A Walk to Guilthwaite and Back

A milestone at Guilthwaite Grange

Now entering the 10th week of the COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions in the UK, in addition to doing my essential weekly shopping, I continued to explore the geology and historic buildings around Treeton and my next trip was to the hamlet of Guilthwaite – set at a distance of 2 km from my house as the crow flies.

 

The geology between Treeton and Guilthwaite

Now that we were in the last phase of spring, with the swallows and swifts having arrived a couple of weeks earlier, I decided that it was a good time to spend some more time in my small postage stamp sized garden and, with a geological excuse to further investigate the Spa Fault, I headed off to Guilthwaite Nurseries on a sunny afternoon.

 

A ridge of Mexborough at Moorgate in Rotherham

Following the road east out of Treeton, as I had already done a couple of times when exploring Treeton Wood and Hail Mary Hill Wood, I stopped a few times to photograph views of the Mexborough Rock, where the reddened soil could still be clearly seen in places.

 

A landscape dominated by the Mexborough Rock

The presence or absence of this reddened soil was once used by geologists to determine the position of the Spa Fault in the region and, when the wheat around here is reaped, the clouds of dust thrown up by combine harvesters are quite obviously red in colour.

 

A view of Burnt Wood from the A618

Arriving at Ulley crossroads, I then headed north along the A618 past Ulley Reservoir and stopping occasionally to photograph Burnt Wood, which partially occupies the top of Spa Hill and the escarpment of Mexborough Rock and straddles the Spa Fault.

 

Vernacular architecture at Guilthwaite Hall Farm

Ulley Brook occupies the low lying between the A618 and Burnt Wood but I didn’t stop again until I came to a group of miscellaneous Rotherham Red sandstone buildings that includes Guilthwaite Hall Farm.

 

A stone carving at Guilthwaite House

Carrying up to Guilthwaite Grange and the mainly brick built Guilthwaite House, where the most interesting feature in stone was what looks like a carved goat’s head set into a Rotherham Red sandstone extension at the latter, I finally arrived at Guilthwaite Nurseries, where I bought blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes and a few herbs.

 

A distant view of scarp and vale topography on the skyline

Stopping to look at the views of the scarp and vale topography in the distance to the north-west, I then made my way back along a path down towards Long Lane, from which there are good views of the northern section of the Mexborough Rock escarpment and the Spa Fault near Spa Farm.

 

A panorama showing Burnt Wood and Spa Hill Farm

Crossing Long Lane, I then made my way along the path on the embankment next to the River Rother and, with the weather being much better than during my previous visit, I had much better view of the spur of Mexborough Rock at Bole Hill Plantation, with the Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation strata beneath it marked by a distinct change in slope that runs down to the alluvial plain.

Rotherham Red sandstone at Old Flatts Farm

The last part of my walk back to Treeton passed an area of marshy ground near to Old Flatts Farm, which like other cottages on Flatts Lane are built in Rotherham Red sandstone from Bole Hill Plantation, but I didn’t stop here, other than to take a photo of a magnificent monkey puzzle tree in the garden of one of the terraced houses.

 

Terraced houses on Flatts Lane

After a walk of more than 8 km, I had managed to get some good exercise but, by now, I had fully explored the area around Treeton and for my next walk, I would have to find somewhere new.

 

A circular walk to Guilthwaite