Stoshe one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I walked into Sheffield having taken the bus out this was a safer transport option and potentially it's downhill. A very good walk but in two distinct parts. Excellent countryside walking and easy safe urban walking. Stiles aplenty, sheep and mud but not the clingling sort so boots were fairly clean as I approached the city centre. No geese so no diversion required. The review by PeteS says it all.

From Stockbridge it's an immediate climb away from the main road with the view across the valley improving all the way. Mostly a paved path sometimes fenced in all the way to Bolsterstone.

The view then changes to the valley of reservoirs on the Ewden Beck. The quiet road along the Reservoir and over the dam offers a level break from hills. A double back takes a footpath (Walkers Only) to Brightholmlee then onward and ever upward to Glen Howe where numerous paths make navigation a bit of a challenge. The attractive packhorse bridge suggests this footpath should be a bridleway at least, that is until the information board is inspected.

No geese at Foldrings and plenty of waymarks but a gate off its hinges has to be lifted from the gap in the fence. This is the huge parish of Bradfield where the Parish Council has signed their footpaths, walkers welcome by councillors at least. The contour walk towards Coumes Vale Plantation offers a stunning view over Oughtibridge towards Sheffield and the Beech tree leaves provide a golden carpet on the path.

There's a seat on Burt Hill Lane but not the most inviting location. From here the route is very well walked across the fields towards the depressing large grey structure of a school the grounds of which, for this day and age, are not fenced. I'm tempted by an alternative inn to take to top road at Worrall but spot my mistake and backtrack.

From here it's roadside pavements. Initially with a green view into the valley although a brief sleet shower clouded my appreciation of it. Approaching Hillsborough there is a grass verge to increase space from the passing traffic. Crossing the River Loxley along the busy main street then passing the impressive barracks which hides the supermarket. I wondered why the route moves to the busy road, while our path is very open the Slow Way is surrounded by large car sales sites.

Meeting the River Don we soon enter the upcoming and interesting former industrial area of Kelham Island. I popped in the traditional Fat Cat inn rather than the many trendy cafe bars. From here it was, for me, a new route into the city centre until reaching the large roundabout with the trams on top. Here I must admit I lost it. I knew where the route should go but I also knew my way to the station so I finished at the front, not the rear.

Very good route. It takes you through a mixture of environments and nothing too challenging.

I walked this in late May, starting at the Stocksbridge end. The route took 4 and 3/4 hours in all. The weather was windy on the tops but dry and only 2 short sections were particularly muddy. Don't wear your nice shoes though.

The walk can be broadly divided into 2 sections: the first half being hilly countryside and the second half, from Worrall onwards, is on roads and gets increasingly urban and flat. The rural section took me twice as long as the urban one, although this was in small part due to some diversions and backtracking. The terrain is a good mix of country villages, open hilltops, fields, woodlands, a picturesque reservoir, city streets and if you look eastwards from the hilltops, you'll see across the valley, Wharncliffe which is the setting for the opening of Sir Walter Scott's novel, "Ivanhoe".

Navigation is usually simple but I would recommend a map and maybe a compass (or electronic equivalents) because it's too long to memorise and for a few tricky spots such as in the woods. I only went offtrack once, for a few minutes, and that was because I failed to take notice of the obvious signs and the map. Oops.
If using paper maps, an A-Z for the street section beats an OS map because street names and a larger scale help. Most of the paths are well signposted but they do intersect with other well signposted routes which requires scrutinizing the map to pick the right one. Once you reach the road at Worrall, it's mostly a case of going straight along in the same direction, until you reach the Langsett Road turn-off: no navigation needed.

Surfaces vary from city streets, through broken tarmac, stone and gravel paths, to mud tracks in woods and through knee-high grass in fields. There are a few steepish parts and and you'll be walking up and down hills but no mountaineering is involved.

There are a good number of stiles and stone walls with protruding steps to negotiate and a turnstile early on. Bicycles aren't allowed on some stretches.

The route starts at the shops in Stocksbridge, should you need to stock up on provisions. If you need something strengthening, after about half an hour, there is the Castle Inn at Bolsterstone. After that, you're in the wilds until the Blue Ball Inn at Worrall. Both these pubs have seating outside. There are also some benches around the shore of More Hall Reservoir.
At Wadsley, you'll pass the Sportsman pub and there's a paper shop across the road if you feel you've earned some sweeties. At the bottom of the hill is Malin Bridge. There are several pubs and a lot of shops there. Just after that, on Langsett Road, there is the Hillsborough bus interchange. If you want to cut out the urban parts of the walk, you can catch a bus to the city centre here. Just beyond the interchange is The Parade Shopping Centre which includes a gigantic Morrisons where there are toilets. There is then a period of walking down beside the dual carriageway but once you turn off that into Kelham Island, you're in the city centre and you'll find increasing numbers of places to stop, shop or sit down.

I have to make note of a few hazards.
There is a large, fallen tree in Coumes wood that obscures the path onwards. Walk up and down again, around the tree, to find the right path onwards.

The path Eastwards out of Bolsterstone that parallels Sunny Bank Road goes along the northern edge of a copse. Mostly the path is bordered on the south side by bushes but not all the way along. Bushes or not, there is a tall cliff edge dropping down to the wood behind them. It's not a problem but be aware.

The other is, after coming out of the wood at Glen Howe Park, the public footpath turns South East and eventually goes through what looks like someone's garden gate to join the driveway that links to Raynor Sike Lane ( https://www.osmap.uk/#19/53.44133/-1.56132 ). At this point, I was attacked by angry geese and had to beat a retreat. I have written to the council to prevent a reoccurence, but if you should run into these despicable devil-birds, I would suggest doing as I did, which is to return to the exit from Glen Howe Park wood and instead extend your route along the westward path until you reach the road. Then you can go South and South East to Bent Hills Lane and Raynor Sike Lane and then East to rejoin the route at Acre Lane. This adds 1.5 km to the route.

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