The weather forecast for our first walk of the year looked very unpromising at the start of the week but the heavy overnight rain had stopped by the time we met on the lane leading up to Beauchief Abbey. Seventeen of us set off up the lane and we were soon treated to our first highlight of the day, a herd of deer in the field next to the old Beauchief Hall. Most of them, including an impressive stag, came up to us with the expectation of food but went away disappointed.
We carried on through Ladies Spring Wood and navigated the steep steps leading on to Twentywell Lane. After passing through Dore and Totley station we crossed over the road and after a short time took the path leading into Ecclesall Woods by the Limb Brook. At this point one of our leaders, Phoebe, gave us some historical information.
The Limb Brook flowing along Ecclesall Woods’ southwestern edge is a historically important river. During the Dark Ages it was the boundary between the Kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. Later the brook became the border between Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and remained so until the villages of Dore and Totley were absorbed into Sheffield in the 1930s.
We continued on the trail for a while before stopping for our coffee break at a lovely spot by the brook. After our break we made our way to the discovery centre and two more points of interest; The charcoal burners memorial and the Colliers Pond. Phoebe also told us about Cup-and-ring stones in the woods
Neolithic carved cup-and-ring stones
There are three sites with late Neolithic or Bronze Age carvings on natural boulders or rocky outcrops. ‘Cup and ring’ marks are a form of prehistoric rock art known as petroglyphs. The cup, a circular depression in the rock, is surrounded by a concentric circular channel or ring.
After leaving the woods we walked along Abbeydale Road South to the entrance to Millhouses park. We stopped briefly by the boating lake and doubled back, following the River Sheaf Walk alongside the river. We crossed the bridge at the end of the park and joined Abbey Lane which was only a short distance back to our start point.
Many thanks to Richard for leading this fantastic walk and to Phoebe for telling us about the history of the woods.
