Penistone is a market town, known locally for its annual agricultural show, held on the second Saturday in September (and unless you especially want to visit the show, it’s worth remembering that the town gets very busy on that day!). Unlike many other South Yorkshire towns, it has remained primarily a market town rather than becoming a coal mining one, and claims to be the highest in Yorkshire (and indeed possibly the highest in England). The market has survived, albeit somewhat reduced by the construction of a supermarket on part of the old market place. Penistone is another settlement in existence at the time of the Domesday Book, in which it is named as both Pengestone and Pangeston, although since it had the misfortune to be razed to the ground during the Harrying of the North in 1069 ordered by William the Conqueror, there wasn’t much left at the time to document.
Penistone Railway Station opened in 1874 at the junction of the Woodhead and Penistone Lines, replacing an earlier station that opened in 1845 solely on the (now disused) Woodhead Line. The main station buildings survive, but are now in private commercial use.From the station, we walk across the car park and bear left along a path to join the Trans Pennine Trail, which at this point follows the track bed of the aforementioned Woodhouse line. This opened in 1845 and linked Sheffield and Manchester, but despite being electrified in 1953, the section between Penistone and Hadfield was controversially closed to passenger traffic in 1970 and completely in 1981. Plans to reopen the line occasionally circulate, most recently in 2017, but for now it remains a public footpath instead of a working railway.
The Trans-Pennine Trail.
We turn right and follow it for two miles, passing under two bridges and through railway cuttings along the route, which in parts offer splendid views of the surrounding countryside. Eventually, climb steps on the right and following a footpath to Parkin House Lane, then turn left and cross the road bridge over the trail, continuing to follow the road, which becomes Lilley Lane. Turn left again along the next public footpath, which follows an old track between dry stone walls. Turn right at a junction and follow a similar track uphill to reach Hartcliff Road, pausing along the way to enjoy the impressive views as the track climbs gently uphill.
On reaching Hartcliffe Road, we turn left again and follow it for a short distance before turning left onto a bridleway. Follow this route through the trees, along the field edge and down a track (Hartcliffe Lane), and along this stretch look right to see the top of Hartcliff Tower, which is just visible over the brow of the hill. The tower is a folly built in 1856 by a linen merchant called Henry Richardson, and although it is on private land, the current owner paid for its restoration in 2002 and occasionally opens it to the public. Where Hartcliffe Lane joins Hill Side Lane, turn right and walk to the junction, then turn right and follow Cross Lane, and after half a mile, turn left onto another public bridleway which eventually joins the end of Sike Lane. Proceed straight ahead along this and when it ends at Schole Hill Lane, turn left again. Stay on Schole Hill Lane until it ends at Pengeston Road, then turn right and then left along Chapel Field Lane and take the first right turn along a footpath, Boggard Lane. Where the road bends to the left, bear right and follow a footpath alongside a hedge and playing field.
When the path ends by a school, we continue straight ahead and follow the road to High Street, then turn left along it to head into the town centre, shortly passing the Church of St. Andrew (a United Reformed Church) on the right. Just before reaching the Old Crown Inn on the left, we turn right along Shrewsbury Road and continue until reaching another of South Yorkshire’s Carnegie libraries on the right. Next to this is the small but popular Penistone Paramount Cinema. From the cinema, cross over the road and enter the churchyard of the Church of St. John the Baptist, a Grade I-listed church that may predate the Norman Conquest and has parts dating from the thirteenth century.
The Church of St. John the Baptist.
It has of course been added to since then: the tower was built in the fifteenth century. Explore the churchyard, which includes the remains of two crosses that may be medieval in origin, and take a look at the War Memorial in front of the church, then walk to Church Street on the other side of the church and turn right. Finally, follow the road until it ends at Shrewsbury Road, then turn left and follow it under the old railway bridge before turning right to return to the station.
This walk from Penistone station concludes our exploration of South Yorkshire. From here, we head back down the Penistone Line and to Barnsley, and then further north along the Wakefield Line, as we begin the next stage of tour of the West Riding with the stations in the City of Wakefield itself…
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