Meersbrook Park

I had never even heard of Meersbrook Park in Sheffield until a friend asked me if I had ever been, so with only a few hours to spare on Sunday, we popped to have a look.  I didn't really take a photo which shows just how steep this park is, but it is VERY!  I think it must be on one of the seven hills of Sheffield.  We parked at the bottom of the hill, but it was well worth the walk to the top.

 The old house in the middle of the park is now used by the council.  I need to find out the history of the house and it's previous occupants as it looks really interesting.

 We spied a sign for a wall garden - it was really lovely.

 We spotted all sorts growing in here - it will be interesting to go back through the seasons.  There is also a lovely volunteer group in here who will make you a cuppa and sell you a bun.  It was warm on Sunday - briefly!!  It was great to wander around in here.

 A lovely gent manages the little gardening museum and told us all about the various vintage tools on display.  Interestingly, most of these tools were made just down the road, had spent their working lives overseas, and had now come back home to be displayed.

 We liked the centrifuge that was used to extract honey from the honeycombs

 ... and especially the bees on the little tap to pour it out.

 They grow lots of interesting plants and the volunteer lady told me that they run weekend day courses for dying fabrics etc using the plants.  One to investigate me thinks!

 We set about wandering around the woods and park land.....

 ...until we came to the summit, and one of the reasons why the park is famous - the view.  It is not only a fabulous view over the city, but is the view that Turner painted in the mid 1700's.  CLICK HERE but you will see that there are not quite as many buildings!!

 I was going to try some fancy stuff with my new camera, but the battery ran out!!!!!!!!!

So I couldn't photograph the fabulous Tudor Bishops House that we looked around too - so I promise I will go back for you.  It will be no hardship as it is a gorgeous little gem of a place.

A treat

I finally treated myself to a new camera - a treat to myself!

 I had fun in the garden testing  some of its features...

 I wanted to record the path to my door before the snowdrops disappear - they have been out for ages this year!

 I loved this path that I saw whilst walking at Wentworth

 And I loved the blue sky AND WARM SUNSHINE that we had today - hurray!!

 I couldn't understand where all the bees were coming from until I spied these.

It is only a basic camera, but doesn't technology move on a pace! It is much more advanced than the last point and shoot I bought.

Looking forward to getting out and about for a bit more snapping! xxxx

Elsecar Reservoir

On Easter Sunday, hubby and I had a walk around nearby Elsecar Reservoir.  

 The Reservoir was still frozen and the ducks were having fun skidding about.  Up until the mid 1700's, Elsecar consisted of 3 or 4 farms dotted around.  They have a map at the Heritage Centre that shows these.  When the Fitzwilliam's sunk Elsecar Main Colliery, and several smaller coal mines around the area, housing was built for the many families that flooded into the village looking for work.  Over the years families came from Scotland, Ireland and Poland to work here until the pits demise in the 1980's.

 The reservoir was built to feed the Dove & Dearne Canal which was built to transport the coal, but like many canals, this was quickly superseded by the railway.  This left the reservoir free to provide a wonderful recreational facility for the village.

 And use it they did.  In Victorian times, a park sprung up at the side of the reservoir - they even laid a sandy beach here and it became known as "Elsecar by the sea".

 I found these old photos dotted around the Heritage centre.  I love this one where you can see some of the open cast mining spoil heaps in the fields behind.

 It is still heavily used for recreation these days.  No boat trips I'm afraid, but plenty of fishing and wildlife to spot.

 Sadly, Elsecar has lost a lot of its community spirit as people are forced to work out of the area now and often, like many other places, don't really get to know their neighbours like they used to.

 I know I look back through rose tinted spectacles, and the reality of working in the pits would have been horrific - I would hate to think that this is where I might have had to sent my husband and son.  The reality of living in a village producing coal would not have been so rosy either with all the dirt and puther that this would have produced.

 There is something haunting I feel about villages, towns and cities that spring up and are built for a specific purpose - when that purpose is no longer there - but the building, houses and people remain.

 Its hard to imagine when we walk alongside the canal, that it once would have been this busy.

We enjoyed our stroll around Elsecar, but then, we always do.

Hull

When we head out to the East Yorkshire Coast, we always whiz through Hull.  On Good Friday, we thought that we would stop and have a look around.  Come with me for a wander.

 Hull is on the wide estuary of the river Humber and has a rich seafaring history.  In the past, English sea ports made for very wealthy towns and cities and evidence of that wealth remains in Hull in the gorgeous buildings.

 I was amazed at the enormous scale of some of these buildings.

 And I loved some of the street names.

 Hull has a very atmospheric "Old Town" near the old original dock which has some fabulous looking original pubs, great alley ways, and old cobbled streets.  I  would love to be able to step back and see this place at its busiest.

 I read that Hull is a unique English city as it doesn't have a Cathedral.  The Parish Church is lovely though.

 It was late in the day so we couldn't look around the museums etc, but we will go back as there are so many stories about the place.  William Wilberforce lived here too.

 The original old dock has been made into an interesting waterfront area and Marina.

 I liked the statue of the European family on the waterfront.  Above 2 million families passed through the port of Hull before crossing to Liverpool by rail on their way to a new life in America by sea.

  I only had time to quickly snap the Humber Bridge as we made our way home.  I think that Hull warrants a weekends exploration.  I'm glad we stopped off for a look.