Shirtcliffe Wood from Flockton Park

A walk of 4 miles from my book Walking South Yorkshire (pages 21-24).

This was the walk that very nearly didn't happen. First of all our walk into town along the canal took longer than I expected, but with a bit of jogging we made it in time for the train which just happened to be delayed anyway. Then just as the train was due, an announcement came over the system that the train would no longer be calling at the stop I wanted and would be terminating at Sheffield. Great, a whole hour to wait in temperatures of -6 degrees. I was in two minds whether to do the walk or not by this point, but I figured we could easily be back before it got dark.

When we finally arrived at Woodhouse station, we headed down to Flockton Park where Sybil had a much-needed run off-lead. We crossed Beaver Hill Road and strolled past the trees towards the field that led to Shirtcliffe Wood. The morning was deliciously frosty and the ground crunchy underfoot. Winter is my least favourite season but on mornings like this I have to wonder why.

Frosted leaf

We had the wood to ourselves for awhile as we followed the brook through the trees and out into the open, only to leave it to head uphill for some fantastic views over the valley. I noticed a treecreeper at the base of a tree, but it quickly disappeared before I could take a photo.

Heading uphill

Finally reaching the summit we headed along a path bordered on each side by a hedgerow. We then followed a path at the edge of a field until walking back down towards the woods. Walking along the top of the hill was by far my favourite part of this walk, and I can only imagine it is even better in spring when the countryside is coming back to life.

Shirtcliffe Wood

I got a bit confused at this point as to which path I should be on; nevertheless the wood wasn't huge and we were soon back on the right track. We crossed the stream to enjoy the other side of the wood as the path wound through the trees. I noticed two jays hopping about at the top of one of the trees, but they stayed too well-hidden to attempt a photograph. We were soon back crossing over Beaver Hill Road and into Flockton Park, where Sybil had a quick play with a Jack Russell Terrier before we arrived back at the train station with only ten minutes to wait for the train. Luckily, the travel went smoothly on the way back.