Whirlow to Ringinglow

A general view in the Limb Valley

On the first leg of the Sheffield Round Walk, in Ecclesfield Woods, I had encountered various points of geological and geomorphological interest and when planning the second leg – from Ringinglow to Hunters Bar – I looked forward to fully exploring many of the various places that have been highlighted by a colleague, Peter Kennett, along the Porter Valley.

A view of part of the Sheffield Round Walk on Google Map

Due to problems with the rural bus services, which are now endemic in South Yorkshire, these plans were left in shreds but, although it was now 3 o'clock in the afternoon, my exploration of the Whinfell Quarry Garden had only taken half an hour and I was determined to take full advantage of the very rare sunshine and warmth in late March.

The Norfolk Arms

With a very infrequent bus service running from the Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow back to Sheffield, I knew that I had many kilometres to walk before I would reach the far end of Endcliffe Park, at Hunter's Bar, and my exploration of the upper Limb Valley had to be undertaken at a brisk pace.

An old quarry exposure of the Rough Rock in Whirlow

At the beginning of the marked public footpath from Whirlow to Ringinglow, an old quarry face exposes a section of horizontal thin bedded Rough Rock, with shale partings that have weathered very deeply. From here onwards, the public footpath rises high above the course of the Limb Brook and it was only by using the full extent of the zoom facility on my Canon G16 camera that I could identify rock exposures in the bottom of the valley.

Rocky exposures alongside Limb Brook

The further I walked up the path, the further Limb Brook disappeared into the distance and I realised that an in depth exploration of the geology of the upper Limb Valley would have to wait for another day; however, when emerging from the woods at its northern end, my interest was revived by the presence of numerous springs alongside the footpath.

An emerging spring at the head of the Limb Valley

Following Limb Brook further uphill towards Ringinglow, an extensive patch of sphagnum moss and other water loving plants – similar to those that I had seen a couple of years previously when investigating Burbage Edge and Burbage Brook – marks the development of springs at the junction between the Chatsworth Grit and the Marsden Formation.

Boggy ground at the upper reach of Limb Brook

Moving on to the outskirts of Ringinglow, where a near dilapidated information panel marked the end of the walk up the Limb Valley, the Limb Brook emerges beneath Shephill Road - just a short distance downstream from the point where it rises in the plantation beyond. I wish that I could have had a pint or two at the Norfolk Arms – before following the Porter Brook back down into Sheffield - but with another 6 kilometres still to walk, there was no time to stop.

A dilapidated information board at Ringinglow