Scrabbling about

Today Christine and I explored the deepest disused and presumably most ancient holloway on old Totley Lane down from Bradway. There are three levels at the Totley end, near Brook Hall and the Lodge. As one "road" became deep and muddy from packhorses and carts - it was abandoned and another path made higher up. Here we find an old purse and bag where some bad boy has chucked his stolen goods.


And an old fallen tree in the bottom, looking like something out of Tolkien.

Much singing from the birds today. The robins' songs seem less wistful, more confident. Later on, two were fighting over their territory at the edge of Greenoak Park.

Last night I was part of a small group (but set to grow larger) who have formed to fight the awful new lights on the A621 Baslow Road. These are huge, close together and line the open countryside and moorland outside Totley. The group also wants to monitor and campaign against other inappropriate development and creeping urbanisation in the city's green fringe , close to the Peak Park. The group is to be called SPACE - Sheffield and Peak Against Urban Encroachment. So - watch this SPACE!

yesterday....

A walk up the holloway to Woodthorpe - hey - give that man a fishing rod and a pond...

Then along by Hare Wood - funny, it looks like one from the shape on maps. Last time I was up here I found a travellers' encampment deep in the wood complete with scaffolding for tarpaulines and old lager cans...

Views of our house from the top of the ridge..

Then up and onto Rodmoor Road where I saw the first bit of hedge laying around here. There are evidently different regional variations in doing it - a bit like stonewalling. This one is on the Yorkshire/Derbyshire border near Mickley Farm.

Then found a milestone or sort of marker incorporated into a wall...

Back via the old bridleway from Bradway which near our end has three parallel levels - as holloways got deeper and muddier, higher paths were cut. Past the guard fierce dog chained behind a gate. Unfortunately my batteries ran out, otherwise I'd have snapped up his ugly mug, poor beast...

White coal and holloways

We take the car up to Holmesfield Church carpark and walk into the woods. Once a medieval deer park, the earthworks around the wood to keep the deer in are still visible. We go in via a new wide path but rapidly veer off it into the steepling beeches. Hollows where wood was burnt for white coal - used to smelt lead - are still visible. The woods in Totley, here, and in the Cordwell Valley were all a valuable resource for this white coal. Most, apart from this one are now unmanaged and neglected.

We return via Hob Lane - an ancient deep holloway alongside the wood, once part of an important track running south to north.