A twenty eight strong group of our members rolled up at the bowling green entrance to Graves park on Charles Ashmore Road. The weather was bright and sunny though still a little cool out of the sun.
After walking a short distance down the A61 we crossed over and a path on the left that led us into Chancet Wood. We paused briefly in the wood and Phoebe told us about the origin of the name “Chancet”. After crossing over Bocking Lane, we entered Park Bank wood and continued on to Beauchief Abbey, skirting Beauchief golf course along the way. It made me wonder of the remnants of my badly scraped golf balls from the 70’s were still lurking in the undergrowth. Phoebe gave us some information about the Abbey and its importance in this area, before we set off up the hill towards Beauchief Hall. This is now private property but stopping there for a while triggered several conversations about the Hall and the De La Salle school.
Our return back to Graves park was via a loop that took us through an urban area before joining up with Park Bank and Chancet woods. This time we took different paths through the woods. We emerged onto the A61 and walked up past the turning into Morrisons, taking the opportunity to cross the road by the traffic lights.
A really lovely walk. Thanks to Richard for leading us round and to Phoebe for back-marking and providing historical notes throughout.
