 |
| Returning to Ughill |
On Thursday I parked in the hamlet of Ughill. The forecast was promising - I checked before I drove out there but almost as soon as I set off the rain came. Fortunately, I had my big blue cagoule with me so I donned it and carried on, hoping that those grey clouds would clear.
Water drained from my famous blue raincoat right onto my trews - soaking them as much as if I had dived into a swimming pool. Familiar vistas of Boot's Folly, High Bradfield and Dale Dyke Reservoir came into view through the murk but there was little point in getting my camera out and besides it would have got soaked.
A flock of sheep scampered towards me, wondering what I was doing in their sodden field. Perhaps they thought I had brought them some sheep treats - souvenir packages of pampas grass, silk ribbons or vials of parasite shampoo.
You had to walk gingerly along those slippery tracks. With a much improved left knee the last thing I wanted was a fall.
By the time I got down to Low Bradfield, the lashing rain had ceased fire but there were no gaps of blue in the leaden firmament. From "The Plough Inn" I trudged up Mill Lee Road, high above the Loxley Valley and thence along the lanes back to lofty Ughill with a population of less than twenty.
Yesterday - Friday - the weather forecasters' crystal ball was accurate and sunshine bathed this great northern city. I walked in Meersbrook Park where in 1797, the great artist J.M.W.Turner set up his easel to capture what was then a little town on the edge of the Pennines. Even today Meersbrook Park enjoys marvellous views.
What a difference a day makes...
 |
| View from Meersbrook Park to The Royal Hallamshire Hospital |
 |
| Bishops' House in Meersbrook Park |
 |
| View from Merrsbrook Park to The University of Sheffield's Arts Tower - the tallest university building in Great Britain |
 |
| Part of a mural by "Faunagraphic" at Meersbrook |
Great song sung by Dinah Washington - "What a Difference a Day Makes". And what a difference the storm made to our day here today...it cooled things down considerably...very welcome.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your knee is better, Yorkie.
What a diff'rence a day made
DeleteTwenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain...
As for my knee, I'm going to do my best to look after it even though there are jobs I sometimes do that involve kneeling down. (not praying!)
YP, do you have a walking? I don't mean an old fogey's walking stick, but a pukka telescopic stick designed purely for walkers. I bought one years ago, when I first started walking seriously, and it was absolutely invaluable for balance, especially on slippery surfaces and uneven ground. Great help when climbing steep hills too.
DeleteThanks for this thoughtful tip CG. I like to be unencumbered when walking but there are certainly times when a stick would be helpful.
Deletere photo 3- I see now what is meant by higher education.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! Nice one Heron!
DeleteGlad to hear that your knee is feeling better. I twisted mine a couple of months ago in a direction it was never designed to go, and it has bothered me off and on since. It is no fun trying to walk or do much of anything when your knee is hurting. I totally know what you are going thru with it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should start up a blog dedicated only to knee troubles. We all want our knees to do their job without complaint. It's no fun when one of them sends out "I'm hurting" messages with every footstep.
DeleteGood for you to carry on through the rain. There's nobody else out walking in the rain so it's quiet and you see more like the sheep.
ReplyDeleteOnly silly idiots like me go walking in the rain.
DeleteThis is an odd question, Mr. Pudding. But looking at the picture of the Arts Building, I also see the flats in the foreground. So, do those homes have parking off the street or do tenants and visitors have to park in the street at the curb? That bird on Brooklyn looks like he is sitting on a stalk of asparagus, I think. Ta, ta, birdie!
ReplyDeleteThey are not flats Mama T, they are rows of terraced houses. We have a lot of them in northern cities. If the occupants have a car it must be parked in the street. America is so much more spacious in that respect. You are very lucky people even if you have just elected an orang utan as your 45th president.
DeleteWhich photo do I like best? Which one? The rows of roofs and chimneys and their patterns or the bird mural? It's all too difficult. I'll make it a draw.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
It is gratifying that I provided you with some visual interest Alphie - or was that what Marilyn Monroe said to Arthur Miller?
DeleteHow different everything looks once the leaves start falling from the trees.
ReplyDeleteNice pics again YP., interesting to see Sheffield - a city I've only ever noted as a name on a sign post. Remiss of me.
Sheffield is one of England's best kept secrets.
DeleteIn days of yore when I hiked in the English Lakes regardless of the weather (if you didn't you wouldn't!) we simply referred to the day as one when we had been Greater, or perhaps Lesser, Wetted Hikers.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty much a fair weather walker but on Thursday I was indeed a member of the Greater Wetted Hiker species.
Delete