Marr, Sprotbrough, and Butterbusk

There's been a restricted service on the trains today because of a strike and so I'm stuck with the buses. I travelled on the Barnsley bus to Marr and headed south across the fields to Sprotbrough.  I went down into the Don Gorge at Lower Sprotbrough and walked along the high level footpath and then the TransPennine Trail alongside the river until climbing up on to the Conisbrough Viaduct. I walked across it and then caught the bus back to Doncaster from Butterbusk, near to Conisbrough.

When I got off the bus at Marr at the start of the walk I had to wait for several minutes to get across the road; fortunately a lorry driver held back to allow me to get to the other side. There's nothing except the church to photograph at Marr.

It was my first snow of the winter; about an inch had fallen...the ground here is about two hundred feet above sea level, one of the higher parts of Doncaster.

I had to walk along a narrow country road for a few hundred yards because I couldn't follow the alignment of the bridleway - I didn't bother bringing my map today.

A short walk today with better conditions than I was expecting; the toes on my right foot felt like they were on fire though...something I've never experienced before though.

Newton, Sprotbrough, Conisbrough, Edlington, and Warmsworth

 Another walk along the river to Sprotbrough, this time going via Newton.

[Lesser celandine, I think]

[No need for explanation here]

I crossed over the Don Gorge using the old railway bridge which is now used as a footpath and cycleway.

There was still some residual flooding that I had to cope with.

Google suggests that this is ivy, although I don't recognise the leaves I've certainly seen the berries before.

I was able to take this photograph of Conisbrough Viaduct from a different angle.

I continued into Conisbrough and then walked up the road to the garden centre and the footpath that leads to Martinwells Lake at Edlington. I didn't go there though, I took a route new to me, the path wasn't very long but it was quite pleasant.

When I reached Warmsworth I stayed on the main road and headed straight back home by the shortest route.

Flooding In The Don Gorge

Another local walk along the banks of the River Don going to Sprotbrough and beyond. I used both the old railway bridge and the Conisbrough Viaduct to get across the gorge to the other side.

A photograph of another part of the large mural painted on the bridge that I needed to go under on my way to Newton.

As I approached Sprotbrough I spotted the first signs of this week's floods.

I couldn't reach the fish pass because of  the floods; I didn't need to go there though.

This next flooded stretch was blocking my way and I needed to find a way round it by climbing up through the woods.

I still had to wade through a flooded gully though, the water was about a foot deep.

I always like to photograph Steetley Quarry in the sunshine.

I managed some different angles and compositions of Conisbrough Viaduct. The man in the second photograph was doing a training walk, he'd already climbed up and jogged down the hill fourteen times - I think it's about one hundred foot high.

I continued on my way back to the seating area down by the river at Sprotbrough, taking the high level footpath.

Not too far from home, as I was walking through the park at Hexthorpe I noticed that The Dell area was closed due to the floods.

 

Hickleton, Harlington, and Butterbusk

Even though I went walking yesterday, because it's been such nice weather again today I didn't want to waste the opportunity to get out again. I travelled on the Barnsley bus to Hickleton and spent a few minutes taking photographs before walking down the road towards Barnburgh; I always get a move on going down that road, it's a sunken lane with no grass verge in places.

I took the second path I reached, the one that goes along the bottom of Barnburgh Cliff'; I noticed there'd been quite a bit of excavation work in places at the foot of the cliff...I don't know why.

When I reached Hangman Stone Road I turned right, went down the hill a bit and then turned right again, taking a path that leads down to the Crown Inn at Harlington. On a lovely sunny day a couple of weeks before Christmas it would normally be busy, but not today - it was closed because of the tier 3 restrictions imposed by the government.

I continued down to the bridge over the River Dearne and then joined the TransPennine Trail just beyond Denaby Ings Nature Reserve.

Towards the end of the walk I crossed Conisbrough Viaduct and finished on the main road at the bus stop near to the watertower, at Butterbusk.