especially at the location where I took the next photograph...of course what you can't see in shot are the pylons and power lines just behind me.

Although I had planned to go further today, when I reached the Transpennine Trail again I just followed it and then walked back down to Oughtibridge, from where I caught a bus, two trams, and the train back to Doncaster. I went walking with friends in the Peak District on Sunday, and I'm going to the opera at Sheffield tomorrow, so I thought I'd better call it a day.

When the train reached Doncaster it had to wait for quite a few minutes just outside the station as three trains arriving from London and two going south had to clear the platforms. The southern approaches to Doncaster Station really do need improving.

Denby Dale, Thurlstone, and Penistone

Denby Dale Railway Station is sited at the end of a high viaduct and so there are quite a few steps down to the main road: I walked along the road for a few minutes; it was quite dark due to the large overhanging trees. I reached the junction with the Barnsley road and soon located my path, a short section of the Dearne Way along a metalled track leading to a farm. It was a bit of a climb up to the farm through more glowering trees, but I was soon in open country; grassy fields delineated by drystone walls.

The next section led up to a prominent ridge with extensive views from the top, to the east I could see a long way today, well beyond the Aire Valley power stations; possibly as far as the Yorkshire Wolds.

I then ended up walking a bit further along a stretch of minor road than I had planned, due to a slight navigation error; I missed my intended footpath by no more than a few dozen yards. This mistake did have its bonus though; the sight of dozens of birds perched on power lines; like a short section of sheet music hanging in the sky.

I was back on course as I was walking down Green Lane, a wide track which eventually became a footpath leading across more grassy fields. I stopped to eat my sandwiches here and listen to the cricket commentary; in sight of twenty one wind turbines, some turning at various rates in the breeze, others not. I should think that there's a simple mathematical relationship between the size of the blades and the speed of rotation.

I reached another country lane which led down to Ingbirchworth Reservoir then took the southerly lane going uphill to reach the Barnsley Boundary Walk which is rated as a bridleway, but isn't up to the required standard here. Just before reaching Ingbirchworth I turned right and walked along the path which goes parallel to the bottom of the dam wall of Royd Moor Reservoir. 

A bit further on there's a folly marked on the map; I did a short detour to have a look at it - I couldn't see anything though; all I found was a farm which referred to the folly in its name...the lane was called Folly Lane too!

The path I selected went along the southern shore of the reservoir and came out onto the road above Thurlstone. I walked down into the village; there are some impressive stone-built houses there. I didn't go into the village centre though; I took a path across a couple of fields which drops down onto the main road going to Penistone. On the outskirts of the town I took a photograph of a roadside hoarding advertising a local pub; I don't know if it's clever wordplay...or if the pub was ever called 'The White Hart' at one time.

I arrived in Penistone town centre just after two buses had left for Barnsley. Since it was nearly an hour for the next one I thought I might as well get the train. I still had fifty minutes to wait for the train though (not very good scheduling of public transport there) and so looked round the shops before setting off for the station.

The train arrived on time; the Cleethorpes train was five minutes late at Meadowhall...which worked to my advantage for once.

Penistone, Hazlehead, Dunford Bridge, Langsett, and Stocksbridge.

I travelled all the way by train to Penistone today, changing services at Meadowhall. It's longer than going by bus, but it's certainly more comfortable...and I didn't know what time the buses went from Barnsley to Penistone.

At Penistone I popped into the town to buy something to eat and drink for later, and then found the Trans Pennine Trail. This long distance footpath goes along the route of the former Woodhead Railway Line and so the walking was very easy out to Dunford Bridge, the point where the trail leaves the old railway because of the long tunnel under the Pennines...which is blocked.

Pretty much the first thing I noticed as I started to walk was a forest of wind turbines on the horizon, some rotating, and some not. The photograph, however, was taken a few miles further on when I stopped to count them; twenty in total; although there aren't that many in the picture.

The first mile or so after leaving Penistone is fairly boring, being either in a cutting or only having views towards housing estates. After about half an hour or so the views opened up and continued to be interesting all the way to Dunford Bridge; with many information boards positioned along the trail adding to the interest.

I made good time and soon reached the site of Hazlehead Station where I ate my sandwiches whilst trying to imagine how busy this quite isolated station must have been; the information board said there were seven tracks here, a branch line leading off to a foundry, a fully staffed station and a signal box.

At Dunford Bridge I turned left, still following the route of the Trans Pennine Trail along a road which leads up onto open moorland. As I got to higher ground I spotted my first reservoir of the day, Winscar Reservoir, where the Pennine Sailing Club is based.

It was getting misty, but a few minutes later, looking down to the left I saw Upper Windleden Reservoir.

I easily found the next footpath which I needed, the section of the Barnsley Boundary Walk which crosses Thurlstone Moors. Along this section I got a closer view of Upper Windleden Reservoir, and briefly, in the distance, Lower Windleden Reservoir.

The path led me to the Woodhead Pass road, which I didn't need to walk along at this point because another path ran parallel to the road, keeping to the moor though. Along this stretch of path there was an unusual buttressed fence. I hadn't seen anything similar before and assumed it must be there to protect the road from deep snow drifts.

About a mile and a half later I was walking alongside the road to reach the roadside café, situated in a lay-by just to the west of the Dog and Partridge pub. I enjoyed a mug of tea and a chocolate shortbread slice, and spent a few minutes chatting with the owner about walking.

I had to walk along the grass verge at the side of the carriageway for a few minutes before reaching the bridleway that leads towards Langsett Reservoir. Since this section is a bridleway, horse riders are allowed to use it and a few minutes later I observed a young girl riding her pony with the rest of her family. It was a very unusual pony; it was white with brightly coloured stripes dyed into its fur.

When I reached Langsett Reservoir, I didn't walk along the water's edge. I chose the path which takes the higher route, still giving me glimpses of the water through the trees.

At Langsett village I had a decision to make, climb up the hill and descend the other side to reach Penistone, or continue going down the valley in the direction of Stocksbridge. I opted for Stocksbridge, because, although it was slightly longer...it would be easier.

Walking down the main road was quite scary; some lorries passed very close to me, the draught they created made me feel a bit unsteady on my feet. So, I was glad to reach the footpath which leads onto the route of another old railway line. In the direction I was walking it leads down to the steelworks at Stocksbridge. I couldn't work out where it used to go in the other direction beyond Langsett, even by studying the map.

About a mile later and I could see my final reservoir of the day, the fifth, Underbank Reservoir, not too far from Stocksbridge where I caught the bus back to Sheffield.