Seventeen walkers met in Shillito Wood car park ready for a walk in the eastern moors. Our first stopping point was the wayside cross in Shillito Wood. This cross is unusual in that it is mounted in a rectangular base, a feature that might have helped its longevity. Following a section of road walking we walked alongside the disused Ramsley Reservoir. The reservoir was built in 1880 and decommissioned in 2003. We continued on a track through the moor until we reached the main road to Baslow.
After crossing straight over the main road we followed the broad track that runs alongside the Bar Brook. After a short distance we detoured from the path to view a stone circle (Barbrook I) and then a burial ground. There are two more stone circles in this region (Barbrook II and Barbrook III) but we didn’t visit them on this occasion. Continuing on the main track we briefly stopped to look at a companion stone. There are poems associated with each companion stone, so I read out the one for this stone (just between you and me I read out the wrong one. I read out the one for Barbrook East and it should have been Deadshaw Sick). You can view all the poems here
Soon after passing Little Barbrook, we stopped for a coffee break on the bridge just before Barbrook Cottage which now belongs to the Eastern Moors Partnership. Barbrook reservoir was built in 1882 and expanded in 1910 to hold about 1 million gallons of water. The reservoir was decommissioned in 1999 and its dam was breached to prevent it from holding water.
A little further along the track we passed the real Barbrook East companion stone (see earlier comment) and the original guide stoop. The stoop clearly says “Sheffield” on one side, but the other side is less clear, we thought probably “Hathersage”. We crossed the main Baslow Road once again and took the path through the area known as Greaves’ Piece.
After crossing Car Road we kept on the track that took us all the way back to Shillito Woods. Thanks to Richard we didn’t miss the uphill path that took us directly to the car park.
Thanks to Richard and Pete for leading the walk and to Joe for his notes on the historic features.
Here are some pictures taken on the walk. If you click on or tap a picture it will expand to fill your screen. This is more impressive on a laptop or tablet than on a mobile! Clicking or tapping a second time will reduce the image to its original size.
