Darnall Trail

The first stop is at Darnall, once an Anglo-Saxon hamlet, which later became a medieval manor. No trace of its ancient past survives, except possibly for the original street layout, as evidenced by a study of old maps. It expanded during the nineteenth century, partly due to farming and coal mining, and partly to house workers at the steel foundries in the Lower Don Valley, including Darnall works and those in neighbouring Attercliffe. When industry went, Darnall’s glory days went with it: now it is amongst the top ten most deprived areas in England and has the second highest crime rate in Sheffield. This is not an area usually troubled by tourists, nevertheless there is still plenty to see here: High Hazels Park is one of Sheffield’s several fine Victorian parks, whilst the ancient woodland of Bowden Housteads Woods is a large Local Nature Reserve on the edge of Darnall. The walk also takes us on the towpath of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal and includes the city’s only aqueduct.

Darnall Trail Google Map

Darnall Railway Station originally opened on the 12^th January 1849 and was rebuilt in 1928. None of its original buildings remain; now, it is just an island platform with a simple shelter, access to which is via a somewhat drab and depressing subway under the tracks. Still, we should be glad it exists: as the least used station in South Yorkshire, rumours of its closure occasionally circulate in the local newspaper. From the subway, reach Cresswell Road and follow this to the end, passing the former Cuthbert-Cooper & Sons Ltd building on the right, the name of which is preserved in the building’s stone façade. Cuthbert-Cooper and Sons were boot rivet manufacturers, an industry that seems to have completely died out! At the end of the road, turn left along Poole Road, then immediately right along James Street, passing the former King’s Head Hotel (now flats, but retaining its signage) on the corner. At the end of James Street, continue straight ahead across Halsall Drive and along Halsall Avenue, and when this bends left continue into Darnall Community Park. Turn left and walk along the edge of Mather Road Recreation Ground, continuing straight ahead at the end to exit the park on Prince of Wales Road.

Turn left to reach a pedestrian crossing, then cross the road and bear right to follow a tarmacked footpath. Ignore a signed public footpath branching off to the right, and instead walk straight ahead into Bowstead Open Space. Take the next right turn and follow the path across the open space, with the Carr Brook (barely visible through the trees and undergrowth) running alongside the path downhill on the right. Eventually, the path reaches a kissing gate leading into Bowden Housteads Wood, which provides the first truly scenic part of the walk. The woods consist primarily of broadleaved trees, with some willow carr, acidic grassland and wet meadow, and have existed since at least the seventeenth century. They became an Local Nature Reserve in 2002 – such reserves are a statutory designation made under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and range from coastal headlands to abandoned industrial areas recolonised by wildlife. They can be found in the unlikeliest of places within towns and cities (as well as in the countryside) and vary widely in size from a couple of acres to much larger areas – Bowden Housteads Wood covers nearly eighty acres; we shall encounter more as we explore Yorkshire via its rail network.

Follow the path straight ahead through the woods, looking out for blankets of blue bells if visiting in springtime. At a fork, where the right-hand path crosses the Carr Brook, bear left and continue through the woods until the path exits the trees and joins the end of Clifton Lane. Follow this to a roundabout and then turn left along Handsworth Road, eventually passing the White Rose public house on the right; this is one of only a small number of surviving of pubs in Darnall, demand likely having dwindled as the local Muslim population increased. Just after the road crosses a bridge over the railway, turn right into Olivers Drive then, when the road turns right, turn left along a path to Senior Road and then immediately right into High Hazels Park. The park covers nearly fifty acres and like many of Sheffield’s Victorian parks, was originally the grounds of a large house, in this case High Hazels House, built in 1850 for William Jeffcock, the first Mayor of Sheffield. The estate was purchased in 1894 to become the public park that it remains today; High Hazels House briefly became a museum, but is now a clubhouse for the adjacent Tinsley Park golf course. The park once had a boating lake (now filled in) and a café (now closed), but a dedicated “Friends” group has put a great deal of effort into improving it and it remains a pleasant public space, with a formal garden and a sensory garden, both of which opened in the early twenty-first century.

High Hazels.

Look out for a Victorian stone water fountain on the right (which sadly no longer works), then follow the path up the hill through the park to High Hazels Hall, then turn left along a path running downhill to reach the sensory garden. Exit the park on Senior Road, and turn right, then left along Waverley Road. Follow this Main Road, then turn right, passing the mock-timber framed Darnall Forum to reach Greenland Road. On the opposite side of Main Road, the Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic can be seen; this started out as Darnall Congregational Church when it was built in 1875. Turn right along Greenland Road and follow it past to a pelican crossing, then cross over and turn left along Britannia Road, passing Darnall Library on the left. At the end of the road turn right, passing the Terminus Tavern on the left. This is another rare surviving Darnall pub and was originally named the Old Bradley Well. There has been a pub on the site since at least 1825, although the current mock-Tudor building was built in the first decade of the twentieth century. A short distance further along at the crossroads, another pub could once be found on the right; this was the Duke of York, which was built in 1825, but was boarded up by 2016 and has subsequently been demolished.

At the crossroads, turn left along Main Road, then take the fourth right turn into Coventry Road. At the end of this, walk straight ahead through a gate to enter Darnall Cemetery, which is neither the most impressive nor the prettiest in Sheffield, but makes a pleasant open space nonetheless. Walk straight ahead down through the cemetery, then at the bottom turn left and walk to the far corner. Follow a path leading out of the cemetery, then turn left to reach Industry Road and turn left again and follow this to Darnall Road. Turn right, and proceed along Darnall Road, shortly passing the former Ball public house on the right. This imposing former pub dates from 1904 and is of sufficient architectural merit to have gained Grade II-listed status. So too has the former Darnall Road Board School, just past the Ball on the left; Sheffield has an almost unrivalled (outside of London) collection of surviving Victorian Board Schools, with this one built in 1874 and designed by architects Innocent and Brown. Shortly, Darnall Community Park can be found on the left; enter this, turn right, and then leave the park at the next exit on the right, emerging back on Darnall Road between former pubs, the Albert Inn on the right and the Sportsman on the left. Directly opposite, Darnall Road Baptist Church on the right.

Turn left and continue along Darnall Road, and at the junction with Wilfrid Road on the left, a somewhat dilapidated but historically important industrial site can be seen. This is the site of the former Sanderson's Darnall Steelworks and Don Valley Glassworks, once a major local employer. Although not visible from the road, the site’s preserved large crucible shop and continuous range of four small interconnecting crucible shops are now unique in Britain, which has earned the site Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Continue to follow Darnall Road, until it reaches Barton Aqueduct, a Grade II-listed sandstone structure that carries Sheffield and Tinsley Canal over the road.

Barton Aqueduct

We have seen the start of the canal already, at Victoria Quays in Sheffield City Centre; from there, it runs along the edge of Darnall, eventually joining the River Don, along with which it forms part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. Climb the flight of stone steps on the left of the aqueduct to reach the canal towpath, then turn left. As noted previously, the towpath forms part of the popular Blue Route, a circular walk that follows the canal from Victoria Quays to Tinsley, then back along the “Five Weirs Walk” along the River Don. Running through former industrial areas of Sheffield’s East End, the canal’s tranquillity belies its origins and provides a haven for wildlife. Continue along the towpath as the canal passes beneath Attercliffe Railway Bridge, Shirland Lane Bridge, Attercliffe Supertram Footbridge and Attercliffe Supertram Bridge (a former railway bridge), then leave it at the next bridge (Pinfold Bridge) to reach Staniforth Road.

Turn left again and follow the road for approximately half a mile back towards the centre of Darnall, then turn right along Ouseburn Croft to reach Ouseburn Open Space. On the right, another of Sheffield’s Victorian Board Schools can be seen, the former Hammerton Street Council School. Also Grade II-listed, this opened in 1904 and was designed by architect W. J. Hale. From here, turn left and follow a path along the edge of the open space to Harry Firth Close, and when this turns right continue straight ahead along another path to reach the end of Ribston Court. Continue straight ahead to the end of this, then turn left along Ribson Road to return to Darnall Road. Turn right, shortly passing the former Darnall Picture Palace on the left. This was one of the many small cinemas that sprang up across England’s towns and cities during the first half of the twentieth century; Sheffield had a couple of dozen, several of which have survived and been repurposed. It originally opened in 1913 and closed as a cinema in 1959 and was used for several years as the premises of a dry-cleaning and laundry business. It is currently home to a carpet business and the building’s mock-fortress frontage, if now somewhat dilapidated, remains a distinctive local landmark. Shortly after passing this, take a detour along Jeffcock Road to see the former Whitby Road Council School, now High Hazels Academy. This is another Victorian Board School, built in 1909 by architects Potter and Sandford. Turn right down Station Road; on the opposite corner is the Church of Christ in Darnall, which replaced the old Holy Trinity Church when it fell into disrepair. Next to this, Darnall Church of England School could once be found; it has now been demolished, although the stone wall at the edge of the road still has gateposts at former entrances inscribed “Infants” and “Boys”. Finally, continue along Station Road back to Darnall Railway Station to complete the walk.