Herringthorpe Valley and Brecks Plantation

A walk of 4.5 miles from my book Walking South Yorkshire (pages 69 - 72).

This walk is very handy, starting in my local park (Herringthorpe Valley Park) which means there was no need to travel on public transport. Sybil and I were in very familiar surroundings as we headed up the way we do almost every day. However, once we got to Gibbing Greave Wood we followed the path across the stream and around the perimeter of the wood instead of the shortcut we usually take parallel to the golf course.

Looking across to Wentworth Woodhouse

We then headed round to the adjoining Herringthorpe Wood, dropping onto the golf course to take in the view. Upwards through this wood brought us to Belcourt Road which we followed and then turned left into Brecks Plantation. We followed the path at the top of the slope and were both delighted when we realised this was our beloved Listerdale Woods, as we called it. We headed the opposite way to usual, crossing the bridge and heading upstream.

Brecks Plantation

Eventually crossing the stream we emerged into a more open area of ornamental trees such as conifer and willow. The book suggests this area might once have been formal parkland. We left the wood at Gibbing Greaves Road and headed back into Herringthorpe Wood. This time we did a circuit of the wood, climbing Great Bank where in spring rare white bluebells grow. Descending back into the wood we came out onto the golf course where Sybil took the opportunity to stretch her legs. Then it was a simple walk back through the park up to the house.

A quick run

Hathersage, and Sybil's first swimming lesson

Today I decided to do a walk out of my new book, More Peak District Walks. This one appealed to me as it was on the Hope Valley line and included a riverside walk.

After leaving the station I headed to Leadmill Bridge and stopped to admire the view of the river. Much to my delight I spotted a dipper heading downstream. It bobbed a few times on a rock, then dove into the water to catch itself some dinner.

River Derwent

We then headed along the riverbank, following the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. A couple of fields away, a group of people appeared to be clay pigeon shooting so the sound of gunshots accompanied us along the riverside. Eventually reaching the stepping stones, I put Sybil back on the lead with the aim of us going across side by side; however she was soon jumping about like a mad dog, hopping in the river and making the stones wet and slippery so I thought well, every woman for herself and let her off the lead. I was slightly concerned about her due to the size and depth of the river, but she was soon swimming about, albeit not very happily.

Stepping stones

Crossing the river was very unnerving. By the time I got halfway across, I was crouching and using my hands. I could see the headline in the newspapers: "Girl and dog swept away by river", but in fact Sybil had other ideas and by the time I caught up with her she had unfortunately found a flock of sheep and was practising her sheepdog skills. Luckily she doesn't hurt sheep but she still got a quick telling off and I checked each field before letting her off after that.

The walk then continued through several fields with outstanding views of the surrounding countryside. One in particular had views across to Stanage Edge, a cliff of stone popular with climbers.

View to Stanage Edge

The track descended into a delightful little wood known as The Warren with a brook running through it. Thus began Sybil's second swimming lesson when part of the stream was a lot deeper than expected! She was getting the hang of it now though and soon dried off with a good shake as we headed up to the church to visit Little John's grave, before going back into Hathersage and catching the train home.

Little John's grave

Bamford Well Dressing and Win Hill

On Tuesday I found out that Bamford's well dressing was on display. Having never seen one before, and Bamford being easily accessible by train, I decided to go and visit on Wednesday.

We got off the train at Bamford with Sybil in a good mood, having been fussed by a large group of schoolchildren until they left the train at Dore. She then didn't mind waiting while I took some photos.

Can anyone guess the theme for this year?

The village was dressed up for the occasion with coloured flags strung up between houses. There were scarecrows in front of some of the houses; finding a poster I discovered there had been a scarecrow competition in which the villagers worked together to create the best scarecrow with an Olympic theme. Bamford seems full of community spirit and there are noticeboards and posters throughout the village advertising events such as dog shows, carnivals and the like.

Bamford

We then left the village and walked up to Ladybower. I decided to take a slightly different route and followed the footpath to Heatherdene, which cut through a lovely wildflower meadow.

Common Spotted Orchid

Wildflowers

The bellmouth spillways at Ladybower were overflowing, evidence to the wet summer we've had so far. As I've walked around the reservoir before I decided to take a path leading up to Win Hill. The map said it is called Parkin Clough and it is quite steep and rocky.

Parkin Clough

Being not very hill-fit I took quite a few rest-stops on the way up. A man passed me and I asked him if it was much further. "About 100 metres or so," he said. Well, it turned out to be "or so"!. We finally reached Winhill Plantation where Sybil had to go back on the lead as there were sheep about. This bit seemed even steeper, although there were steps cut into the hillside; thankfully it was not as long as Parkin Clough and we could soon see the top. This gave me an extra burst of energy and we got to the trig point soon after, where there were fantastic views of the reservoir and the Hope valley.

Ladybower Reservoir

Sybil at the trig point

The wind picked up which made it difficult to get my map out, so I decided to head back the way we had come. That way we wouldn't get lost! On the way back down Sybil scared a young woman heading up by barking at her. She was quite a bit further down than I but knowing that she would only bark if someone had startled her and that she wouldn't bite anyone I shouted her back, apologising to the woman who quite rightly had been pretty nervous. She was very nice and we had a little chat before heading our seperate ways. I only managed to slip once on the way down which was lucky considering how wet and muddy it was. After a quick rinse in the stream at the bottom for both of us, we headed back to the train station.

 

Ravenfield Park via Silverwood

I wanted to do a decent walk that was near home, so Sybil and I set off up to Silverwood, which we usually visit at least once a week. Today however, I was going to extend our walk to Ravenfield Park. We headed off down the Rusty Bump, along the bottom fields and across Far Dalton Lane until we reached Silverwood. At the top a lovely breeze was blowing so I stopped to have a rest and cool down before we headed up to the lake.

Silverwood Lake

At my last few visits I have seen little wildlife on the lake; however today I was delighted to see a swan family complete with three cygnets and a mallard family with too many ducklings to count. I made sure Sybil was lying firmly at my feet, as the first time we came here she headed into the middle of the lake and promptly got stuck in the mud, and it was up to me to wade in to rescue her.

Swan family

We then walked up to Holling's Lane and crossed it to join the old railway track that runs past Thrybergh up to Ravenfield.

Walking the old tracks

Leaving the tracks just before the village we joined another public footpath past St James' Church and through a field of wheat. Although the wheat was just below waist height, it was much taller than Sybil and she wasn't happy at only being able to see the path in front of her. Every so often she would stand up on her back legs, front paws dangling, and bounce a few times to try and see over. I swear I have never met a stranger dog.

"I can't see!"

We eventually reached Ravenfield Park and turned left to walk through the woodland. Being a Sunday the fishponds were busy with fishermen and so coming back Sybil had to go on her lead, which she hates. I didn't want her knocking any unsuspecting fishermen into a pond.

View through the trees

Incidentally on the way back she did knock a man flying at Silverwood, but only because she wanted to play with his spaniel. She doesn't realise how fast she actually runs; then when I call her she can't slam on the brakes quick enough before she either falls over or runs into someone (or something).

A really pleasant walk, the weather was maybe a little too warm but I now have a nicely tanned face. Mileage covered today: 9.46 miles

Day Three - Boat of Garten and Loch Garten RSPB

On Wednesday the steam train was running up to Boat of Garten, about six miles from Aviemore. I wanted to visit Loch Garten to hopefully see an osprey, and I'd read that the steam train to Boat of Garten was the best way to do this, with a two and a half mile walk up to the reserve from there. We boarded the train at half past ten. Originally I had planned to get the train one way and walk back to Aviemore via the Speyside Way, however with the rain and also my feet still hurting from yesterday's walk (yes I'm a lightweight!) I decided to get the train both ways.

The steam engine

We left the train at Boat of Garten which seemed a lovely quiet little village. The residents were also very affluent, judging by the size of most of the houses. We then walked through Abernethy Forest, following the blue trail to the Osprey Centre. We arrived at the loch just before midday, and stopped to take it all in before going to the visitor centre.

Welcome

Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed into the centre, so I tied Sybil up and hurried through to the building before she could slip her collar and eat a squirrel. That wouldn't look good on an RSPB reserve. The centre was further away than I thought but I finally got there and peered through each of the binoculars before spotting a huge osprey leap out of a tree and fly past. The CCTV footage from the nest was being shown live on several screens in the centre; the female osprey was keeping her chicks warm which was lovely to see.

I didn't want to risk staying any longer so I hurried back to Sybil, pleased to have at least got a glimpse of an osprey. They really are much bigger than I thought. We had a few hours before our train left back to Aviemore, so we took a steady walk around the loch and back through the forest.

Loch Garten

Loch Garten

Day Two - Loch Morlich

After looking at pictures of beautiful Loch Morlich on the internet, I had decided I wanted to visit. It was within walking distance from Aviemore and back, so on Tuesday morning I packed some sandwiches and Sybil's tennis ball and we set off at around half past eight. The walk there was beautiful, along a forest path which unfortunately ran too close to the road to let Sybil off the lead.

Rothiemurchus

Between the trees you could see the mountains, and when there were no cars going past all you could hear was birdsong. Chaffinches in particular were everywhere. The weather had changed since the day before, and a refreshing fine drizzle was coming down. The rain had caught in thousands of spider webs all along the path, in gorse, heather and even in the trees, making them sparkle and even for an arachnophobe like me, really quite beautiful.

Just some of the thousands of webs in the forest

After about an hour and a half, we finally arrived at Loch Morlich where I was promptly attacked by midges. The day was overcast and the loch probably didn't look as outstanding as it did under clear skies; however I didn't mind as this meant that fewer people were visiting the loch. I played ball with Sybil until she destroyed it, which took all of five minutes. She keeps the ball in her mouth and chews on it until it splits in the middle; quite why she does this I don't know as the ball is not half as much fun to play with.

Loch Morlich

Watersports at Loch Morlich

I heard a cuckoo calling from the trees somewhere around the loch - only the second cuckoo I have ever heard. On the way back I was also in for a treat as I looked up to see a red squirrel peering at me from a tree at the side of the road. Unfortunately I'd put my camera back in my rucksack, and before I could reach for it the squirrel ran off, chased by another one through the trees.

After a rest back at the cabin, Sybil and I set off for our evening walk to Craigellachie. Halfway around the path, she suddenly bolted off into the undergrowth. I shouted her back as I didn't want her disturbing any wildlife but wasn't too worried as she normally disappears for a couple of minutes only to come and check I'm still there. However, after about ten minutes had passed I started shouting her name louder, and climbed up a little hill to see green everywhere - but no Sybil. I really started to panic now as about fifteen minutes had passed and I still could not hear the jingle of her collar or the pounding of her feet. Eventually though she reappeared, slinking up behind me with her ears down expecting to be told off. Instead I gave her a massive cuddle with tears in my eyes, as with the reserve being so big and having a busy road at the side of it, I was scared that something terrible could have happened. I clipped her lead back on and needless to say, she didn't get much off-lead time the next day as I found the large amounts of rabbits around were just too tempting for her to chase.  

Sybil

Day One - Aviemore and Craigellachie Nature Reserve

On Monday, Sybil and I set off on a short holiday to Aviemore, in Scotland. Having been through the Cairngorms on the train before, I quite fancied visiting here so booked a chalet for three nights. We set off on the early train to Edinburgh from Doncaster. I sat in my reserved seat, but realised that Sybil would not be happy scrunched under my seat for three hours, surrounded by lots of other people. So I decided to move to the entrance of the carriage, where she would have more room. I looped Sybil's lead around the seat's armrest, and as I was getting my rucksack down from the overhead rack her lead came loose, and she immediately headed for the open train door. Running behind her, shouting her name much to the amusement of the other commuters I managed to snag her lead just before she made her break for freedom.

Without further incident we arrived in Edinburgh. I had arranged for an hour gap between trains so I could walk Sybil around and let her "do her business". It was a scorching hot day so we sat on a bench in the shade. "Morning there" I heard from an American couple walking past. "Do you mind if we stroke your dawg?" Of course I didn't mind, and from here on until the end of the trip a theme started, where Sybil was continually proclaimed to have outstanding manners by all members of the public who stopped for a fuss. This was news to me, of course. She would obviously make a very fine actress!

Aviemore station

Last time I was at Edinburgh Waverley, I got lost. This time, I got lost again. It didn't help that they were redesigning the whole station, so there were metal fences and JCBs everywhere. After asking a member of staff where platform 17 was, I realised I had no clue whether my train was actually leaving from this platform. Nevertheless I stood with a hundred other people, watching the departure boards as two trains got cancelled, and the trains that weren't cancelled were delayed. Apparently there were signal problems somewhere on the line. The train to Aviemore was not advertised as delayed, however the platform was not announced until ten minutes after it was supposed to have departed. A tad stressed we surged forward with the other hundred people to arrive in Aviemore half an hour late.

By this time and not accustomed  to travelling such distances, Sybil was in a foul mood. In Aviemore she tried to eat two dogs, one of them a huge Husky on whom I would have placed my bets. An innocent man on the train also felt the brunt of her bad mood as she growled and barked at him for committing the crime of wearing all-white.

The entrance sign

To cheer her up, we went on a two-hour walk around Craigellachie Nature Reserve. Apparently this site is good for spotting breeding Peregrine falcons. These I would have loved to see but unfortunately they never made an appearance. We headed up towards the viewpoint, and back down again after I realised how far it was to the top. Nonetheless I still managed to get a good view of the town from halfway up:

Aviemore from Craigellachie

We then walked around a huge pond, or a small loch take your pick, which was blessed with tons of wildlife including little tadpoles swimming around the water's edge. At this point however, Sybil spotted two ducks and decided to dive in after them. I was not pleased as we had yet to meet the owner of the place we were staying, in order to get our keys. I gave her a good rub with her towel and hoped the wet dog smell would soon dissipate.

The pond

We met a toad on the way back round to the exit, and after Sybil almost squashed it decided that we'd had enough adventure for one day and went to find out where we would be staying for the next two days. The cabin was to an excellent standard and a wonderful place to come home to after each hard day's walking.

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