Chancet Wood to Ladies Spring Wood

Looking down the escarpment of Greenmoor Rock in Chancet Wood

When undertaking the Porter Valley leg of the Sheffield Round Walk, problems with the bus service resulted in me having to walk twice as far as I had intended. Consequently, I didn’t have enough time to fully explore the places of interest for geologists and industrial archaeologists, which were listed in various maps and guides that I had downloaded.

A Google Map view of the southern outskirts of the City of Sheffield

Having briefly explored Norton, its church and other parts of Graves Park that I hadn’t seen before, I returned to this part of Sheffield afterwards to continue my exploration of the Sheffield Round Walk – this time from Chancet Wood to Ladies Spring Wood.

Greenmoor Rock on the Sheffield Round Walk

Looking at the Geology of Britain viewer and Google Map, I was interested to see that the paths along this section essentially follow the outcrop of the Greenmoor Rock and I was also looking forward to seeing the flora in the established woodlands that grow along the lower scopes of the escarpment - in particular the provenance of the bluebells that grow here.

Bluebells

At Chancet Wood, the path follows the contours, with a steep slope falling down to the upper end of Abbey Lane in Woodseats, and continues round to the head of a steep sided valley, where a small outcrop of Greenmoor Rock is cut through by Abbey Brook, before it continues down to Beauchief Abbey, after which it then joins the River Sheaf.

An exposure of Greenmoor Rock in Abbey Brook

This is the only part of this walk where I saw any rock exposures but, if joined with other walks like Ecclesall Woods – or one that I have in mind for Graves Park – it would be easy to include this as part of a field trip for the U3A Sheffield Geology Group or similar others.

Following the Greenmoor Rock through Park Bank Wood

After crossing the valley and Bocking Lane, the walk continues at Park Bank Wood where the path continues to follow the contours of the Greenmoor Rock and overlooks the public golf course, which is set next to Abbey Brook valley.

Beauchief Abbey

A short detour here brings you to Beauchief Abbey, which I haven’t yet seen inside but has remains that have proved to be of great value to students of archaeology from Sheffield University over the years.

Ladies Springs Wood

Walking back up the hill on the road to Beauchief Hall, I rejoined the Sheffield Round Walk at Ladies Spring Wood, where various natural springs are encountered when following the Greenmoor Rock down to the River Sheaf.

A weir on the River Sheaf

At Twentywell Lane, where I left the Greenmoor Rock and the River Sheaf to catch the train back to Sheffield from the nearby Dore railway station, the river, a main road and the railway to London are all squeezed into this part of the Sheaf Valley – and many points of interest for geologists, geographers, civil engineers, industrial archaeologists and local historians can be found here.

Wild garlic