Best walks from Wombwell

Wombwell Station to Barnsley Interchange Station

A large part of this section follows the Trans Pennine Trail through a varied landscape of ancient woods, open farmland and old railway structures. Leaving Wombwell station, the route runs parallel with the railway and through woodland before joining the Dove Valley Trail and the Trans Pennine Trail along the bed of a disused railway, crossing the River Dove. It passes interpretive displays at Stairfoot Station Heritage Park, then crosses a disused rail viaduct with views of the Dearne Valley before dropping into Dearne Valley Park, a wildlife haven extending two miles along the River Dearne and one of the best places to see kingfishers in the valley. The ruins of Monk Bretton Priory, a Cluniac monastery founded in 1154 and now cared for by English Heritage, lie to the right, with the medieval Mill of the Black Monks gastropub nearby. The walk continues to the junction of the Dearne & Dove and Barnsley Canals, where the remains of the great Barnsley Canal Aqueduct can be seen, before climbing through the town to Barnsley Interchange.

9km.

Highlights: Monk Bretton Priory (The ruins of a monastery founded in 1154 as a Cluniac house, now in the care of English Heritage) and Dearne Valley Park (A green corridor extending two miles along the River Dearne and one of the best places to see kingfishers in the valley).

Documented by Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership.

Elsecar Station to Wombwell Station

This shorter section begins in the historic industrial village of Elsecar, once owned by the Earls Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse, who transformed it from a small rural hamlet into a major centre of industry and one of the UK's first model villages, a precursor to places like Saltaire. From Elsecar station the route passes the Crown Inn and the old miners' lodging house on Fitzwilliam Street, then crosses to the Elsecar Heritage Centre with its world-important Newcomen Beam Engine. It follows the restored Dearne & Dove Canal Basin, opened in 1798 to carry coal and iron, before joining the Elsecar Greenway along the railway lines. The towpath leads past Cobcar Bridge to Tingle Bridge in Hemingfield, home to the Elephant & Castle pub, then follows field paths and crosses the bypass to the edge of Wombwell Woods, an ancient woodland rich in birdlife. A final stretch down Wood Walk brings the walker to Wombwell station, which opened in 1897.

4km.

Highlights: Elsecar Heritage Centre (A visitor attraction in former Victorian workshops housing the Newcomen Beam Engine, a steam railway and canal basin).

Documented by Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership.