Best walks to or from Meadowhall Interchange

Meadowhall Interchange Station to Chapeltown Station

This section follows the valley of the Blackburn Brook, a tributary of the River Don. Leaving the Meadowhall Interchange, the route joins the Trans Pennine Trail and the old trackbed of the Great Central Railway, becoming the Blackburn Valley Trail along the course of a disused railway. The brook once formed the boundary between Sheffield and Rotherham and powered a number of mills along its course, including the Blackburn Wheel at Blackburn village. The walk passes the former Meadowhall railway station, with the Penistone Line to one side and the M1 motorway to the other, and a short detour leads to the Royal Oak Inn. Nearby is Woolley Wood, an ancient woodland continuously wooded since at least 1600 and noted for its hornbeam trees and the locally uncommon Hawfinch, while Ecclesfield's St Mary's Church, known as 'The Minster of the Moors', lies just off the route. The trail climbs steadily before descending past Chapeltown Park into the town, which grew up around the 19th-century Thorncliffe Ironworks and offers plenty of amenities.

7km.

Highlights: Woolley Wood (An ancient woodland continuously wooded since at least 1600, noted for its hornbeam trees and the locally uncommon Hawfinch).

Documented by Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership.

Sheffield Station to Meadowhall Interchange Station

The opening section of the Penistone Line Trail leaves Sheffield city centre on footbridges high above the traffic of the Park Square roundabout before descending to Victoria Quays, a large canal basin built between 1816 and 1819 as the terminus of the Sheffield Canal. From the basin the route picks up the towpath of the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal, opened in 1819 to link the city with the navigable River Don and best known for starring in the opening scenes of the film The Full Monty. The walk follows the towpath for around two miles, taking in part of the Five Weirs Walk along the River Don, passing the Olympic Legacy Park and arena, and threading beneath Pothouse Bridge. Approaching the Tinsley flight of locks the large Ikea building and the Tinsley Viaduct carrying the M1 across the Don Valley come into view, before the trail joins the Trans Pennine Trail and crosses to the Meadowhall Interchange. The flat, surfaced walking makes for an easy urban-and-waterside introduction to the trail.

7km.

Highlights: Victoria Quays (A large canal basin in Sheffield constructed 1816-1819 as the terminus of the Sheffield Canal) and the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal (A canal opened in 1819 to link the city with the navigable River Don, famous for featuring in the opening scenes of the film The Full Monty).

Documented by Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership.