Wheata Woods and Wharnecliffe Chase.

5.5 miles 100 metres cumulative ascent

Although I live in the south of the city, I do very much enjoy  what North Sheffield has to offer. This is one of the delights.

The walk starts in the village of Grenoside. The 86 bus goes there. If you drive you can park in Bower Lane, or if you want to drive a little further up the hill you can start from the Car Park and pick up the walk from there.

I started the walk from Bower Lane going up the Trans Pennine Trail, which leaves Bower Lane on the right opposite another small lane. There are blue TPT signs along the way. There is a slight fork around 300 metres in, where you keep right. At the next fork there is a rather beautiful shelter with two seats which you keep on your left as you walk straight on, crossing another track. Soon you see the car park on the right, and a kind of beehive shaped sculpture, which you walk past. Cross the wide track ahead and go into the wood opposite, bending round to the left and following along a series of cycle tracks, which keep on your left. When the path meets another track you will see a big house and pylon ahead on the horizon. Turn left here.

Down the track in a short while there is a wall and two large old gateposts. Turn left onto the path here. At the field with the sign on it asking you not to cross it, go right along the edge. When you reach the farm track turn left along it to Hollow Farm. By the farm buildings there is a path going left round the back of a garden and along the edge of trees. As the path bends round to the left by a footpath sign, look into the vegetation to your right to find a stile over into Wharnecliffe Chase. Take care on the far side of this stile as one of the rungs has rotted, so there's quite a big step down.

On the right of the path there is a pretty little pond. It's a nice place to rest a while. Keep going on this little path as it climbs northwest towards pylons. As you come close to where two lines of pylons meet at a right angle a prominent track goes across and you turn left onto it. This track gradually goes round Brownlow Rocher, an area of rocks and bracken, till you see the Communications mast and farm buildings beyond it. Take the path sharp left that passes the mast and goes down to a gate into Wharnecliffe Wood. For a longer walk you could continue north to the end of the Chase and then over to Wharnecliffe Crags, walking back along them to the Communications mast. But the walk as described is a great afternoon walk.

Turn right and immediately left on a small path into the wood. When this comes out onto a forest track, turn left. Ignore the track going right in about 500 metres. At the next track go left, past a stile that goes back into the Chase, and keep round to the right. Ignore a path left. At the next path junction keep right. At the bottom as this track bends right look to the left to a footpath crossing a small footbridge. Go up the small grassy path to the right following hedgerows and crossing a little lane into the grounds of a house, keeping on up to a footpath sign at the edge of the wood.

There's a number of routes back from here.. I turned right along the edge of the wood to Hunter House Farm and left up the steep path to the top of the wood. Here a path goes left and in about 300 metres go right and follow this track down . At the bottom it bends left and very soon meets the place where the TPT goes into Wheata Wood. Turn right and follow this past houses and back to Bower Lane.

If you parked in the car park you could save yourself the descent and ascent by NOT turning right downhill but continuing north to the car park directly.