Rotherham Town Centre

I needed to go to Rotherham this morning and so I took my camera along and took a few photographs.

Great Hucklow, Windmill, Old Dam, Hargatewall, Tunstead, Wormhill, and Blackwell

This is the walk I had originally planned to do on Monday, when there would have been a lot more snow.

I travelled to Great Hucklow, walked through the village and then joined the footpath which goes alongside the road to the old mining hamlet of Windmill: there are some lovely views over to the right looking towards the north...which of course would look a lot better if the sun was shining.

After leaving Windmill I needed to walk along the road for a few minutes until I reached the ruins of High Rake Mine.

I continued along the footpath until I crossed a narrow country road and then started the gentle climb up the broken ground of Tideslow Rake.

Another short section of road followed and then I took the footpath across Tideswell Moor, arriving at the outlying farms of Old Dam before crossing the busy Buxton to Ashbourne road to the east of Peak Forest.

There's a dense network of paths here and I had to consult my map a couple of times to find my way to the top of Dam Dale.

I kept walking southwards down Dam Dale and then Hay Dale and then made my way over the fields to Hargatewall. There was nothing interesting for me to see here...neither was there at the next place I visited, Tunstead. Just out of sight though is Tunstead Quarry, the largest active limestone quarry in Europe.

It was a pleasant walk heading eastwards towards Wormhill: I arrived at the southern edge of the village.

It was then a fairly gentle descent into Cheedale, mainly grassy as well...so no slippery limestone underfoot to worry about.

[I didn't go this way in the bottom of Cheedale, but the conditions didn't look too bad.]

I was walking on grass again, a bit muddy in places though, as I climbed up the other side of the dale. It was a good physical workout for me though, my heart was beating noticeably faster and I was relatively short of breath, but I didn't need to stop on the way up, and didn't need a rest at the top.

As I was walking down the lane at Blackwell towards the bus stop I saw the TransPeak bus go by - it was frustrating at the time but there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't rushing to get to the bus stop - I wasn't expecting a bus to come along...it was running fifteen minutes late: I was expecting to have to wait forty five minutes for the next bus anyhow. I found a fence to sit on which turned out to be rather uncomfortable and used the time to write up my notes for this blog post.

Long Distance Footpaths...and other named footpaths

Here's a list of all the footpaths in the Peak District that I've walked part of the route:

First of all, the ones I could remember -

DERWENT VALLEY HERITAGE TRAIL: From Heatherdene car park at the Ladybower Dam along the course of the river to Derby. I've walked at various times from the start down to High Peak Junction. I'm planning to cover the areas further south this summer, as far as Ambergate.

DERWENT WATERSHED: A circular walk along the watershed of the upper reaches of the River Derwent in the Ladybower and Hope Valley area. It's only the northern loop that I've yet to complete.

EDALE SKYLINE WALK: A twenty one mile loop taking in the higher land to the north and south of the Vale of Edale. I'm reluctant to claim that over the years I've completed all of this route...but I might well have.

HIGH PEAK TRAIL: This trail follows the route of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway from Dowlow near Buxton to High Peak Junction next to the Cromford Canal. The only section I haven't walked along is from just west of Middleton Top to just south of Gotham. This is my favourite railway walk in the Peak District; there are some interesting sites to look at.

LIMESTONE WAY: From Rocester in the south and ending at Castleton, with a spur to Matlock. I think I've done all of the route north of Matlock.

MONSAL TRAIL: Another railway walk, from Topley Pike to just beyond Bakewell. This is the only path I've done in its entirety - it's only eight and a half miles long though.

MIDSHIRES WAY: This goes from Buckinghamshire to Stockport. I've only walked along a short stretch in the Chelmorton area.

PENNINE BRIDLEWAY. It's also still a footpath though; the route goes from Middleton Top, north to the Lake District. I've done short sections in the Peak District, usually when the route coincided with that of another long distance footpath.

PENNINE WAY: England's most famous long distance footpath I should think, goes from Edale to the Scottish border. I've only done two short sections on Kinder Scout and Bleaklow...right in the far south of the route obviously.

SHEFFIELD COUNTRY WALK: A route that circles the fringes of Sheffield, taking in some lovely countryside. I've walked many of the western parts of this walk.

SHEFFIELD ROUND WALK: A walk that covers many of the same stretches as the Country Walk does, but takes you right into the city centre. When checking on maps I get the two confused.

TISSINGTON TRAIL: Along the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway. The only section I've walked is from Tissington Station up to Sparklow. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of railway trails...I find them to be rather boring.

TRANS-PENNINE TRAIL: A network of bridleways and cycleways across northern England going from Southport on the west coast to Hornsea on the east coast. I've walked along several short sections in South Yorkshire.

Here are some other footpaths which I needed to research:

DERBYSHIRE PORTWAY: Follows the route of an ancient trackway from Mam Tor to Stapleford near Nottingham. I will have walked along several sections of the northern end of this route, but have never seen any signs. 

DERBYSHIRE TOP TEN: A route visiting the ten highest peaks of Derbyshire: Without knowing it I've done certain sections of this walk when reaching the summits of the hills.

INN WAY: There's an 'Inn Way' in each of England's National Parks. In the Peak District it's an eighty four mile circular route starting and finishing at Hayfield which visits fifty one pubs en route. I must have walked certain short sections of this route.

PEAK DISTRICT HIGH LEVEL ROUTE: A strenuous circular route covering high ground. I've only walked along the eastern sections of this route. 

Long Distance and Other Named Footpaths in Other Areas

BARNSLEY BOUNDARY WALK: I've done a few miles of this walk in the far east of the borough and along Wharncliffe Crags...and also probably a short section up on the moors near Langsett.

CUCKOO WAY: Along the towpath of the Chesterfield Canal, or the original route of the canal in the section that's no longer in use, from Chesterfield to West Stockwith on the Trent. A lovely walk; I've done this all apart from the final few miles up to Chesterfield.

DEARNE WAY: From the source of the Dearne near Denby Dale to its confluence with the Don at Conisbrough, with a few short diversions. I've walked along several miles of this route.

HERON WAY: A series of eight linked local walks in the Doncaster area easily accessible by public transport. I've completed most of this. 

LYKE WAKE WALK: A difficult 43 mile linear walk on the North York Moors which has to be completed within twenty four hours if you want to claim your badge and certificate. I did it nearly thirty years ago with a group of friends to raise money for charity. I won't be doing it again though, or any other long challenge walk either. Although I enjoyed the challenge and the camaraderie, and we were supported with regular stops for hot drinks and meals I found it to be a relentless slog...and in particular didn't like walking at night.

ROBIN HOOD WAY: This footpath goes from Nottingham Castle to Edwinstowe. I've walked along short sections in the Creswell Crags and Clumber Park area.

ROTHERHAM DOORSTEP WALKS: I think I've walked along some part of each of these short walks.

PEATLANDS WAY: A circular walk on the Humberhead Levels in Doncaster and nearby parts of Lincolnshire. It's well signposted across Thorne Moors and Crowle Moors...which it needs to be.

SHEPHERD'S ROUND: Another forty mile challenge walk on the North York Moors, this time the route is circular and I found it more interesting than the Lyke Wake Walk.

TRENT VALLEY WAY: Approximately follows the lower part of the course of the River Trent from Long Eaton to West Stockwith. I've walked most of the northern part to the north and east of Retford

WAKEFIELD WAY: A 75 loop circumnavigating the borough. I've only done a short section in the far south east.

WHITE ROSE WAY: I've just checked online and the results Google is giving me for this walk refer to a different walk to the one which I did a couple of sections of many years ago. The route I was expecting to find went from the White Horse at Kilburn to Roseberry Topping, along the western escarpment of the North York Moors.

Baslow, Longshaw Estate, Fox House, Totley Bents, and Totley

The weather forecast for Bakewell today was for 'sunny intervals and breezy' - much better than yesterday...so I decided I'd risk having a day out in the Peak District, my first day walking there for nearly a month. And what a great day out it turned out to be; the weather was better than predicted - it was sunny all day, and there was still plenty of snow left for me to enjoy.

The day didn't start off too well though. The bus I had intended to catch at Sheffield didn't turn up and so I caught the 218 service to Baslow. There were only two other people who boarded the bus and they both stated their destination as being Chatsworth, but didn't pay. There must be some sort of offer or special promotion today; I just scanned my pass as usual though.

I got off at Baslow Nether End and walked towards the Golden Gates roundabout and took the footpath up through the woods to reach the top of Bar Lane, and then Froggatt Edge.

Towards the northern end of the edge I started looking for somewhere sheltered and warmed by the sun to sit down and eat my sandwiches. This wasn't easy because the wind seemed to be simultaneously blowing from all directions; I don't know how this might be possible.

I reached the road a few hundred yards before the Grouse Inn and left the same road to cross Big Moor a few hundred yards beyond the pub.

I soon hit difficult terrain; tussock grass and two feet deep snow. Walking through this was exhausting; I must have fallen over a dozen times and rolled about in the snow, but I really enjoyed being a polar bear.

I was glad to reach White Edge Lodge, one of the Longshaw Estate's holiday cottages. I knew it has vehicular access to the road...and therefore easy walking. 

I changed my socks in the public toilets at Longshaw and had a pot of tea and a scone with jam in the cafe - it was more expensive than my cream tea at York last week.

This pair of socks didn't stay clean and dry for very long; just past Fox House I was confronted with more deep snow.

My crossing of Totley Moor wasn't too difficult though. I took a route that I'd not used before into Totley Bents and then walked up the road and caught the bus back into the city centre at the Cross Scythes pub.

Pretty Doncaster Villages In The Snow...Plus Doncaster Town Centre

I woke up at six o'clock this morning and the first thing I did was to go downstairs and switch on the computer and look at the weather forecast and the live webcam feeds from the Peak District. The BBC forecast for Bakewell was for 'gusty winds and heavy snow showers.'  I didn't fancy any of that and so decided to do a local walk; my plan was to catch the Barnsley bus to Darfield, only about twelve miles away.

Things didn't go to plan though. The direct bus to Barnsley didn't turn up, but the one that usually goes around all the villages and the housing estates showed up on time ten minutes later. The driver explained that he'd only be going along the main roads, thus missing out several of the villages. Darfield wouldn't be one of them, but the driver would still be keeping to timetable, and so he would be waiting for several minutes at Goldthorpe, meaning that it would take over an hour to reach the intended start of my walk.

So...a change of plan; I re-folded my map, although I probably wouldn't need it since I know the area well, and got off at Hickleton, a village not usually served by the number 219 bus - fortunately the driver had agreed to let me off there; not all bus drivers are quite so accommodating though.

I walked down the road towards Barnburgh for a while before crossing the fields and taking the footpath that goes along the bottom of Barnburgh Cliff. The strong swirling wind was causing the snow to blow across the road, creating quite deep drifts in places; these were safe enough for me to walk through but a couple of cars did turn back...two also proceeded ahead  as well...at walking pace.

I ate my sandwiches sitting inside the bus shelter at High Melton and then explored the churchyard.

A footpath provides a shortcut to Cadeby, although for part of the way I still needed to use the road. The small church here is no longer used for worship.

I was saved from having to walk all the way along the road to Sprotbrough by being able to use a fairly recently established footpath that's still not marked on the Ordnance Survey maps. It runs parallel to the road, only a few yards away, but separated by trees, which makes the walk much more pleasant...and safer.

After I'd finished taking my photographs of Sprotbrough church I noticed the bus going back to Doncaster was just approaching the bus stop so I crossed over the road and caught it.

The strong cold easterly wind ruined it for me today; my hands were so cold when I took my gloves off to unwrap my sandwiches or take photographs my fingers wouldn't work properly. I had to use a key to rip the packing open of my flapjack and I struggled to grab, hold, and point the camera in the right direction...likewise when I was having a pee. Towards the end of the walk [as it turned out to be] I realised that I might have one of the chemical hand warming pads left. I rummaged in my rucksack and eventually found it; it was a couple of years beyond its use-by date and probably a bit damp, but it did work... it wasn't that effective, but it helped.

I arrived back in Doncaster at one o'clock and so to extend my day out by a bit decided to take some photographs of various town centre buildings.

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