Less than ten minutes from this house there's an ancient track called Houndkirk Road. It weaves its way from Ringinglow to Fox House. Once it would have known drovers with their animals and carriers with goods such as salt from Cheshire or coal from shallow pits in South Yorkshire. Nowadays it only knows the footsteps of leisure ramblers or the tyres of mountain bikers.
In recent weeks my walking has been greatly restricted by a knee injury that makes me notice every footstep. But yesterday I wasn't limping and the ongoing pain was in abeyance so I went for a short afternoon ramble along Houndkirk Road and then down Jumble Road to Sheephill Road.
The autumn light was glorious with fine views towards the centre of Sheffield and east towards the M1 motorway that runs up the centre of England like a pulmonary artery. But long ago long distant transport was very different. Saddle bags thrown over trains of horses. Moving slowly along Houndkirk Road. Making camp. Days passing by. Robbers and rain clouds.
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| Jumble Road |
And below another picture I took along Houndkirk Road in late September 2011. How many of those old drovers, carriers and jaggers paused here to check the miles and to let their animals drink from the moorland stream at the side of the path?
What a beautiful countryside! But how grueling must it have been once to pull a cart or to travel in a carriage on this bumpy Jumble Road.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that there were many carriages Kaki - men carried the stuff themselves or put it on the backs of horses and oxen.
DeleteI agree -- the views are lovely, and it looks like a great place for a leisurely walk. But when it comes to commuting, I'll stick to the tube!
ReplyDeleteYou're a city slicker Steve... with your your urban sophistication and your coffee shops.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have such glorious countryside on your doorstep.
ReplyDeleteYou are right ADDY. It is easy to escape into wild countryside from Sheffield.
DeleteWhat a beautiful country! I love the photo of the tree most of all.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was better at identifying trees. I am not sure but I think that tree is a common beech.
DeleteSimply magical!
ReplyDeleteYorkshire has some of the most beautiful scenery, you are so lucky to have all of those stunning paths to travel, right on your doorstep. Last year we were in Holmfirth, those views took my breath away.
Hope your knee gets better soon Mr. Pud, we are all suffering with worn out bits it seems.
Jo
There's some really wild country to the west of Holmfirth and of course it's "Last of the Summer Wine" country. I hope you weren't mistaken for Nora Batty!
DeleteLol, I will take that as a compliment :)
Delete~Jo
I want to nick the 2nd and 3rd pictures from the top for a Yorkshire calendar! But the 2nd does not enlarge like the others, sadly.
ReplyDeleteThat gate and the tree... *sigh*
I could send you the second one. Do I have your email address? I'll look in a minute.
DeleteBeautiful photographs YP - glad your knee was recovered enough for you to take them. We have a lot of old roads across the Dales - and I believe there are even more across the N York Moors. They have a fascinating history don't they?
ReplyDeleteYes they do Mrs W. Though I don't believe in ghosts, I feel echoes from the past and those old tracks speak of people who went before us.
DeleteYes, one wonders about how people lives long ago. Here the oxcarts crossed the prairie. It was an all summer ordeal. They walked back. The oxen were used for meat at the end of the trail.
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit some of those abandoned settlements in the Canadian west. They must be very atmospheric. Please drive out to a couple and take some photos for us Mr Red. (ask The Micro Manager for permission)
DeleteMy walking is greatly inhibited by my hip; over the past few days even my hobbling has been inhibited!!
ReplyDeleteSo, this afternoon, now that I've been up to "The Manor" and fed the chickens and cat (my daily chore for the past few weeks, finishing up on 27th October when my landlords return from the UK)and been out to do some grocery shopping, I'm going to be resting up reading the newspaper; do a couple of crossword puzzles, and will be feeling no guilt while completing the chosen tasks.
To show their gratitude for your faithful service, I hope The Lord and Lady of the Manor bring you a nice present back from Great Britain - perhaps a framed photograph of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, a stick of Blackpool rock or "Rub-a-Dub" (a sweet-smelling balm for your poorly hip).
DeleteLovely photos again YP. I'm sure it's been said before, but you're a one-man walking advert for the best of the British countryside.
ReplyDeleteYou are so kind CG. I know that I am lucky to live in such a beautiful country, imbued with history and the echoes of people who went before us. That's how I see things anyway.
DeleteBeautiful. I love Yorkshire, a
ReplyDeleteParticularly in the Autumn. Sussex is not quite so bleak, apart from the train service.you know the one in the news.
Hello Anna... Climate records certainly prove that Sussex is a bit milder than South Yorkshire but in my opinion only our moors and uplands can be described as "bleak". After all, Yorkshire is the true Garden of Eden.
DeleteI thought. Commented
ReplyDelete