Woolley Wood and Concord Park

A small walk of 3.5 miles from my book Walking South Yorkshire (pages 13-16).

This was an ideal easy walk for me and Sybil as it began in Meadowhall Park and Ride car park. There was a quick five minute train journey from Rotherham and we then joined the Trans Pennine Trail towards Chapeltown. We left the TPT at Fife Street and jogged across the road at the traffic lights. Turning right we joined Ecclesfield Road and headed up towards the woods on the left.

Looking for squirrels in Woolley Wood

We climbed up through the woods for twenty minutes or so, accompanied only by squirrels which delighted Sybil. Eventually we emerged onto a golf course which was quite busy with golfers and their expensive golf sets. Not wanting to be chased by an angry golfer in pursuit of their golf ball, I put Sybil back on the lead until we reached Concord Park.

Resting in Concord Park

Sybil enjoyed a huge runaround here. After playing with her for a while, we both had a drink and a quick sit down to admire the views over towards Grange Park and Keppel's Column. We then followed the edge of the park round until we got to an A-frame which lead back into Woolley Wood. Apparently the name of these woods means "woodland clearing frequented by wolves". Well, the only "wolf" in these woods today was Sybil, barking up trees as squirrels continued to evade her.

Jelly Ear Fungus

Heading down into the woods and along the main path, I spotted several different types of fungi. One of them I have seen before at Potteric Carr; I was told it is called Jelly Ear Fungus. There was a longer walk through woodland this time before we arrived back at the entrance on Ecclesfield Road. Another saunter along the TPT back to Meadowhall just in time for the train and the walk was over. Sybil was being so well-behaved today that I decided to walk her along the canal towards home. There were a fair number of swans on the water but luckily she wasn't interested in chasing any of them.

Contemplating life by the canal

Chinley Head

Today's walk took myself and Sybil to Chinley to follow a walk detailed in my More Peak District Walks book (pages 28 to 30). This one was five and a half miles long with 1,250 feet of ascent.

We set off from a very sunny Rotherham with blue skies and little in the way of clouds. Leaving the train at Chinley station we looked up to see low cloud rolling in off the edge of the moorland. Hmm, being a bit of a fair weather walker this unnerved me a little. Ah well I had step-by-step directions so I couldn't possibly get lost. Right?

Heading up towards Cracken Edge, we got lucky in that either sheep don't roam round here or they had all been moved down towards greener pastures. Either way Sybil really appreciated the off-lead time and certainly made the most of it, running a little too close to the cliff edge at times for my liking, but never mind. The views across the Chinley valley were fantastic, and I'm sure some photos would have been fantastic too if not for two things: One - my general lack of ability to capture landscape with low cloud partly obscuring the view, and Two - the fact that some numbskull had forgotten to check how much battery life was left. Never mind, here's one I managed to get of Sybil near the start:

Sitting above Chinley

Walking on past Chinley Churn I promptly became confused as my book instructed me to 'zigzag down beyond the corner of the wall', as I zigzagged down to find a sheer drop in front of me with the path 10 feet or so below. Sliding down to meet it we turned the corner to find my worst fear: a herd of cows. With Sybil on the lead we tiptoed past the hugely uninterested beasts and descended past a couple of farms, one of them named Peep-O-Day Farm.

Lone sheep

Crossing the road, we skirted round Mount Famine and headed down through the fields where we encountered a dead sheep; nothing left but fleece and bones, which had been picked clean. We then walked down a track where Sybil enjoyed some more freedom, under the railway and down into the village.