Walking in South Yorkshire. Day 1.

I've just gone through 90 odd photo's and whittled it down. Taken over three days of walking. I booked the Premier Inn at Tankersley not far from junction 36 of the M1 Motorway. I have Ordnance Survey maps for that area and found some possible routes to walk. I arrived at midday on Wednesday, parked the car and went for a walk. I had about 4 - 5 hours of daylight and wanted to fit a walk in for exactly that amount of time. 

I walk with the map in my hand and use a highlight pen to mark the progress. Having something visual for reference, knowing how far I can walk in an hour, and checking the maps for opportunities to either shorten or lengthen the walk means I can make the most of the time I have got.  

First a short cut through the Industrial Estate and look for the path to take me onto a lane, and join the Trans Pennine Trail towards Wortley. 

Wortley Hall is a hotel which also caters for conferences and weddings. It's  accessed on a long driveway from the main road. I've just had a look at their web site, rooms seem very reasonable, might treat myself next time I have a few days away.

Very quiet at this time of the year, I wandered around the gardens.

This picture shows a fault in my camera. The hazy bit in the middle is where the lens is scratched. I don't know how that happened. Looks like I might have to have a new one.

Entrance to the stables, closed at the moment. There is a camping and caravan site just behind it.

A wander around the village. Indoor and outdoor seating here for a snack and drink. A shop to buy supplies. 

Wortley Men's Club was there before I was born.

The church is opposite, on the busy A629 which runs through the village. I had a look inside and the smell of cooking greeted me. A ladies group were listening to someone giving a talk about how to make home made soup. I stopped to chat with a man who was on duty looking after visitors. He gave me some of the history of the place.

Onward I went, mindful of the limited time I had. Roads and paths was my route through Howbrook, and Westwood Country Park, back to the hotel. It's very close to a busy roundabout, I had to negotiate heavy traffic at each junction. Thankfully drivers who noticed that I was trying to cross eased off a bit and I was able to sprint across. 

My only entertainment for the night was the television. Unfortunately my small netbook has stopped working due to Windows 7 packing up. I will need to sort that out for my next trip, maybe have to have a new device. I also forgot to take my mobile phone so I was completely cut off from the outside world while I was there. At least I got plenty of sleep, I dozed off while lying on the bed watching some mindless programmes. 

8 Miles walked today. More pics next time. Toodle pip.  ilona