Hi, it's a beautiful day here in Yorkshire, so we have a stunning venue lined-up that is well worthy of today's precious family time in this glorious sunshine. A place called DAMFLASK RESERVOIR.
But first, a big walk-friendly bacon bagel!! Seems like those two things shouldn't go together.. ah hum.. Least I opted out, but my meat-loving daughter and partner didn't. (Tomato ketchup a 'must-have'). This should get our little five year old pesky round the 6km we have planned ahead. Bacon powered.
Another shot of today's lovely woodland waterside walk, taken on arrival.
Damnflask Reservoir is named after the village that formerly resided there until the Great Sheffield Flood wiped the houses, shops, pub and blacksmiths clean away in 1864. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sheffield_Flood). It was never rebuilt because it had been chosen as a perfect location for a dam to feed water supply for Sheffield and the surrounding areas during Industrial Revolution times.
Here is an early postcard from 1956 almost one hundred years after it had been built - using the local stone.
For the nosey ones amongst us; here is the back of the postcard. :)
We arrived at 11.30am and the panorama was quite special, but saddened by a death there in May (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/man-dies-after-being-pulled-out-of-sheffield-reservoir-1-9146279 ), the memorial of which was visible from the roadside.
People are friendly in Sheffield and many passed by and greeted us with "Ey up", or "Allreet?" - A local way of acknowledging in passing! Love the Yorkshire accent, it is unique, which probably has its advantages for the rest of the world.
The quaint stone house on the waterfront had tartan sheets hanging, so I had to snap those.
Our little one managed to keep pace mostly, but not all the time.
Lots of shady trees to negotiate through and little bird trays that kind neighbours had put up on the trunks.
Our daughter having a peak at the seed left out.
Breathtaking vistas on a day like this, well, most days in fact. Spot the fishermen, hoping for Bream, Pike, Roach and European perch. Others go elsewhere locally for Trout fishing.
This guy was just chinwagging with the other fisherman nearby. A very sociable hobby and a number one sport in Sheffield, surprisingly. I always thought football was the most popular sport here. :o
Another busy dude, I wonder if "the wife" is home cooking Sunday lunch, or if whatever ends up in that net will be it? He even has his own cloud up above.
Further upstream, the boats are all out and catching the winds.
Some looked about to capsize, so had to explain to my girl that this is how they manoeuvre, which is fun to watch as it gets close sometimes!
When she's bigger, she can go with her dad, who is a dab hand at this. I'll stay home and make cups of tea, or be there bankside snapping shots for another Steemit blog that only five people like, haha.
The perfect day for sailing across this 'sheet of water' as the handwritten reverse of the 1956 postcard above describes Damflask Reservoir.
And at 27 degrees celsius, it was a smart idea to be under the beautiful trees there, catching glimpses of the sun.
This is a good place to advertise, on the creaky old wooden noticeboard here.
However, with three kids, university study, a job at the courts, my own home, garden and pets to keep, I doubt I can squeeze this in too - so who can I volunteer for this Steel Valley Project? Ha! (Called 'Steel Valley' because of the quality Sheffield steel, which is famous world-wide. Don't mention the film 'Full Monty' as it does not portray Sheffield girls in a favourable light at all, but was very funny all the same).
Of course no trip out to the Yorkshire landscapes is complete without a visit to a tea shop. So we stopped off for a quick brew and sarnie. There were a few distractions on the shelves however, before settling down bums on seats and stuffing our faces. A lovely place called the schoolrooms, Lower Bradfield.
We brought a piece of 'fairy cake' home, but I shan't feature it here as it has been pretty much totally destroyed, unless you want me to? Oh go on then... Pathetic morsel left. I only bought that because it was my second trip to the checkout and was told that no payment less than £5 when using my card! Stupid thing to piss customers off with, when the café could charge me the 50p they pay VISA instead of making me purchase sh*t I didn't want and put on weight by doing so lol.
Here is a more appealing pic of what they have on offer there;
My daughter wanted a crappy unicorn toy, but it was £10 and she has about thirty at home already. However, she did not have a plastic melon purse for £3.50, so it was essential that we bought her that (not), but we did.
Had NO IDEA that Sheffield made it's own Vodka, but was aware of the Gin etc. Everyman, woman and dog seems to be drinking Gin in Sheffield at the moment, how trends repeat themselves!
Homeward bound now and energy levels still up. :)
Old wall built on much older remains by the looks of it. Always chuffed to see something of antiquity feature on our walks.
Plus, some rather huge megaliths, which are tucked away behind a dry stone wall. Many ancient runes are not advertised as landowners generally don't like more visitors to their land.
Must sneak over that wall and take a better look next time. However, the car is in sight now, so hope you enjoyed this little whistle-stop tour of the reservoir close to my home. And no ice-cream van or bouncy castle to be seen - how refreshing.
My fave pic of the day, two of my four loved ones.
Catch you soon. x