Stile 2

I have always viewed the stile as a humble, but interesting, structure; a basic means for the walker to pass over a barrier from one place to another. I had no idea that they had become so complicated!

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a STILE as:
an arrangement of steps allowing people, but not animals, to climb over a fence or wall

...which, in it's simplest form, just about sums it up.

In my ignorance, I imagined that most stiles were built on the spot, either by the landowner or by a group/organisation such as BTCV, National Trust or the National Park Ranger Service. (In fact, my eldest son spent his Y10 work experience week with BTCV, constructing a kissing gate stile on a path by the Trent - and jolly hard work he said it was too). What I didn't know was that stiles can now also be bought 'off the peg' and that all constructions are meant to conform to a new British Standard (the penalty for non conformity being prosecution of the landowner by the Highways Agency).

I wonder if this one conforms!

Erm... :)

Equine antics

On most walks, the bulk of animals spotted tend to be cows or sheep. While we certainly spotted some of both, far and away the predominant livestock seen was equine. There were horses in fields, horses in stables, horses being ridden and, far and away the best for the "Ahhh" factor - little rough haired ponies. Unfortunately, none of the little rough haired ponies were interesting in coming close enough to be photographed. This chappie was quite obliging though, wandering over to say "Hello. Have you got anything for me to eat?" as we walked down Old Mill Lane.

I remembered the horses from when we scouted the walk back in October. At one particular point, we had crossed a field towards a farm gate and were studying the map, when my friend suddenly looked up, gave an exclamation of surprise and took a distinct step backwards. As I turned round, I understood why. A rather large horse had decided to investigate these unannounced humans hanging around in his field. Being keen to greet us before we escaped through the (tightly fastened) gate, he was coming at quite a speed! We were both somewhat relieved when he skidded to halt with about six feet to spare; after which he proved relatively friendly :)

A brief scan of the web showed me that there are a number of liveries and stables in the area as well as a good number of bridleways.

It also turned up this little gem from the minutes of the meeting of Thurgoland Parish Council...

 HORSE DROPPINGS ON OLD MILL LANE

Councillor Rowley advised the meeting that she has been approached by residents of Old Mill Lane who are concerned at the amount of horse droppings being deposited along the lane. After discussion it was agreed that the Clerk write to Environmental Services to ask for their advice on this matter, and to ask if Old Mill Lane can be swept more frequently.
 
...followed up the next month with this response...
 

 HORSE DROPPINGS ON OLD MILL LANE

The Clerk advised the meeting that she has received correspondence from Regulatory Services advising that there are no laws concerning horse droppings, and that an inspection of Old Mill Lane found only a small amount of droppings. However, the comments made have been passed to Neighbourhood Services and Highways who will deal with the issue of road sweeping.
 
 
Awww...and he looks so sweet from the front end!

Following the course

Isn't it interesting, the way the same small stretch of river can look so different depending on the direction from which it is viewed?

Standing on the footbridge, this is the view looking north west:

But, personally, I much prefer the view to the south east...

...with the sunlight shining through the still-bare branches and reflecting off the surface of the seemingly still water.

Whichever way it is viewed, this is the fledgling river Don, which rises as a series of small rivers in the Pennines, around Grains Moss, on the borders of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. These converge to form the source of the Don proper, which almost immediately feeds into Winscar reservoir; one of Yorkshire Water's larger reservoirs situated near Dunford Bridge.

From here, the Don winds it's way east through Penistone, and then in a southward loop under the bridge where we were stood and on to Sheffield and Rotherham. Leaving the conurbation, it turns north-eastwards towards Doncaster (not surprising considering the name) before finally mingling its waters with the Yorkshire Ouse at Goole. Originally, the Don was a tributary of the Trent (which also joins the Ouse, 10 miles further downstream) but in 1627 it's route was changed by the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden, for the purpose of making it navigable for coal barges. Although navigable rivers have largely been superseded by railways and motorways, the Don can still be travelled from Goole as far as Sheffield.

In total, the course of the Don is 70 miles, making it 20 miles longer than Derby's River Derwent which also rises within a few miles of Winscar Reservoir, but on the more southerly slopes of the Pennines.

I find it interesting that the two rivers rise so close together and both end up in the North Sea via the Humber, yet follow such different courses during their 'lives'. I'm sure that there is an analogy there somewhere.

Making tracks

I think that one of the most attractive parts of our walk was after we had dropped down the steep hillside from the stile opposite the church on Chapel Lane.

We descended to a track which wound its way along the valley bottom. The noise from the main road was long behind us, semi-industrial Stocksbridge was out of sight and the air was quite balmy as we swung along in the dappled sunlight. Through the gaps in the trees we could see clear views down the valley and over to our right, glimpse the river which we would soon be crossing and the quiet country lane which would form the next short section of our route.

Not spectacular, but refreshingly peaceful and beautifully rural.

Soggy feet?