Langsett Barn

March 30, 2016.
LANGSETT BARN, DERWENT VALLEY, LANGSETT WOODS, MICKLEDEN EDGE, ASHOP VALLEY AND WAGGON AND HORSES AT LANGSETT
Distance: 6 miles or 10 for the full walk
Difficulty: Easy.for the 6 milers. Somewhat arduous for the full walk.
Weather: Blue skies and cloud.
Walkers: Colin Davison, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, John Jones and George Whaites.
Apologies: Peter Beal (Portugal hols), Tom Cunliffe (wife ill), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (cruise lecturing).
Leader: Davison. Diarists: Hart and Davison.
Starting Point: Langsett Barn Car Park, Barnsley.
Starting time: 10.18pm. Finishing time: 12.50pm and 3.24pm

Can we nominate Mark Gibby for the Diplomatic Corps ? Faced with a squabble about how far we should walk which threatened to break out into civil war, he used the judgement of Solomon to suggest dividing into two groups. This is the diary of the dynamic duo, who chose to curtail the original route on hearing how long it would take to return to the cars.
No doubt Colin will append his notes about the route taken by the titanic trio who soldiered on along the path chosen and mapped out by Tom.
After torrential rain in recent days, the weather was a tad chilly, but there were blue skies above along with glowering clouds which threatened rain from time to time. The journey to our starting point in Barnsley – far further than usual for the Wednesday Wanderers - was rewarded with some spectacular views around the Derwent and Ashop valleys. What a pity Tom was not around to see them !
Once again, having proposed a walk and won the approval of his chums, Tom failed to join us. Unlike previous occasions, when he had opted instead to go to Belgium, Anglesey and York, this time he blamed his non-appearance on his long-suffering wife Stella, who had been taken ill overnight. (Perhaps she had become sick of his excuses) 
From the car park we followed a sign for the pub and cafe which took us down to the main road. Here we turned right and right again just after The Waggon and Horses pub at Langsett heading for Strines and the Derwent Valley (2mins). We passed a Gothic building owned by Yorkshire Water to cross a dam at the end of the reservoir and turned right at a public bridleway (11mins).


We forked right (16mins) before swinging left and turning right to follow a track between two drystone walls (18mins). Upon reaching a road we turned right along a Privilege Footpath (20mins). Initially we swung left with a wood on our right (21mins) to enter a turkey farm where two strutting cocks fanned out their tail feathers in an impressive display for the benefit of the hens and us. But the farmer sent us back to turn left into Langsett Woods (26mins).
A sign informed us that 25 hectares of conifers had been planted here in 1962. Another plaque told us that rubble from the Sheffield Blitz of 1940 had been used for hardcore to make paths so tanks could use Langsett Moor for target practice. During the Luftwaffe air raids 650 citizens of Sheffield had been killed, 1,500 wounded and 40,000 made homeless. We were warned there was still a danger from unexploded ordnance.
We reached the edge of a reservoir and turned left through a metal gate (33mins) and swung right over a bridge (34mins). Just before a wooden gate we turned left (44mins) with a drystone wall on our right. After climbing uphill we stopped for pies and port by the side of a broken drystone wall to the right of the track (47mins). In the distance we could hear the cackle of grouse and the whistles of plover. 

Resuming we could see the Holme Moss TV transmitter on the far side of the valley. We followed a green public footpath sign for Derwent and Ashop Valleys (69mins). After passing the sign Colin consulted his map and announced we had only covered one quarter of our journey. This brought alarm and despondency to George and your diarist who both had tight schedules to fulfil at home.

Because of the contours of the valley there was no possibility of a compromise between a long route and a short one. It was at this point that Mark intervened before any blood was spilled to suggest that he, Colin and John should continue on the longer route originally planned, while George and I headed along an alternative path back to the cars.
We retraced our footsteps to the sign (80mins) and took a lower path back , following it round the left edge of the reservoir and along a broad sandy path with the reservoir on our right. This brought us back to Langsett Barn car park (137mins).
After de-booting we headed for the Waggon and Horses where the Timothy Taylor Landlord and Farmers bitter were in excellent form at an eye-watering £3-80 a pint.
The amiable landlady explained that the pub had been temporarily renamed The Pedalers Inn during the 2012 Tour de France as it passed through Yorkshire. When we asked about other local hostelries, she informed us that the Mustard Pot at Midhopstones was a 30-minute walk away. The Dog and Partridge on the Woodhead Road was 90 minutes distant. So it should be possible, if we return to this spectacularly scenic area to devise a Figure Eight walk starting from Langsett Barn, calling at The Waggon and Horses for a livener on the way to The Mustard Pot before returning. 
Over to you Coli.
n....
And so the hardy trio plodded staunchly uphill into the teeth of the gale...
 Enough of that rubbish...
Having done the steep bit, the path continued at a gentle gradient up the side of the clough. The going was easier until we reached open moorland. Here peaty bogs were abundant and we had to make many detours from the path to avoid them.

Reaching  a small cairn where paths cross at Howden edge, we were able to look down over the Howden and Derwent reservoirs. We identified many of the peaks to th West and South that we walk closer to home.

From there we turned right NNW across treacherous bogland to the rocky outcrop and Trig point at Outer Edge. Finding  a lee behind these we stopped for lunch.
 From here the path was easier going as it descended the edge following  a line of boundary stones marked with the letter  B .  It was these that guided us to th  head of Harden Clough where we turned North along poorly defined paths on the West side of the clough.

Crossing the Little Don at the bottom of the clough presented  a challenge but we rose to the occasion.

Turning right, the valley broadens for  wacouple of very pleasant miles.

 We followed the stream to the head of the reservoir and joined the route of our diffident chums and arrived at the car at 3.24pm. We took  tea and chips in the café for which your diarist is indebted to his companions.
Next week's walk will start from Marple. Park by the Rec. on Stines road just beyond the canal.  A lunchtime pint may well be taken at Devonshire Arms in Mellor and hopefully  we will sample the wares of the new Oldknows bar on Market Street in Marple at around 2.45pm.
Happy wandering.