signs of the times

Our Sunday hike was pretty amazing too.

And loving these old signposts dotted around S35 and the upper reaches of S6.  Always marvelling that we have such incredible places within our wonderful Sheffield city boundaries.

 and just in case you weren't sure, this was on the opposite side of the road!!

fabulous old gates as we passed Edge Mount, beyond Oughtibridge on the Onesacre Road

and a stunning view of Agden and Dale Dyke Reservoirs

Setting off on our walk from Broomhead Hall, in the parish of Bradfield, and, wow . . . some googling reveals that the old bridge in Glen Howe Park was originally dismantled and moved there from the Ewden valley, before it was flooded many years ago to create the Broomhead and More Hall reservoirs for Sheffield's water supplies. Read about it here.

We searched and searched for an enclosure marked on the OS map - but failed to spot the Ewden Beck stone circle which I think is what the 'enclosure' meant.  Also on the map you can see the long earthwork we were about to reach marked very clearly marked.

 miles and miles of stone walls standing sturdy in the middle of nowhere - incredible!

and finally our the jewel of our quest, the impressive and ancient earthworks spanning three quarters of a mile above the little brook

and we bravely transversed it's whole length - sometimes needing to dip down into the dry river bottom - spectacular and we had this whole moorland to ourselves!  For all the world it felt like we were hiking down a smaller Hadrian's Wall!  And I guess this was probably Bronze age like the other similar remains in the area and used for defensive purposes.
If you read this Sheffield History discussion thread but skip down to 'Jeremy''s comments on "IV. The Bar Dike and Other Earthworks at Bradfield" you will read some fascinating theories about this particular earthworks.

in my master's steps I trod - ha ha

base stones of the earthwork, at the level of the beck

the construction certainly went deep - way below the 'modern' dry stone wall on the top today.  I can't find anything more about this particular earthwork, although the nearby Bar Dyke, which we visited last year, is scheduled and listed.

and on a completely different note - right at the end we discovered this brutal trap but have absolutely no idea what 'they' were trying to capture?  Obviously some poor creature who innocently traversed the log bridge!

and so we came back to the start with views across to Ewden Height

Then, on our drive home, we noticed the Canyard Hills, curious little bumpy hillocks on the side of a cliff edge.  We assumed they were old mines - but interestingly they are a rare geological feature - see article above!

That will have to be our next exploration.  Loving these retirement options!!

The quest

Such fun today - finally finding the incredible Motte and Bailey castle that is Bailey Hill, in the lovely sunny Bradfield.  Probably one of the best surviving examples in Yorkshire, according to our walk leaflet.

So off we set on this walk from Low to High Bradfield with a bit of a diversion to find Bailey Hill.  Mike enjoying a bit of shade from the sun.

Very quickly we were in the lovely graveyard of St Nicholas Church which I've featured many a time before, such as in this October 2011 blog post.  This sweeping view always takes my breath away.

 and this time sheep were safely grazing (and sleeping!)

which of course brought to mind a bit of Bach

and while you listen, take a look at the grave of poor Joseph Beaver!  Did the engraver die too?  Wasn't there enough money to complete the wording?  But I suppose it says it all . . .

Anyway, onward we go - above the church and off the walk route and, after a pretty walk through woodland undergrowth, we rounded the corner to find this massive motte and bailey castle - so perfectly formed with it's moat all the way round.

 maybe just look at Mike in relation to the 'castle' to get a feel for the size of Bailley Hill

And naturally this was a bit of a homecoming for Mike Bailey meeting his namesake hill - ha ha!

To read more about this amazing ancient monument see this article on the Historic England website:  Bailey Hill motte and bailey castle, High Bradfield.

Anyway, we move down the hill towards Lower Bradfield with a final view back of the Church

Over a series of impressive steep and ancient stone stiles

 with views right over to those wonderful purple heather-clad moors

and bringing us down to earth - literally - a cuppa at the cute little Cafe in the tiny Post Office.  Sat outside on the sunny bench watching the Council busily and noisily re-tarmac the roads!  (And spot the Tour de Yorkshire remnant from that wonderful day in 2014 - read about it here from a Grenoside perspective.
Lovely blogpost here on Cafes to Contemplate about the Flask End Cafe you might like to read.

So that was it - lovely sunny day, great amble and real wow factor on finding Bailey Hill!

Bradfield on a Sunny Saturday

And to think we only had to drive from our door, over Jawbone Hill and down to Oughtibridge, then up over the moors along Kirk Edge Road - spectacular views across the hills and down into Bradfield - no more than 15 minutes from home and still in the City of Sheffield - and what amazing weather for a late October day ....

memories of that once in a lifetime catch way back in the early 90s .....

and on up to High Bradfield, after a cuppa in the lovely Post Office cafe then a walk along Towngate:

one of very few remaining in the country - where family stayed to guard new burials from graverobbers!

. . . leading to the amazing St Nicholas Church - high on the hill with it's incredible graveyard - apologies for the 'grand canyon' quantity of grave pics but the en'grave'ing was just incredible ....

on a bench facing the view in previous photo

the perfect man

eat your heart out Tommy Steele!

and finally a saunter up the hill to the home of Farmers' Blonde - the Bradfield Brewery