This is not intended as a walk guide.
This walk of approximately three and a half miles was a mud-splattering stroll over the moors and a delight, despite lots of bog and deep puddles.
I parked up at Fox House before setting off with Nellie beside the road towards Sheffield. After a short distance we came to a fingerpost sign on the right indicating a path across the moors. All around were fabulous autumn colours illuminated by chinks of sunlight breaking through an otherwise cloudy sky. The higher up we walked, the more far reaching these views became, taking in distant peaks and landmark summits including Carl Walk, Higgar Tor, The Great Ridge and Abney Moor.
This part of the walk followed a section of the Sheffield Country Walk which is a route around the outskirts of the city that passes many sites and buildings of archaeological, historic and industrial interest.
We carefully crossed over the fast, short-cut road at Stony Ridge and then continued ahead on a bridlepath track, now with magnificent aerial views across Sheffield.
These eastern moors are home to all manner of wildlife along with a herd of cattle as evidenced by many dollops on the ground. However, their access to grazing covers a large area so we never actually saw any of them. What we did see though, that put a cherry on my cake for the day, was a group of red deer. Evidently a group of these beautiful animals can also be described as a bevy or parcel of deer. They were watching us from not far away, their heads topped by alert ears and long-lashed eyes that were peeping up above deep heather and thick reed grasses. Nellie and I quietly and calmly walked past, giving the deer a wide berth as the rutting season has only just ended, when deer can be a bit frisky, in more ways than one!
As we wandered across Totley Moor I was conscious of the fact that at one point we would be passing over the Totley tunnel far below.
Arriving at a junction we turned right to follow an upper stretch of Moss Road that took us past ventilation shaft no 5 which sits atop a high mound of spoils. Constructed in 1895, this brick lined cylindrical ventilation shaft is over 700 feet deep. Vapour rising up from far below made it appear like a giant chimney.
Arriving back at the road we carefully crossed, passing a tall black and white signpost erected long ago by Sheffield Corporation. Through a gate opposite was a National Trust sign for Longshaw. This glorious estate comprising of some 1600 acres of moor, gritstone edges and extensive woodland was given to the National Trust in 1931.
Panoramic views around us were spectacular and far reaching. Away to our left I could clearly see White Edge Lodge that stands in a remote position between bands of trees. Originally a gamekeepers cottage, it is now a holiday apartment with a new kitchen in what was once the barrel-vaulted stone ceilinged game cellar.
A grassy path with steps led us down to one of Longshaw’s many walking tracks, this one being close to Little John’s Well. We then returned to the car via Longshaw Lodge, built in 1827 for the Duke of Rutland as a shooting lodge. During the First World War it was used as an auxiliary hospital for convalescing soldiers.
Sally Mosley
FOOTNOTE BY NELLIE: Mum and I work from home, typing up her walk and my blog in the back bedroom. Recently though we had a team meeting at the Peak Advertiser office in Bakewell. It was very exciting to meet the editor and staff which made me go a bit giddy and cover them with slurpy kisses. Fortunately they keep a few biscuits in the kitchen cupboard which always have a calming effect!
Do you know, I have a box file folder for fan mail in the office? Sadly though it isn’t used very often.
The weirdest thing happened on our visit. When we arrived I had to climb up a steep stairway to get to the office, but on the way back mum and me went in a teeny weeny room, the door shut behind us and then the earth moved beneath my feet and my legs went to jelly. When the door opened again we were at the bottom of the stairs. How can that be? Maybe when we get older mum will have a stair lift at home and I’ll have a magic box to get us up to bed. Hopefully that won’t be for a few years yet though!
Love and hugs from nutty Nellie xx
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