The first stop is at Darnall, once an Anglo-Saxon hamlet, which later became a medieval manor. No trace of its ancient past survives, except possibly for the original street layout, as evidenced by a study of old maps. It expanded during the nineteenth century, partly due to farming and coal mining, and partly to house workers at the steel foundries in the Lower Don Valley, including Darnall works and those in neighbouring Attercliffe. When industry went, Darnall’s glory days went with it: now it is amongst the top ten most deprived areas in England and has the second highest crime rate in Sheffield. This is not an area usually troubled by tourists, nevertheless there is still plenty to see here: High Hazels Park is one of Sheffield’s several fine Victorian parks, whilst the ancient woodland of Bowden Housteads Woods is a large Local Nature Reserve on the edge of Darnall. The walk also takes us on the towpath of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal and includes the city’s only aqueduct.
Darnall Railway Station originally opened on the 12th January 1849 and was rebuilt in 1928. None of its original buildings remain; now, it is just an island platform with a simple shelter, access to which is via a somewhat drab and depressing subway under the tracks. Still, we should be glad it exists: as the least used station in South Yorkshire, rumours of its closure occasionally circulate in the local newspaper. From the subway, reach Cresswell Road and follow this to the end, then turn right along Poole Road, following it to a roundabout. Turn left along Acres Hill Lane, and then after about two hundred yards turn left again to follow a footpath running alongside Acres Hill School playing field to reach Halsall Avenue. Follow this to Prince of Wales Road and cross straight over the road at a pedestrian crossing to follow a path past a recreation ground into Bowden Housteads Woods. After walking past council houses to reach this point, the woods provide the first truly scenic part of the walk. The woods consist primarily of broadleaved trees, with some willow carr, acidic grassland and wet meadow, and have existed since at least the seventeenth century. They became an LNR in 2002 – such reserves are a statutory designation made under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and range from coastal headlands to abandoned industrial areas recolonised by wildlife. They can be found in the unlikeliest of places within towns and cities (as well as in the countryside) and vary widely in size from a couple of acres to much larger areas – Bowden Housteds Woods covers nearly eighty acres; we shall encounter more as we explore Yorkshire via its rail network.
Follow paths through the woods, looking out for blankets of blue bells if visiting in springtime. At a crossroads of paths, turn left and continue through the woods to where the path joins the end of Clifton Lane, then follow this to a roundabout and then turn left along Handsworth Road. Turn left and follow the road, passing the White Rose public house on the right; this is one of only a small number of surviving of pubs in Darnall, demand likely having dwindled as the local Muslim population increased. Just after the road crosses a bridge over the railway, turn right into Olivers Drive then, when the road turns right, turn left along a path to Senior Road and then immediately right into High Hazels Park. The park covers nearly fifty acres and like many of Sheffield’s Victorian parks, was originally the grounds of a large house, in this case High Hazels House, built in 1850 for William Jeffcock, the first Mayor of Sheffield. The estate was purchased in 1894 to become the public park that it remains today; High Hazels House briefly became a museum, but is now a clubhouse for the adjacent Tinsley Park golf course. The park remains a pleasant public space, with a formal garden and a sensory garden, both of which opened in the early twenty-first century.
Follow the path up the hill through the park to High Hazels Hall, then turn left along a path running downhill to reach the sensory garden. Exit the park on Senior Road, and turn right, then left along Waverley Road. Follow this Main Road, then turn right, passing the mock-timber framed Darnall Post Office to reach Greenland Road. On the opposite side of Main Road, the Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic can be seen; this started out as Darnall Congregational Church when it was built in 1875. Turn right along Greenland Road and follow it past the junction with Senior Road to reach a pelican crossing, then cross over and turn left along Britannia Road, passing Darnall Library on the left. At the end of the road turn right, and at the crossroads turn left along Main Road. Turn right into Coventry Road and enter Darnall Cemetery at the end. Darnall Cemetery is neither the most impressive nor the prettiest in Sheffield, but it makes a pleasant open space nonetheless. Walk to the far corner and follow a path leading out of the cemetery, then turn left to reach Industry Road and turn left again and follow this to Darnall Road.
Turn right, and proceed along Darnall Road, shortly passing the former Ball public house on the right. This imposing former pub dates from 1904 and is of sufficient architectural merit to have gained Grade II-listed status. So too has the former Darnall Road Board School, just past the Ball on the left; Sheffield has an almost unrivalled (outside of London) collection of surviving Victorian Board Schools, with this one built in 1874 and designed by architects Innocent and Brown. Shortly after passing the fire station, Darnall Community Park can be seen on the left, with Darnall Road Baptist Church on the right. Just after passing the park, look out for the former Albert Inn and the currently Sportsman public house, also on the left. After crossing the junction with Wilfrid Road, a visually unappealing but historically important industrial site is located on the left. This is the site of the former Sanderson's Darnall Steelworks and Don Valley Glassworks, once a major local employer. Although not visible from the road, the site’s preserved large crucible shop and continuous range of four small interconnecting crucible shops are now unique in Britain, which has earned the site Scheduled Ancient Monument status.
Continue to follow Darnall Road, until it reaches Barton Aqueduct, a Grade II-listed sandstone structure that carries Sheffield and Tinsley Canal over the road. We have seen the start of the canal already, at Victoria Quays in Sheffield City Centre; from there, it runs along the edge of Darnall, eventually joining the River Don, along with which it forms part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. Climb the flight of stone steps on the left of the aqueduct to reach the canal towpath, then turn left. As noted previously, the towpath forms part of the popular Blue Route, a circular walk that follows the canal from Victoria Quays to Tinsley, then back along the “Five Weirs Walk” along the River Don. Running through former industrial areas of Sheffield’s East End, the canal’s tranquillity belies its origins and provides a haven for wildlife. Continue along the towpath as the canal passes beneath a railway bridge, Shirland Lane road bridge, a pedestrian footbridge and another railway bridge (which now carries the Sheffield Supertram), then leave it at the next bridge to reach Staniforth Road.
Barton Aqueduct
Turn left again and follow the road for almost a mile back towards the centre of Darnall, eventually passing the former Darnall Picture Palace on the corner. This was one of the many small cinemas that sprang up across England’s towns and cities during the first half of the twentieth century; Sheffield had a couple of dozen, several of which have survived and been repurposed, in this case as a carpet vendor. The building’s mock-fortress frontage, if now somewhat dilapidated, remains a distinctive local landmark. Shortly after passing this, take a detour along Jeffcock Road to see the former Whitby Road Council School, now High Hazels Academy. This is another Victorian Board School, built in 1909 by architects Potter and Sandford. Turn right down Station Road; on the opposite corner is the Church of Christ in Darnall, which replaced the old Holy Trinity Church when it fell into disrepair. Follow Station Road back to Darnall Railway Station to complete the walk.
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