The Bluebell Walk

Date: 2nd May 2009
Purpose of trip: Enjoy the bluebells along the Sheffield Round Walk
Getting there: Train to Sheffield Midland. No 88 bus to Hunter's Bar
Travelling companions: None

I've written previously about my connection with Sheffield and what the place means to me. The Sheffield Round Walk takes in many of the city's parks and even touches on the edge of the Peak District. When I lived there before I walked part of the Round Walk on several occasions. In those days, the walk ended in Graves Park or possibly in Gleadless valley and was 10 miles long. I think I only ever did the whole walk in one go on one occasion. Since then, an extra 4 miles has been added to bring the walk full circle. This time I particularly wanted to walk the parts I hadn't done before, so I started at what is usually considered the end of the walk. Last year I walked across town to start the route at Hunter's Bar. This time I took a bus to Hunter's Bar to save time and blisters.

My reverse route took me immediately uphill from Hunter's Bar towards Psalter Lane, which I was familiar with as a student as the art faculty was there. I had a lot of memories of this area from being nanny to a family who lived close by and I was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of Anita and Barrie Bowden at St Andrew's church.

The first park on the walk was Chelsea Park. I'd never been there before, nor even been sure exactly where it was. But it led me out into Brincliffe Edge Wood. I had the vague impression that this was close to a bus route I regularly took to work back in the '80s. I then walked through the streets of Nether Edge to Abbeydale Road where I took a detour to buy an iced lolly.

The area around Little London Road has changed considerably since I left but I was pleased to see not only is Heeley Baths still standing but is still in use.

Close by is the Sheaf Valley Walk with its references to Sheffield's industrial heritage.

I passed under the railway line and then across Chesterfield Road towards Meersbrook Park. We lived quite close to this area in our final two years in Sheffield but I had never been in this park either. When I made it to the top of the hill I was stunned by the views of the city.

I stopped for a few moments, picking out landmarks I was familiar with and noting the new buildings and those still under construction. Breathtaking. I had been looking forward to seeing the Bishop's House in the park and wasn't disappointed.

It was between Meersbrook Park and the woodlands of Gleadless Valley that I got lost. My map wasn't detailed enough to show the name of the road I needed and I consequently walked round in circles for 15 minutes or so. Eventually I found my way into Ashes Wood and ended up making a detour from the walk again because of the poor map. Here I sat on a rough bench for quite a while, enjoying the sunshine, the smell of the bluebells and dancing butterflies. Sensing that I wasn't where I ought to be I dug out my 25 year old town street map but found I'd really come too far to rejoin the walk in the valley so I left the wood for an alternative route to Graves Park.

Graves was a far cry from the quiet of the valley, where I hadn't met another soul. It was full of families enjoying the good weather. I made a stop for refreshments and decided it was time to change into my walking boots. It felt like putting on a fresh pair of feet.

I'd chosen the best time to see the bluebells. Chancet, Park Bank and Ladies Spring Woods were all full of them. Not the invading Spanish bluebells which grow in the town gardens now but real English bluebells with their delicate arches. There were also delicate wood anemones and violets. But I was surprised to still see narcissi when there were already rhododendrons in flower in some places.

Emerging near Dore station, I crossed Abbeydale Road again and went into Ecclesall Woods. This is the woodland I most associate with the bluebells but the route of the walk doesn't seem to pass very close to the areas where most of the bluebells grow.

Next up was Whirlowbrook Park where I stopped for coffee and cake again. I needed to rest my feet and I do love the hall. Again, it features in happy memories of Sheffield, as our friends Barrie and Anita had their wedding reception here.

Heading for Ringinglow via Limb Valley, I managed better this year to avoid the marshes. I cheated actually, following a couple walking ahead of me.

I hadn't set out to walk the complete route. I had a number of opt out points in mind. Places where the walk crossed main roads and bus routes. Ringinglow was the last opt out point. Once I'd set my nose for Porter Clough, I was pretty much committed to finishing the walk. But sadly, the last few miles were less enjoyable in terms of appreciating the woodlands.

Here the route passes Forge Dam, the Shepherd's Wheel and Wire Mill Dam before taking me back to Hunters Bar through Endcliffe Park. I had made the right decision though. This was the part of the walk I was the most familiar with but which had the least impact on me this time. It was early evening by the time I got to Endcliffe. There were crowds there again. Children on the playground, teenagers playing football. I took the most direct route through the park and was lucky enough to get on a bus as soon as I hit Ecclesall Road again. The walk had taken me about 8 hours in total and I was all bluebelled out!

Extra points for:

1. Improvements to Derby station. Finally looking like it's part of the 21st century, even though restricting arrivals/departures to 2 platforms seemed to cause a ot of delays.
   
2. Sheffield Bus drivers. Friendly bunch.


3. Black tulips at the Bishop's House


4. Herons along the route


5. Ramsons everywhere. The leaves are nice in your sandwiches apparently.
   
6. Meeting an old colleague, Sally Booker, quite by accident along the route. Sally, you really haven't changed a bit!

Points deducted for:

1. Lack of toilets on the route


2. Grafitti on the sculptures on the Sheaf Valley Walk


3. Eating far too much cake
   
4. Not having time to go inside the Bishop's House


5. Poor signposting around Gleadless valley


6. Almost getting hit on the head by a golf ball on the edge of Beauchief golf course.
   
7. Forgetting to bring spare camera batteries. Mine died just before Ecclesall Woods. Pictures of the walk between there and Endcliffe are courtesy of last year's walk . Yes, I cheated.

The Ally Pally Ritual

Date: 18th - 19th April 2009

Purpose of trip: The Big Stamp Show, Alexandra Palace

Getting there: Bus to the station, train to London St Pancras. London transport buses and tubes

Travelling companions: None

I seem to be a creature of habit, nay ritual. I seek out experiences that have given me pleasure before and try to recreate them. This one never fails to hit the spot, although I have tried to vary a few of the details.

Breakfast at Muswell Hill is not negotiable. It really sets me up well for the day. Costa Coffee of course. A hot savoury panini type thing and then pudding! I normally have a meal at the Palace but after this, liquids were sufficient.

Alexandra Park is always a delight. Only that one foggy day last year has it not been blazing sunshine when I've been. The trees were magnificent and the rhododendrons were promising great things.

A great show as usual. I didn't want to have to check all Saturday's purchases into the cloakroom with my backpack on Sunday so I left most of the buying until the final day.

Overnight was at Borehamwood as usual, but the Innkeeper's Lodge seems forever beyond my budget for this trip now. I'm familiar with the bus journeys I need to get there now and although it takes a while at the end of a long and tiring day, I don't mind being a little way out of town.

I left the show before the bitter end on Sunday but had 3 hours to kill before my train. So I decide to take a minor detour to Covent Garden to eat. I had in mind some of that delicious paella. Big mistake. They were cleaning the pan when I got there and the hot dogs on offer...well...it's just not the same is it? So I discovered Creme de la Crepe just a few steps away. Delicious pancakes (yup, I had the savoury Billy Goats Gruff and the Strawberry cheesecake dessert pancake too) and of course the wonderful ambience of Covent Garden, with it's string quintet(?) easily audible from the next courtyard.

I was still in lantern mode from Venice so had to take a picture of these.

There was still some time to spare and I didn't want to spend any more of it at St Pancras than I really had to so I went walkabout around Covent Garden and had a good look at Freemasons' Hall.

It took a while to work out what this imposing building was because there is no large sign or plaque to identify it. But when I did work it out I was very interested, partly because my great grandfather Ephraim Streatfield was a freemason and partly because of the rather severe looking lanterns.


There was still time for a browse in Foyle's at St Pancras and coffee and chocolate twist in Costa before the train. The journey was good until we were delayed just outside my home station, when we were told there were trespassers on the railway. I'm assuming we didn't hit them.

Extra points for:

1. Costa Coffee. Not only was I served by a gorgeous Sardinian barista (at Muswell Hill) who made very pleasant conversation and flashed his lovely teeth at me, they seem to have got their act together with the food. Chocolate twists not only at 8.45 in the morning but (at St Pancras) at 6.45 in the evening too.


2. The catering van in the hall who had perfectly chilled fruit juices when the venue's own catering could only offer hot or fizzy drinks.


3. The security man who said good morning and goodbye each day with the biggest beaming smile. Was he being nice or was my dress tucked into my pants?


4. Meeting Elaine from the Graphicus Guild. My teenage son warned me in advance that I should never arrange to meet up with people I've got to know on the internet. But Elaine was lovely and we seemed to have a lot in common.


5. Travelodge. This was one of their newer lodges. The room was a bit minimalist and the dining room basic but they served a good breakfast and I got a very passable three course dinner for around £10. It was football semi finals day so, being cheap and close to the A1, the lodge had a few fans staying over. But on the whole it was quiet and convenient. I'll probably book again for September.
   

Points deducted for:

1. The ventilation at Alexandra Palace. 30 mins to open the roof vents, they said. So they didn't bother.


2. East Midlands trains. Not enough seats for everyone at St Pancras. Apparently this is a regular problem on a Sunday evening.
   
3. Whoever was on the train line when we were returning home. Does life not throw enough curved balls for these people as it is?

Venice - Thursday

The weather forecast for Thursday had been bad ever since we had set off from home so we were expecting to have to write the day off. But it turned out to be pretty good. We set off on foot across San Polo and Santa Croce to visit the Rialto markets where there were some stunning mask shops.

We had promised ourselves a gondola ride if we had any money left on the last day and we spotted our opportunity whilst pausing for coffee close to the Rialto Bridge.

Guide books tell you not to expect your gondolier to sing to you (although you can pay ahead for a serenaded gondola tour). But our gondolier not only whistled and sang but also looked like Richard Gere. What more could we ask for?

He took across the Grand Canal and through a maze of smaller canals past Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Marco Polo's house.

After the ride we headed back slowly, saying we mustn't get distracted along the way. But when we got close to the bus station at Piazzale Roma, we allowed ourselves to stop for a ham and mushroom omelette and then a final impulsive visit to a handbag shop.

Lanterns were the theme of the holiday for me and I took lots of pictures of them. These are the ones which hung outside that last restaurant on the Fondamenta San Simeon Piccolo.

All that remained was to retrace our steps to Marco Polo airport via the hotel in Mestre and hope that the sun would be shining at home too.

Venice - Wednesday

On Wednesday morning we walked across Santa Croce and San Polo to Campo Santa Margherita. It was quieter than I'd expected but we caught a few fresh fish stalls and were not at all tempted to buy the squid!




We then made our way to the Grand Canal where we jumped on a vaporetto to go to St Marks's Square. It was busy but stunning.




Then we made our way back to Cannaregio where we caught a vaporetto to the lagoon island of Mazzorbo. It felt very different from what we'd experienced so far of Venice. There were a few buildings that looked like farmhouses and open fields alongside the canal. We walked for a little while then turned a corner to reveal this view of Mazzorbo's neighbour.




Across a bridge we reached Burano, famous for its lace and local fishing trade. Pictures of Burano often show its coloured houses and I had imagined it was always the same row of houses. But all the houses along Burano's canals look like these.




Burano felt quite distinct from Murano. There were plenty of shops and restaurants catering for the tourists but the sights and sounds of Via Baldassarre Galuppi were those of the locals, especially as it drew towards evening. We ate at Restaurant Galuppi where our waitress brought us complimentary glasses of limoncello at the end of the meal.

In contrast to the rest of the island, the vaporetto station on Burano was quite modern and high tech. It had been a long day and we still had to change boats at Fondamente Nuove and get the bus back to Mestre.

Venice - Tuesday

Tuesday was spent on the Venetian lagoon island of Murano, famous for its glass. Murano has its own Grand Canal and the wonderful Rio del Vetrai, lined with shops selling all kinds of glass including the most fantastic chandeliers.

Around the island are many glass sculptures.

We walked through the island to Piazzale alla Colonna where we sat to eat at the Gran Caffe Laguna.

We all ate mushroom risotto but I'm more likely to remember the ice cream I had - 8 euros worth of black cherries, chocolate and vanilla ice cream and cream.

The vaporetto ride back to Venice took us past the cemetery island of San Michele and through the Cannaregio canal, which I had not seen before. We arrived back as the sun was fading and casting the most wonderful golden glow on the buildings. We wandered around the Fondamenta dei Tolentini for a while, collecting photos of the reflections of the buildings and bridges in the water. A glorious end to the day.

Venice - Monday

On arrival in Venice I'd advise anyone to take a No1 vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal.

We had the perfect day for it. We also wisely walked one stop back from the railway station to get on the boat before the crowds. That meant we got the perfect seats at the back of the boat, with good clear views of both banks of the canal. On the boat Karen made friends with a gentleman and his mother who was a native Venetian but spoke no English. Between them they were wonderful guides. We stayed on a little longer than any of our previous trips and got off at Giardini.

I believe this is where the Biennale is held. From there we explored the outer reaches of Castello. This area was very quiet and more obviously residential, with lots of laundry hanging across the alleyways.

One of the highlights of Venice at this time of the year is the glorious Wisteria which seemed to grow everywhere.

We had a cool drink in the Campo Ruga then headed off towards San Marco Sestiere, discovering the Arsenale by accident along the route.

We stopped at Ristorante Alla Conchiglia just as the light was starting to fade. The restaurant is on the canalside (Rio dei Greci) close to Greek Orthodox church, San Giorgio dei Greci, and its famous leaning tower.

After eating we walked through St Mark's Square in the dark and back to the Rialto where we caught a vaporetto back to the bus station and thence back to our Hotel, the Golden Tulip Tritone in Mestre where I had stayed last year.