W/C 1st March 2014 - West of Sheffield

A walk along the foothills of the Pennines, to the west of Sheffield, brought a nice change of scenery. The walk was organised by the Sutton-in-Ashfield Ramblers. We started at Ringinglow, heading generally northwards. We visited a number of hills, moors, valleys and reservoirs before reaching our destination at Low Bradfield, next to the Damflask Reservoir. The day was generally very gloomy and light rain arrived by mid-afternoon. This made photography very difficult at times!

The walk began on the edge of Ringinglow, a small village just to the south west of Sheffield. We passed this place on a walk in mid-August last year. The old toll house dominates the scene.

 From the village, we headed south for a short distance before heading west through woodland towards the Ox Stones. The area between Ringinglow and Sheffield has lots of opportunities for exploring the countryside, as publicised in this notice.

 This is the view down the Limb Valley towards Whirlowbrook. This was once the border between Northumbria and Mercia.

 The Ox Stones are on the edge of Burbage Moor. Here is one of the Ox Stones, with Rud Hill visible in the distance, to the north.

 We headed north from here, past Brown Edge Farm to Fulwood Head. Sheffield was in view to the east for much of the way.

 ..and again.

 We eventually reached the edge of Fulwood Head. In the distance was the Rivelin Valley, with views over territory we were later to traverse.

 The scene changed dramatically as we turned west towards the Redmires Reservoirs. These are overlooked by moorland, covered in thick undergrowth, peat and deep pools of water.

 Here is a closer view of the undergrowth - mainly moss and dead bracken, with a few isolated small trees..

 As we approached the Redmires Reservoirs, the dam wall of the top reservoir was visible below us. The lower of the three reservoirs was quite empty.

 We walked along the top of the dam wall before turning east towards Lodge Moor. This walk passed through land owned by the water company, with good footpaths and signs.

 Eventually, Lodge Moor came into sight, with its distinctive, modern church tower.

 We stopped at a pub for lunch. From here, there was a view down the Rivelin Valley towards the northern part of Sheffield.

 From Lodge Moor, we descended a steep path to the bottom of the Rivelin Valley. We crossed a minor stream first.

 The River Rivelin was crossed on stepping stones, seen through the trees below.

 Beyond the river, we climbed the opposite side of the valley, crossing the A57 and heading over a very muddy field towards the base of the Rivelin Rocks. This is a view back across the valley to the south and Rivelin Mill.

 The Rivelin Rocks were barely visible through the trees as we headed north east towards the hamlet of King Edwards.

 Across the valley, the weather was closing in, with light rain approaching.

 We turned north along a footpath over to the next valley and headed briefly east towards Stannington.

 The chimney of an old mill was prominent in the valley below. This view is looking north west towards Dungworth - and Bradfield, our destination.

 We passed through the small hamlet of Underbank. This has a fine Unitarian Chapel, dating to 1743.

 Just beyond the chapel, we again turned north, passing down the steep side of another minor valley. This view is looking north east towards Loxley.

 The bottom of the valley was very pretty.

 Inevitably, we climbed again, and passed through the tiny hamlet of Storrs before heading for the Loxley Valley and Stacey Bank.

 Stacey Bank is just downstream of the Damflask reservoir. The valley bottom looked very tranquil during our visit, but was the scene of a major disaster in 1864, when a dam burst at the head of the valley, leaving a trail of death and destruction all the way to Sheffield.

 This is a view from the bottom of the Damflask Dam. Damflask was originally a village, washed away in the Great Sheffield flood disaster of 11 March 1864. The site is now submerged underwater by the reservoir.

 After a brief break, we headed on from Stacey Bank, along the north east side of the Damflask reservoir to Low Bradfield. From the road, we had a much better view of the dam wall and the reservoir, through pouring rain.

 An information board gave information about the 1864 disaster.

 Finally, we approached Low Bradfield, at the head of the reservoir. High Bradfield church tower is just visible in the trees. Just beyond the left of the photo is the dam wall of Agden Reservoir. The original wall of this reservoir collapsed in 1864, causing the tragedy. The current reservoir was built with a completely new dam wall, slightly further up the valley.

 Low Bradfield is at the confluence of two streams, which meet just at the bridge, seen here in the distance.

Despite a gloomy day, this was another great walk from the Sutton-in-Ashfield Ramblers. Long may they continue!