Sheeck two

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I walked from Eckington to Sheffield in late May. The weather was good and had been for a couple of days with a little rain before that. Total time was 3 hours. You can take a 252, 50(a) or 53(a) bus to get there.

The walk can be divided into a rural half, through Moss Valley to the Sheffield outer ring road, and an urban half going into the city centre. The first half is mostly on dirt tracks and paths and the latter mostly on pavement. There were a couple of muddy spots which you can walk around and an absolute quagmire coming out of the woods at Gleadless which was only a few metres long. You could get away with wearing trainers at this time of year but I wouldn't wear white ones. Any slopes are modest, the steepest part being walking between the top and bottom of Meersbrook Park. There is a kissing gate by a bridge over the Moss and some squeeze gates but the trickiest obstacle is the stepping stones at the West end of Geer Lane. They aren't that difficult to negotiate and the water level was low on that day.

When entering the woods outside Eckington, keep a close eye on which path you take. There are a number of crossing paths. That said, I didn't find it tricky to relate the map to the ground. If in doubt, the better path is usually the one you want. The woods were very pleasant and there was a strong smell of wild garlic at times. After half an hour, I was at the Bridge Inn. The short stretch of road from there is without pavements, so take care, but once on Geer Lane, there is almost no traffic.

At the lane's end, you descend to the stepping stones then climb uphill and along quiet lanes to the ring road at Bochum Parkway. If you go a little right from the roundabout, there is a crossing point, albeit without lights, but with a clear view of the traffic.

Not far on is the Bagshaw Arms and bus stops for the 18 and 20 bus routes. When you get to the Water Tower pub, turn down the side road and the end of that leads into Leeshall Wood and Carr Wood. Here I got a bit lost. The problem is that it's not obvious when the turn off from the main path is. As it turned out, I'd only gone 20-30m beyond where I thought it was but not knowing where I was and with the OS map being a bit short on detail, I found my way out as much by luck as by judgement. I would imagine this section is easier to navigate when walking the route in reverse. My suggestion would be to turn off left as soon as you can after passing Newfield School, cross the bridge, then walk until you emerge from the trees. Then go downhill into the bottom corner of the open space, back into the woods, walk downhill to another bridge and the exit from the woods is just ahead of you and to the left. Of course, if you have fancy gadgets, then Open Street Map (which Slow Ways uses) seems good.

Down the street from the wood there is a Budgens supermarket, open most of the day, every day. The next landmark is the 16th century Bishop's House at the top of Meersbrook park. This is a museum run by the council and by volunteers who are happy to tell you all about it. It's free to visit and very interesting. Also there is the information board further on, which is the place Turner painted his "View of Sheffield from Derbyshire Lane" in 1797. Derbyshire Lane used to run through this park. That's before the Industrial Revolution and Sheffield's rapid growth so you wouldn't recognise the place. Even now, it's a great viewpoint.

Go down the hill and out onto Chesterfield Road, where there is a B&M bargains if you're needing a snack, or there are cafés, pubs and shops before you pass under the railway. After the railway bridge, you'll see a white on black sign to Granville Square across the road. These signs point the way to the end. You can have a sit down on a bench down the road. At the end of the road, go back over the bridge, under the railway on the opposite side and round a corner to find the path onwards. The Sheaf Walk takes you back to the railway station in about half an hour or less.

I walked Sheffield to Eckington. A very mixed and interesting walk, part very urban which may not be acceptable to all, some very rural with cross field paths and mud after heavy rain but no cattle or stiles.

Despite a number of visits to Sheffield the walk immediately takes me into unknown territory. A bit of road walking with light controlled crossings then onto the Sheaf river side walk starting where the water goes underground and under the railway station. It's difficult to know if this walk has always been here or has been created following redevelopment but the route fails to stay river side throughout. The Sheaf is often just a trickle but today the water was desperate to reach the Don.

After three crossings under the railway the route starts to climb using the open green space of Meerbrook Park. The path along the top offers seats and a stunning view across the city. A short stretch of residential roads includes shops before plunging into more green space.

Gleadless Valley Nature Reserve where a multitude of paths requires a close eye to be kept on the plot and or map. From the bridge over the stream it's a climb all the way to meet the road at the aptly named Water Tower Inn, the location of the tower opposite confirms we have reached a high point.

Another bit of urban walking although a path behind the hedge on a road without a pavement offers a reminder of this once rural location on the fringe of the expanded city. A major road crossing is next, no lights but a designated crossing with central reservation, still needs great care.

Over a mile of lane walking, no through traffic but it serves a good number of homes and businesses so there is traffic. Between Povey and Geer Lane Farm the route is cross field and was rather muddy. We meet the Sheffield Country Walk at a ford with no bridge, stones just kept my boots from over topping.

Back on another dead end road to Ford where the Bridge Inn sits nicely and offers an open fire on this winter day. From here it's the Moss Valley Walk, an attractive and popular woodland and waterside trail. Once on the south bank we stay that side, the main trail crosses again after our route turns to head south through Ince Piece Wood and crossing Back Lane before returning to an urban landscape and roads that lead to the forlorn bus stop which to my mind is the wrongly located Eckington meeting point.

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