Thanks Doug, two takers so far.
And now for the result of my investigation and the precise co-ordinates.
Meet at the "Bay Horse Inn" in Scholes village, 128 Scholes Lane, S61
2RQ at the usual time 10 am Thursday 12th May.
Scholes is a quiet little village of newish stone detached houses, (it
looks as if you need to drive a Mercedes or a Lexus to live there). The
pub seems friendly, they agreed to allow us to use the car park and the
coffee cost about £2 (you need bring no more). It took me 35m to drive
from way-out Totley so you city dwellers shouldn't find it too
difficult; Google knows how to do it anyway so no excuses! The weather
is sunny, we will walk through a field of blazing Rape-seed and fields
of waving ankle high corn, we shall cross stone bridges and marvel at
ducks gently swimming on calm placid waters, there may be deer, there
certainly will be bluebells and a Ruined Roman Castle. But what about
the problems? I hear you say, nothing in this sub-lunar existence is
perfect. I'll just point to two:-
I was wrong about Keppel's column, it only has 2 'e's, how could I be so
profligate! However it is where the map said it would be but it is on
the edge of a housing development and covered in scaffolding, not a
pretty sight. There is a notice saying it is being renovated by
Rotherham Council and will be open in spring 2022, but I wouldn't hold
your breath. While I was there, there was just one man lazily chipping a
stone.
My other gripe is with Mr. Went who is not Worth much in my estimation,
he is far too fond of notices that say "Private Keep Out". As you know,
ordinarily I would not take a lot of notice of such notices, but as
provisional and perhaps probationary leader I feel I should take some.
This means that we will have to walk all round the house and garden and
on a quite busy road too. This pushes the estimated mileage to 5.53 and
the time 2hrs 32 mins. I was hoping for some short cutting. But Hey! we
are the Thursday Walkers not that lazy Tuesday lot, we can do it!
Best wishes
Gordon
On 10/05/2022 14:13, Douglas Bell wrote:
Yes please
Doug
On 10 May 2022, at 9:30 am, Gordon Doole <gordondoole@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Folks it’s me and the walk this Thursday.
Life is endlessly exciting, don’t you think? You chug along merrily thinking A is true then, in a flash of wonder, you see that it might not be; it could just be that B is the real truth, WOW a new world has opened. Maybe you had always thought there must be a God how else could there be a world, then suddenly the flash, and it comes to you, that idea is just ridiculous where is he? What is he? Maybe he’s a she? Maybe he never be. It could be the other way round of course, you are on the road to Damascus and … you know the story! These moments are kind of upsetting but deliciously exciting, new vistas, new possibilities, new worlds, new adventures.
So, I’ve agreed to organising this week’s Thursday walk, a default position since there were no other takers, and I’ve been laying awake at nights, racking through my mind, going round in circles, unable to focus and it is now Tuesday! Something must be done! So I opened a map.
And as my eyes wandered from Dronfield to Parkwood Springs, Totley to Dam Flask, and not forgetting Moor Hall and Broomhead Reservoirs, my eyes lighted on Kepple’s Column. And for some reason which I now see as ridiculous I’d always thought Kepple’s Column was North of Wentworth Woodhouse. I have walked along that crumbling wall of Wentworth Woodhouse gardens, looked across the valley at Kepple’s Column and believed I was looking North. And I was wrong! A new vista arose!
We could meet somewhere near Kepple’s Column and walk across that inviting valley, past lakes (Morley pond, Dog Kennel Pond) and deer parks and Roman Ridges to Wentworth and back. It’s the right distance, I’ve measured it.
So that’s it, there is a promising Pub in Scholes called “The Bay Horse” I’ll investigate and let you know the precise coordinates tonight.
Meanwhile I hope you will join me
Gordon
