12 July 2014

Rambling

Out on the moors the other day, I followed a track which was defined by boundary stones. I believe they mark the western extremity of the metropolitan district of Sheffield though who would have sanctioned their placement I have no idea. I came across more than twenty of them in different states of repair - including the one below which was the only stone with letters carved upon it. Such lettering normally indicates ownership of moorland estates. Beyond this stone you can just make out Dale Dike Reservoir - source of The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 and there's Boot's Folly to the right.
To the north, by a boggy area known as Running Moss, I noticed a gritstone outcrop so I made my way over there crossing several rivulets that cut through the peaty earth that blankets this landscape. The outcrop consists of several time-sculpted stones and as far as I can deduce it is unnamed. It is some distance from the nearest path or track and hard to reach - unless you happen to be a sheep.
I love places like this. To me these stones are better than manmade sculptures. They speak of the bedrock and of the centuries that have shaped them - wind and rain and frost - while empires rose and fell. These voiceless stones endure. Below, flimsy summery clouds try to imitate the solid rock shapes.
Back to the car which I had parked near Moscar House. I drove along Sugworth Road but stopped to take this shot of Boot's Folly - erected in 1927 simply to keep estate workers occupied during a time of economic depression:-
And then along Hoar Stones Road to this monument - built over a roadside spring in 1832 - in memory of a local child who drowned here. It is called the Edgefield Obelisk and it sits here in glorious isolation above Bradfield Dale.

14 comments:

  1. "... and as far as I can deduce it is unnamed" ~ can we name it ~ Yorkey's Chair or something of you own choosing.

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    1. Carol I have already contacted the Ordnance Survey organisation to see if it is possible to name these lonesome stones. I'm thinking of The Pudding Stones but they could just as easily be Carol's Cairns - no mischievous innuendo intended!

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    2. Ooh I like The Pudding Stones

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    3. They look like a cow pat to me !

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  2. The grit stones in Derbyshire and Yorkshire are a natural wonder. The toads mouth just after Fox House is a classic.
    Thanks again for the wander.

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    1. Happy to take you on a wander Adrian - as long as you don't hold my hand or ask for a wee wee. What are you doing up in Jocko-land when you could be in your native Peak District - with hardly a midge in sight?

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  3. How fortunate for us that you happen to be a sheep, which goes a long way towards explaining the presence of Bo and Peep in your yard.

    If you were not stoned when you made this post, you should have been.

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  4. Baaa! Baaa! (sound of munching grass) Baaa! Baaa!

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  5. In June, I walked along the reservoir with my Uncle Brian and Aunt Jean. Brian told me about the flood, and on the next day, my sister and I visited Sheffield Museum and learned that it took only 45 minutes for the entire reservoir to be empty. It was hard to imagine the devastating scene on the beautiful sunny day we were there. I also remembered one of your previous posts about the flood.

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    1. I am disappointed that Weston Park Museum in Sheffield doesn't give a fuller sense of what happened back in 1864. The Sheffield Flood deserves a full room to itself. If you walked round Dale Dike I guess that means you lingered a while in High and Low Bradfield - a lovely valley.

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    2. We did indeed (linger around High and Low Bradfield), but it'll take some time before I'll get round to posting about that beautiful day on my blog. Next in line is the Liebster post.

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  6. So far you and Jenny (DHT) are the only ones on my Liebster "target" list who have shown the courage and character required to take up the challenge. I look forward to your Liebster post Miss Arian.

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  7. Another lovely walk.

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  8. Mr. Pudding, every few days you make me realize that I have so much still to learn about my world. Can you believe that I had to actually look up what a "folly" was? Very interesting.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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