Sheffield's Five Weirs Walk

Following the River Don, we discovered Sheffield's industrial heartland of the past. 

It was the sort of Saturday where you would be happiest to be holed in bed, listening to the pitter-patter of the falling rain on the windowsill and absorbing the gloom brought about by the bleak sky. There had been a series of sunny spells just a few days ago, making it one of the better spring seasons we've ever had. And then on this day when we were set to do the an eight-mile walk from Meadowhall to Sheffield city centre, the weather chose not to cooperate. But since this is England, not even the rain could stop anyone from doing what they are set to do. 

From the University tram stop near where we live near the city centre, a trip to Meadowhall takes about 16 minutes on the city's most efficient mode of transport. This is a very popular route especially for residents of nearby towns off for a day trip of shopping and entertainment. 

We found ourselves getting off Meadowhall Interchange but while most of the passengers went on to the footbridge that connects the tram stop to the shopping centre, we carried on to find the starting point of the Five-Weirs Walk. 

This walk promised to take us to the heart of Sheffield's industrial backstreet, through a secret path of history and wildlife following the River Don. It wasn't difficult to follow, there were signposts everywhere. At some point, it actually merges with the more popular Trans-Pennine Trail. 

From the interchange, we followed Meadowhall Road and passed through the first weir: Hadfield's Weir which is just outside Meadowhall's Oasis. Then we crossed Meadowhall Way following the signs that took us to Weedon St where a weirhead welcomed us. 

This bit of the walk has been developed with friendly access ramps and fishing platforms, making it accessible for its ever-growing number of visitors. On the opposite side of the river is the Sheffield Forgemasters engineering plant, a remnant of Sheffield's industrial heyday. Here we passed families of walkers and cyclists who like us were oblivious to the unfavourable weather. Towards the end of this stretch, we found the second weir: 

We lost track of the river again when we exited through Carbrook Street and found ourselves back in the busy main road, just a few feet away from the Valley Centretainment bustling with life.

At the roundabout, we turned towards Bold Street and found the connecting path that would take us back to the riverbank. We were met with heavy rain at this point, our shoes soaked wet, so we found shelter in a shed used by workers for cigarette breaks. This is where we had our lunch break as well. 

The rain stopped shortly after and we carried on our walk. Along the other side of the river bank, we glimpsed oddments of the city's rich industrial past and the stark contrast of the Don Valley Stadium's structure looming ahead. Wild flowers also grow along the riverbanks. 

At the end of this stretch, we crossed the criss-cross bridge at Newhall Road and once again followed the left bank of the river. This area is still home to a still thriving steel industry although no longer as flourishing (see featured photo above). Further on, the walk passes through a short tunnel under the Stevenson Bridge which took us to a wall of ivies where butterflies are fluttering about. 

A bit further on we came across the 3rd weir: Sanderson's Weir. Across the river further on, we found a mechanic shop with lines of cars and some ship containers that look like a scene from an old action movie. 

Just a bit further on, we were prompted to cross the East Coast Bridge and found an oasis for our tired and wet feet in a form of a viewpoint with a wooden bench. We stayed here for awhile, basking on the rays of the sun that has slowly seeped through the clouds by then. I took this chance to dry my well-worn but reliable sneakers. 

We did not stay long as we still have a third of the journey to complete. We entered an iron gate with a warning that it closes at 1740 and was led to walk under an iron archway. 

We walked through another tunnel under the Westford Bridge and found a fishing point with various wooden sculptures of fishes to mark the spot. 

The road divides at this point, to either continue following the river or detour towards the Salmon Pastures Nature Reserve. We took the latter route and were instantly surrounded by wild flowers and seemingly endless greenery. 

The walk through the nature reserve was not long and soon after we found ourselves by the river bank with a row of dilapidated buildings in our right, possibly some old factories that were not yet razed to the ground. 

There is another fishing point here near the fourth weir: Burton Weir which is beside two bridges, the higher one is the Norfolf Midland Railway Bridge. 

We exited through a wooden ramp and found ourselves back in the main road. We walked towards the end of Warren Street and saw the notorious Club 160, a sauna and massage suite. A couple of men on the car started eyeing us suspiciously so with a laugh, we carried on to cross Leveson Street towards the direction of another weir head. 

Flowers are in bloom along the side of the road leading us to the narrow iron archway which will eventually take us to the Bailey Bridge, an engineering feat by a student of Sheffield University during WW2 and was notably one of the three most important inventions of the war. 

We crossed the bridge and followed the river from the other side along Effingham Street and shortly came across the fifth weir: Walk Mill Weir. 

The walk did not end here. We carried on towards Furnival Road and temporarily lost track of the river, then turned right to Sussex Street to cross the Cobweb Bridge. 

In exiting this tunnel, we were greeted by the looming figure of The Royal Victoria Hotel amidst the backdrop of the city centre. 

From here we took a short detour to see the Victoria Quays but eventually ended at the heart of the city centre where Lady's Bridge still stands after hundreds of years and has survived Sheffield's floods.  

The walk took us nearly five hours to complete mainly because we were taking photos and having short breaks. But the time spent was well-worth it. It felt amazing to discover that behind the hustle and bustle of city life, there is a different world that feels so far away yet just around the corner. A world that is 'a wild natural habitat where animals live in an industrial landscape that shaped the city to what it is now'. 

As the BBC guide also quoted Robert Frost's famous words: 

Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference. 

We took  the road less travelled and it has given us a different view of the city we have come to love. 

Weekend Walk: Ecclesall Woods

To wander in the woodlands is one of the best ways to celebrate the changing season. And in autumn this transformation couldn't be more fervent, when the trees put on a dazzling display of colours from gorgeous golds to russet reds and the woods are rife with frantic activities as the wildlife prepare for the cold winter to come.

Ecclesall Woods in the south of Sheffield are the largest semi-natural woodland in South Yorkshire and is very popular to visitors for its wildlife, historic and archaeological features. Last Sunday, they held their annual Feast in the Forest, a celebration of autumn in the woods with children's activities, food stalls, woodland trails and pumpkin carving. We arrived early and headed off to the visitor centre where most of the activities were held. Without a map, we discovered that we had limited pathways to follow with a pram but we still managed to have fun - picking up chestnuts, listening to the crunching of leaves on our feet and taking photos of course!

Day Out at Wentworth Castle Gardens

Friday the Thirteenth is often associated with general ill omen, a superstition that is still most commonly held in our so-called civilised and educated society. This year it happened to fall on my birthday, my 30th at that, but the gloomy spirits it was supposed to invoke were displaced by the bright golden sun and the deep blue sky, heightened by long trailing wisps of clouds.

From the north of Sheffield where we live, we drove towards the direction of Barnsley, hardly the most romantic setting in Yorkshire, this patch of Britain we call home that is more fondly referred to by its inhabitants as God's own county, winner of 2013 World's Travel Award and this year's host of Tour De France's Grand Depart. Our destination was a once thriving industrial town which rapidly descended into a 'venomous weeping hole of utter stupidity, filth and degradation' (as described by someone who came from there) soon after the mines closed to which it never recovered. But behind all this is a hidden gem within its countryside and that's where we headed for a great day out.

As we drove through a tunnel of green created by rows of trees that stood along parts of the quiet lane, the Palladian wing of Wentworth Castle, which stands three stories high with its six columns, rose over the hill and peeked through the little gaps left by the canopy of leaves. But blink and you will miss it. On either side of the road before we reached the turn-off, the country rolled out in a lush green carpet of fields with grazing animals, stretching out in the distance, to where the shoulders of the hills marked the end of the land and the beginning of the sky.

The parking area was small, South Yorkshire's best kept secret does not yet boast of the number of visitors as the more popular attractions in the area have but it won't be for long. Along the short path to the Long Barn Visitor Centre, we read about the restoration work that is being carried out by the Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust, an ambitious process that only started in 2004 after appearing on BBC 2's Restoration program in 2003 which helped secure funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund amongst others.

Wentworth Castle was one of Yorkshire's most important 18th Century estates. Once the seat of the Earls of Stafford, its very foundations contain relics of past glories but like most English aristocratic homes and with no surviving heirs, it has fallen into a sorry state of disrepair that before the middle of the 20th Century it was sold off, turned into a teacher training college until 1978 and then eventually became home of Northern College that it is today. But in 2002 the trust was created for the much-needed restoration work and their achievements over the recent years should be admired.

Our tour around the gardens followed the map provided which started with the brand new garden laid out in the front of the Baroque part of the house that is not accessible to the public although a tour can be booked with the college.

Leaving the garden, we followed the path around the side of the Ha ha wall and lawn where we admired the South side of the building up close and took notice of the Corinthian Temple, built in 1776 that would have been used as a summerhouse and a place for entertainment. Viewed from a distance, it created an impressive sight adding an air of extravagance to the place.

We crossed the bridge and took in the impressive views of the valley below from the steps of the folly that was built in a design meant to echo the architectural style of the south façade with its four Corinthian columns which provided a sense of cohesion to the overall building.
From the back of the folly, we made our way to the gardens, entering the high hedges of round densely populated enclosures laid out in the form of two Union Jacks it was named after. This is one of the most extraordinary and historic features of Wentworth and is part of the 1739 illustration of the estate.

We carried on walking through the Middle Garden and the Triangle until we reached the short steps leading to the Secret Garden where successful restoration work has transformed it back to the original mid-19th Century Victorian Garden that it was with bowers, trellis work, grassy plots and bright bedding complete with iron urn and plinth. We stayed here for a bit to to admire the magical landscape of the past that was recreated in the present.

Leaving the garden, we wandered off towards the wonderful viewing point that looks out to the south of the Parkland, admiring the unspoilt beauty that was before us.

Following on with our walk, we passed through the Archer's Hill Gate which was built in 1744, where the three arches framed individual and beautiful views across the South Park almost as if they are landscape paintings. This gate used to mark the point where the old public road left the estate although there was barely any traces of that now.

We followed the path, down a grassy slope and walked along a crenellated wall that gave an impression of a medieval fortification. We passed through an obelisk that is the Sun Monument on our way to the towers of Stainborough Castle that rose up ahead.

Stainborough Castle has the appearance of a gothic fairytale fortress but this mock castle is in fact only built in the early 18th Century and was said to be designed as a playhouse for the children with each of the four towers named after them. But where it was built is the actually a site of an Iron Age hill fort that was converted by the Norman Lords into a motte and bailey castle.

Leaving the castle, we walked around the 'informal' Wilderness, one of the highlights of Wentworth and a sanctuary for the national collections of old, rare and endangered garden plants as well as new varieties who are grown there for the benefit of horticulture, science and education. We also visited the Stumpery and Fernery and admired the land art sculptures created by the garden team.

At the end of the walk, we found Lady Lucy's Walk, an avenue of lime trees said to be shrouded in mystery with rumours of ghosts and ghouls with a story of forbidden love at its heart. It was the most picturesque garden path I have ever walked across.

And before returning back to the barn, we entered the newly restored Conservatory brought back to its former splendour with a colourful collection of exotic plants emitting fragrant scents. This picturesque glasshouse was one of the first to use electric lighting in the country, even earlier than Buckingham Palace!

It was definitely a perfect place to spend a birthday and we are surely coming back. With an entrance fee of only £6.50 each including parking, who said a day out has to be expensive to be memorable?