Martyn's Blog

For the first time since September’s visit to Thurnscoe, I went back to ticking off stations in South Yorkshire. On Monday 4th March, I caught a train up to Sheffield from Burton on Trent, and then made the short trip to Woodhouse, to the south east of Sheffield.

Woodhouse was originally a rural farming area, but the discovery of coal in the area in the 19th century turned it into a mining village. The pits have long since closed, and the area is now a suburb of Sheffield. It is surrounded by many parks, nature reserves and open spaces, some of which I had a look around.

The first Woodhouse railway station opened in 1850, but this was closed and replaced by the present station in October 1875, 700 yards away from the original. The station buildings survive, and are in use as waiting rooms on both sides of the track. I don’t know why it’s painted pink and red, though. There are various pieces of artwork in the windows on the Sheffield-bound side of the station, showing some local landmarks and history, including some of the old collieries.

The station is unmanned and has no ticket machine. There is no step-free access between the platforms, only a footbridge which straddles the whole station. Northern runs the station, and they also run all the trains there.

Immediately to the west of the station is a footpath which leads to Flockton Park Woodland. Recent rain had made the paths a bit muddy, but I wore my most hard-wearing footwear (although I wish I had brought my wellies). The sun had come out, which made for some bonny views while I squelched my way to the west side of the woodland.

I left the woodland at Beaver Hill Road, passing the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s training base, and walked up to the centre of the village. Within the centre of the village are some shops, pubs and the village’s market cross and war memorial.

After that, I took a walk to the south of the village to explore the Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve. There was yet more mud to navigate, which was even trickier trying to go downhill without falling over. The reserve is huge (over 100 hectares), with many pathways to follow, including one which was formerly a railway line serving the colliery. The reserve itself was established in 1999 on the site of the former Coisley Hill Sewage Works. I hope they gave it a good clean when it closed.

Google Maps told me there was a point of interest called Rainbow Dam within the reserve, so I eagerly walked to it to see what it was. It wasn’t what I expected.

On the way back to Woodhouse, I passed the marker stone which denotes where the Birley East Colliery once stood.

Birley East was in operation from 1888 until 1943, although the colliery remained as a training facility for miners right up until 1986. To the east of the colliery site is now the Linley Park Meadows, which gives great views over the countryside.

I walked back to Woodhouse, where I visited the local Co-op for some food, and then caught the train back to Sheffield, from where I made my way back to good old Burton on Trent.

Thanks very much for reading.