We are the Take a Hike Ramblers. We open the way for everyone in our local community to enjoy the pleasures of walking.
Suzanne M.
From Darton we follow the Dearne Way alongside the River Dearne and across fields to Haigh Lane.
When we walked across these fields on 09/12/23 they were very muddy and wet - it was raining on that day and the river levels were high. We spoke to a dog walker who lived locally, she said the river was flowing faster than usual that day and she said a few weeks earlier the river had flooded the fields.
When I did this walk on 21/04/24 the previously very muddy sections of the route were less muddy and the fields were not flooded - I am hoping this will also be the case on 07/09/24.
At Haigh, there is pavement on the lower section of Haigh Lane and grass verges on the upper section. Near the top of Haigh Lane is Beacon Hill wood, where Woolley Edge trig point is located. At the opposite end of the wood is a view point towards Emley Mast. We walk through woodland and fields, then descend alongside Savin Royd Wood to pass over the railway and the M1, after which we head to West Bretton. Please be careful when walking on and crossing roads.
Instead of heading to West Bretton the route was originally planned to descend to Haigh where we would have walked through part of Bretton Country Park on public footpaths, but during the Covid Pandemic YSP restricted access to their grounds and now charge an entry fee. For this reason I altered the route to go to West Bretton and use the free public bridleway - originally the route was planned as 11 miles, the revised route is 12.5 miles.
https://ysp.org.uk/visit-us/faqs
Can I use the public rights of way to walk through YSP?
You are free to walk along the public bridleway between West Bretton and High Hoyland. Exiting this path and entering YSP Grounds will require an admissions ticket.
Ticket checks take place across the Parkland, including at Cascade Bridge where the bridleway passes through YSP.
Possibility of drinks at High Hoyland (and to use the pub's toilets). https://whatpub.com/pubs/BAR/35/cherry-tree-high-hoyland
At High Hoyland we follow part of the Barnsley Boundary Walk through woods at Cawthorne Park. We walk across fields to Kexbrough. Our return to Darton is on pavements.
There are several car parks in Darton. There is a car park behind the Village Hall, this has a parking sign next to the zebra crossing on the main road (Church Street). There is no sign post on the main road for the car park at Darton Park, it is accessed by turning opposite the Scout Building on Church Street, then driving past the Co-Op car park and continuing on the lane with the Darby and Joan Centre on the right of the lane. https://www.dartondarbyandjoan.co.uk/contact-us Darton, Barnsley, S75 5HQ
If you are arriving by train, please allow enough time to walk here.
https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/stations/darton
Possibility of drinks after the walk.
https://www.dartontap.co.uk/
https://whatpub.com/pubs/BAR/462/anvil-arms-darton
https://www.nailmakerbrewing.co/
https://untappd.com/NailmakerBrewingCo/beer
