Using Public Transport On My Walks

I use public transport when I go walking and regularly write about my experiences; fortunately it's quite good in the Peak District and the other areas where I go for walks, the bus services are regular and generally quite reliable.

I don't need to worry about the trains; there are a lot that run between Doncaster and Sheffield - I rarely have to wait more than twenty minutes...and I can use my pass to travel for free on any train.

Buses are generally less frequent and so I need to know in advance what times they are running. All of the timetables are online and so I can print off copies, or just note down the details I need.

The information at the actual bus-stops in Derbyshire is very good, each stop has a unique combined timetable listing all the departures in chronological order. In South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire only the individual route timetables are displayed.

As for the service frequencies; into the Peak District there are two buses an hour to Bakewell and Chatsworth House [except for Sundays in winter] - likewise, Sundays excluded, there's a half hourly service to Bradfield. An hourly service operates along the Hope Valley to Castleton and the X17 runs every hour to Matlock via Chesterfield. There are less frequent services to Buxton and Fairholmes in the Upper Derwent Valley; I usually only catch these buses for the outward journey since if I don't get back to the bus-stop in time for the trip back to Sheffield I will face a long wait...or a long walk. Additionally there are frequent commuter services out to the western suburbs of Sheffield; places such as Totley, Dore, or Lodge Moor aren't too far away from the Peak District. Further north, places in the Upper Don Valley can be easily reached as well. Annoyingly though, not all bus services in Sheffield use the bus station. The services to Lodge Moor and Bradfield depart from Arundel Gate. There's also an occasional train from Doncaster which stops at Dore and Totley station.

Recently I've also been travelling on bus services within the Peak District; the TransPeak along the Buxton to Matlock corridor and the local buses from Bakewell going to the surrounding villages.

Locally, most places in Doncaster, and quite a few places further afield, are easy enough to reach, having at least an hourly service, although some of these involve travelling on a rather circuitous route. This means that I can get to areas south of Worksop and Retford - there are some pretty villages in this part of the country...and of course there's also the Chesterfield Canal - voted as the prettiest canal in England by one well-known publication.

One gripe that I do have is that when I scan my pass on the buses the procedure varies depending on what type of machine is being used. Some require me to press it against the front of the scanner, and some place it on the top, either on a pane of glass or on a large green dot...then of course sometimes I'm issued with a ticket and sometimes I'm not...so I'm either standing there waiting for a ticket or I'm halfway down the bus when the driver calls me back to collect my ticket. Overall it's not that much much of a problem, and it's better than having to pay;it's not just the cost, but having to decide in advance what my destination is and what type of ticket I need to purchase. 

Grindleford, Bretton Clough and Hathersage

A perfect day for walking and photography...and the Met Office forecast was correct for once. The day started a bit cloudy and quite cold; I saw my first ice of the winter on Eyam Moor, the highest part of the walk: later, someone told me that there had been a dusting of snow overnight on the Snake Pass - as you can see from the photograph, visibility was excellent and I could easily see towards Kinder Scout, the highest point of the Peak District, a few miles to the north; and there was certainly no sign of snow up there by mid-morning.

The walk began with a steady climb westwards out of Grindleford on the road up to Sir William Hill; unfortunately, according to the Ordnance Survey map there are no public footpaths leading from the village to the west. I then dropped down into Bretton Clough, where the woodland was looking decidedly autumnal; followed by a steady walk along the brook to Leadmill Bridge and then Hathersage in time to catch the 15:24 bus back to Sheffield...except that it didn't turn up. It wasn't timetabled to show up though, the bus was doing the school run, taking the children from Hope Valley School home. The next bus arrived half an hour later and only went to Fox House; but I knew that there were many more buses back to Sheffield from there. When one did appear it was ten minutes late, so I arrived at Sheffield railway station ten minutes late thinking I'd just missed the express train back to Doncaster and would have to wait for the stopping train...however, the express was also ten minutes late and so I was able to catch it. Hallelujah, a problem with public transport working in my favour.

So, what could have been a perfect day ruined by the vagaries of buses and trains.