The Sheffield Round Walk

While reading my old diaries it has been disturbing for me to discover that I used to be more interested in train-spotting than walking. At one point I even enthused about seeing two thirds of all the class 91s while at Doncaster. Oh dear. What I did mention however was a habit I started having of going for a walk in the evening in Endcliffe Park, which I really enjoyed. I even once described the park as incredible. I went frequently during the light evenings of June and found it very relaxing, which was just what I needed while taking my end-of-year exams. Eventually I started exploring further into the neighbouring Bingham Park and down the Porter Valley. Unlike Endcliffe Park, this was not heavily developed being a narrow woodland that has been left more or less in a natural state. I loved the place and became intimately acquainted with the park during my few years in Sheffield. (The picture below, of the Porter Valley, was taken much more recently, obviously during the winter) Endcliffe Park was at the start of the Sheffield Round Walk that passes through the Porter Valley and other parks in the south-western part of Sheffield for 10 miles. Having discovered its existence I wasted little time and on 11th June 1992 I walked the entire route from Endcliffe Park to Graves Park. What I find amazing now is that I had no idea where I was going. I didn't have a map of the route so I was solely reliant on the sign posts for direction and sometimes they let me down. I mentioned in my diary that I only got lost once or twice, but I recall that it was a challenge to find the route all the way with no idea where the signs were leading me. I had excellent weather and four hours after I started I arrived in Graves Park and promptly lost any sign of the continuing route. Assuming I had reached the end of the walk I found the main road into Sheffield and spent the next 1½ hours making my way back to Endcliffe Park.

As it happens my sister now lives in Sheffield near Graves Park and we recently went along the Round Walk together from Graves Park. There is now an extra section to the walk that has added another four miles and completes the circle back to Endcliffe Park. In 1992 ten miles was the entirety of the route so somehow I had successfully completed the whole walk with no map or any idea where I was going. I am astonished now that I attempted such a walk, but it is a testament to the signage that despite a few problems I was able to complete the whole walk with no other assistance. I have on a couple of occasions since I finished University returned to the Porter Valley and I tried to complete the whole fourteen mile Round Walk with my sister (we didn't succeed). Nevertheless the Porter Valley continues to hold a special place in my memories due to the many occasions I visited the park of a summer's evening.