I discovered this walk twenty years ago and have plodded it many times. When I was teaching, it was good to jump in the car and travel five minutes out of the city for a good vigorous hike that always seemed to take exactly one hour. It cleared my head and showed me other things, better things than piles of exercise books to be marked or minutes of meetings to type up or the latest official A4 ring binder to rifle through - containing yet more changes to the way we worked. It seemed to be what my Sundays were all about.
Shorts Lane stables are the buildings just east of Quarry (dis). I always park there and set off westwards to the big green area which is Blacka Moor. You have to cross the stepping stones over Blacka Dike thaen it's a long climb up to Lenny Hill. Turn eastwards over FB (Foot bridge) till you look down on to Hallfield Farm. Then along the beautifully named Strawberry Lee Lane to Totley Bents.
That is where you will find "The Cricket Inn". Then north to Avenue Farm and the path soon takes you by a delightful little stream called Redcar Brook where in the early springtime there are great swathes of snowdrops. When I got there yesterday, it had started to rain and the snowdrops were past their best so I didn't bother to get my camera out again.
There is much more I could say about this walk. I have witnessed it in different seasons and different weather conditions and with different people too but here are some pictures of it from yesterday. The sequence begins with my Seat Ibiza parked by the stables and ends back at the stables with a view to Dore which is a well-heeled suburban village on the south western edge of Sheffield. As always, click on the pictures to enlarge them.
All political leaders need time out to gather their thoughts and the charismatic leader of The People's Popular Pudding Party is no different...
A grand little walk.
ReplyDeleteDon't start thinking.......politicians don't think.
Thank you for that piece of advice Sir Adrian. By the way, when I nominate you for The House of Lords you will be Lord Adrian but Lord Adrian of where?
DeleteI will have to turn down your kind offer. It's bad enough being a subject without being a servant. I want to be a citizen.
DeleteOh, thank goodness, it is Lenny Hill. I thought from the map there for a moment that it might be Benny Hill.
ReplyDeleteHa1 Ha! Yes I noticed that I had chopped the "L" off when snipping the map
DeleteSo, as you are thinking about your political status.....I hope you are looking at those fabulous homes of the well-heeled, as you say, and contemplating how many orphans or mentally ill persons or classrooms would fit into one of those mega-mansions. One knows that you are not thinking about how you can best serve yourself and those present inhabitants as the usual politicians think!
ReplyDeleteI am only human Mama Thyme. I shall need a good car with blacked out windows - maybe a silver Rolls Royce. And as I will become the target of terrorists and other nutcases I shall need a residence that is secluded and easy to secure with room for important house guests like Barack and Michelle and their entourage. They like swimming and tennis so suitable facilities will be required. No MT, I am not thinking of myself.
DeleteThank you so much for thinking of Barack and Michelle. Rumor has it that they are being asked to vacate their own white house pretty soon.
DeleteThe White House was okay for those Bushmen but the Obamas need something better. No wonder they are moving out. I hear that Joe Cocker's Colorado property may be available.
DeleteI tried thinking once. It hurt so I never tried it again.
ReplyDeleteIn which part of your anatomy did you feel the pain Graham?
DeleteAsk my proctologist.
DeleteI would love to go with you. My head needs to be cleared in some days too.
ReplyDeleteWell at least I took you on a virtual walk Red.
DeleteA good walk and good pictures with moody skies. This hour-long route you used to walk often to clear your head after work reminds me of the approx. hour-long walk I take after work whenever I can, getting off the train one stop before my town and walking the rest of it across the fields.
ReplyDeleteGetting the heart pumping and the lungs flexing and the limbs marching is one of life's best medicines. After a good walk, troubles seem reduced and stress is loosened.
DeleteI enjoy strolling with you, Yorky. But just remember...I probably can't walk as fast as you can...so slow down a bit, please! :)
ReplyDeleteShall we pause at "The Castle" for a pint and you can tell me all you know about marsupials? Not cooking them!
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