12 November 2016

Walks

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 

18 comments:

  1. 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.

    Glad to hear your knee is better, Yorkie.

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    1. What a diff'rence a day made
      Twenty-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!)

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    2. 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.

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    3. Thanks for this thoughtful tip CG. I like to be unencumbered when walking but there are certainly times when a stick would be helpful.

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  2. re photo 3- I see now what is meant by higher education.

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  3. Glad 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.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe 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.

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  4. Good 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.

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    1. Only silly idiots like me go walking in the rain.

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  5. This 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!

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    1. They 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.

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  6. Which 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.

    Alphie

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    1. It is gratifying that I provided you with some visual interest Alphie - or was that what Marilyn Monroe said to Arthur Miller?

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  7. How different everything looks once the leaves start falling from the trees.
    Nice pics again YP., interesting to see Sheffield - a city I've only ever noted as a name on a sign post. Remiss of me.

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    1. Sheffield is one of England's best kept secrets.

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  8. In 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.

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    1. I am pretty much a fair weather walker but on Thursday I was indeed a member of the Greater Wetted Hiker species.

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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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