Rivelin Valley 13 August 2006
Posted by Anders Hanson in Favourite places, Sheffield.Tags: Peak District
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On the doorstep of where I live is some of the most wonderful countryside in the country. The Peak District is well known, and everyone flocks to places like Bakewell, Castleton and the White Peak. But to me it is the Dark Peak, the less visited area characterised by moorland, millstone grit and the highest peaks of the Peak District that are the best.
Around a third of the area of Sheffield falls in to the Peak District National Park and its boundary is around a 10-15 minute walk from my house. In fact in some books from as recent as the middle of the last century, Crosspool where I live is considered to be a Peak District village. I suppose it is only due to the gradual urbanisation of Sheffield and the creation of an official boundary through the formation of the national park that stops the city still being considered a part of the Peak District.
The nearest countryside to where I live is the Rivelin Valley. This starts within the boundaries of the Peak District National Park on the moors above Stanage Edge and Ladybower Reservoir. It then runs deep within the city and remains wooded with a rural feel despite the hill tops on each side of it being covered in houses. The valley then joins the River Loxley in Malin Bridge near Hillsborough. Although the valley is today very quiet it has a big part in Sheffield’s industrial past as the valley bottom once contained many different forges and dams, the ruins of which are still there today.
Today I’ve discovered a wonderful set of photos of the Rivelin Valley on someone’s Flikr site. Not only are these photos brilliant, but they capture the valley so well. I just wish I had the skill and equipment to be able to take photos like this. It makes the efforts on my site look pretty amateurish.
