31 January 2023

Ambit

Door to a subterranean reservoir 
by Ringinglow Road

Frequently, my walks involve jumping into Clint's cockpit and driving north, south, east or west before the walk can commence. I am always seeking the thrill of new territory and new photo opportunities. However, today was different.

I left Clint in his resting place by our front bay window and set off from home. Along Gisborne Road to Dobbin Hill and then along Greystones Drive to Greystones Road before dropping down into The Porter Valley.

Previously unnoticed house
on Greystones Road

Sheffield has five rivers which in past centuries were all important to the development of metal-related industries. They provided water power. The River Porter is really just a stream and it runs for little more than five miles into the city centre.

Walking by The Porter up to the cafe at Forge Dam has become a required route for ramblers, families, cyclists and dog walkers. Everyone who lives in the S11 postal district is familiar with the route and during the worst times of COVID it was like a superhighway.

Whiteley Wood Road Bridge
over The River Porter

Waterfall in the upper reaches of The River Porter

I didn't stop at  Forge Dam. Instead, I kept ascending the valley as the river became even narrower and more of a "V" shape close to the source of The Porter. Up to Fulwood Lane - thankfully on level ground and along to the tiny village of Ringinglow where I had already decided to treat myself to lunch and a couple of beers in "The Norfolk Arms".

As it was a very windy day, smoke from the pub's  log fire was refusing to be drawn up through the chimney and some of it was hanging about in the bar room. I rather liked that old-fashioned aroma.

After lunch, I had a mile and half more to walk down to Bents Green and by that time internal alarm signals were telling me I needed to visit a toilet. I planned to nip into "The Hammer and Pincers" but it was closed for the afternoon. As luck would have it a No.88 Stagecoach bus appeared so I jumped on it and arrived home ten minutes later before experiencing that private magical relief that is familiar to all human beings. I won't go into details.

View over Sheffield's south western suburbs from Fulwood Lane
Bar at "The Norfolk Arms"

37 comments:

  1. I looked up the Norfolk Arms, what a beautiful, old building. Nice to see some of Sheffield.

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    Replies
    1. That pub was there in the time of stage coaches and horses. A first watering hole after travelling up from Sheffield. Everything was slower then.

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  2. I like these walks I can follow along on the satellite.

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  3. Now you've done it! You've shown me that photo of a fine British pub so I have to go open my own private bar. Ah well, it's nearly time to tip one anyway. Thanks for the shove.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you asked the landlady for permission.

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  4. Nah then ...
    That's Sheffield speak for Hullo there ...
    Like *Nah then, angel, can Ah tekk thee for a Babycham and brandy ?*

    When you and Shirley go on holiday can I take over as guest blogger ?
    If Clint's feeling a bit mardy you can leave him behind.
    I might drive over and see Tasker if the spirit moves me, like.

    Can you recommend a pub that serves Toad-in-the-Hole ?
    I want to try that battered sausage with a bottle of Five Rivers Pale Ale.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not from Sheffield. I am from East Yorkshire. I have only been here forty five years so I can't assist with your queries. And how would you find The Tasker? He likes to be well-hidden.

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    2. See all. Hear all. Say nowt.
      Tak' all. Keep all. Gie nowt.
      And if tha ivver does owt for nowt, allus do it for thisen.

      Delete
  5. That door is gorgeous! I want to visit that pub or Yorkshire in general. I never got to that part of England.

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    1. I would have bought you an amber ale and homemade beef stew. We could have compared notes and laughed perhaps nervously.

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  6. Well that was a surprising ending to a post.

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    1. Surprising and a blessed relief. Ahhhhh!

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  7. The pattern and colours of that door are very nice. I like the waterfall too; there is something about a waterfall that keeps one's attention, similar to an open fire or the ocean waves at the shore.

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    1. I know that river from its source to its meeting with The River Sheaf. I guess many onlookers would not know that there are a few small waterfalls in the river's upper reaches.

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  8. That sounds like quite a long walk. I would not have guessed that was a door. The views from the lane is spectacular and even better if the sky wasn't hazy.

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    1. I'm looking a long way in that picture. Used plenty of zoom on my camera.

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  9. Sheffield is huge - I had no idea you live in such a big city, Neil! I love the waterfalls!

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    1. Half a million people. One of the biggest cities in Great Britain but often forgotten.

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  10. I like the look of that unnoticed house; great windows.

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  11. I love that door! and the waterfall over the black rocks. The bar in The Norfolk Arms looks like a lovely place to buy lunch.

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    1. ME What are you having River?
      RIVER Oil have three pints of Foster's and a kangaroo pie please cobber!
      ME Righty-o. Coming up presently my dear.

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  12. When I only saw the photo of the door in my dashboard, before opening your post, I thought it was a modern stained glass window.
    Love the somehow mysterious look of that house on Greystone Road!
    Many of my after-work walks are almost precisely 2 hours long, and I can often hold nature's call off just long enough and make it home before it gets really uncomfortable. But I admit to having one or two "secret" places where I can go when needs must.

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    1. Ha-ha! We all have our "secret places". It is one aspect of walking that is very rarely referred to. I thought you might like that neglected house on Greystones Road.

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  13. What a beautiful design that door is - like a piece of wall art. Such a relief to see that the graffitists haven't tried to "improve" on it.

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    1. I think it has been created by the water industry. Maybe it is easy to wipe down.

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  14. Don't you have to hold a newspaper to the fire and 'draw' it? Sheffield was a very industrial hub but all I can think of is Sheffield cutlery.

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    Replies
    1. The wind was surging down the chimney. A newspaper would not have done anything. Sheffield still produces a wide range of steel products for industrial use.

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  15. I see that spectacle wearing lady in the Norfolk Arms is eyeing you warily.

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    1. Oh, you mean Brigitte? I used to take lots of photos of her for my other website.

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  16. "Who's your lady friends in the Norfolk Arms?" Did you tell them to smile they're on Candid Camera? Who needs to travel far when you have got all that on your doorstep YP?

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    1. The one on the left is called Brigitte and the one on the right is Sabrina. They are friendly and helpful.

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  17. Doors into a subterranean reservoir could be part of the plot in a book. So many places to explore.

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  18. Thank goodness the buses weren't on strike! It's great to have such good walking opportunities so close to home. I love the reservoir door, though I'm not sure what a subterranean reservoir is. Like a cistern?

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  19. The "previously unnoticed" house looks forbidding. I don't think I've ever seen bricks worked like that in front of a window. What's the message here?
    The pub picture is lovely. To you, and many of your readers, pubs are ho-hum, every day things but for some of us here in the US, they are exotic and very cool.

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  20. in the 'thumbnail' for your blog post, that door looks like a stained glass window.

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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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