WE'RE GOING TO JUMP!

We now leave the Upper Don Valley and head in an easterly direction to a village called Thorpe Hesley, where the Horse & Tiger (the only known UK pub with this name) is situated.

Almost an "about turn" finds us (see the map here) in the small town of Chapeltown, on the former Midland Railway route from Sheffield to Barnsley. Here's the station in MR times.

That station was still extant and well used in 1977.

A new station, closer to the centre of things, opened in 1982.

There's a regular service through Chapeltown.

The Great Central Railway also had a station at Chapeltown. The tracks have long gone but the building still survives as a private residence.

Yorkshire Traction subsidiaries Andrews-Sheffield Omnibus and Yorkshire Terrier both served Chapeltown.

There's an excellent free house in Chapeltown that's not to be missed - the Commercial.

On the way out of town is the Wharncliffe Arms.

On another road into Chapeltown, a Richardson's AEC Reliance on service in 1986.

On the Midland line, the south portal of Tankersley Tunnel, with the line to Newton Chambers over the top.

Newton Chambers had a large facility at Thorncliffe and a fleet of steam locos.

Not far away is the settlement of High Green.

On the GCR line, the station at Birdwell & Hoyland Common.

Another of the small towns south of Barnsley is Hoyland. Here's the town hall.

Some ex Yorkshire Traction Group buses in Hoyland just after the Stagecoach takeover.

The Furnace Inn, Hoyland, now has no cask beer.

We move on to Elsecar. This is Hill Street.

Holy Trinity Church, Elsecar (Creative Commons License).

Elsecar was a coal mining village. Here's the manager's residence.

A branch of the Dearne & Dove Canal was built to serve Elsecar's pits. The basin was a busy place.

Here's what remains of Elsecar Lock in 1994.

The colliery had an extensive rail system, mainly served by the GCR branch from Wath.

Part of the branch was taken over by a preservation society, but all seems lost today.

One version of "Barnsley Brewery" was established here, though this one has now gone. Others survive.

Elsecar was served by a station on the Midland Railway.

BR ran a regular DMU service, but Elsecar also saw occasional excursions.

The Fitzwilliam Arms in Elsecar is no longer in existence.

Never mind, the Milton Arms still serves real ale.

A lovely Elsecar pub is the Market, a great place to drink Barnsley Bitter.

To the north east is Hemingfield, a quiet village.

There are two pubs in Hemingfield, both of which don't have real ale now. The Elephant & Castle and the Lundhill Tavern.

Yes, we are going to Jump! It's a mining village south of Barnsley. Sadly the former John Smith's pub here, the Clothiers Arms, has closed.

So, if you want another pint, you'll have to await the next post, as we continue towards Barnsley.

IT'S A BIT HILLY AROUND HERE!

Once again, we cross the River Don and immediately start the steep ascent that I promised you in the last post. It's worth the effort though as the reward is a visit to the Blake Hotel, one of Sheffield's better free houses.

 Not far away is the Blind Monkey. another great pub with some fine beers. It's Retired Martin's local.

Upwards into Walkley, once reached by Sheffield's trams (single deck ones).

Sadly, the Old Heavygate Inn has now gone, but here's a reminder of it.

Thankfully, the Walkley Cottage is still open.

Downhill now, into the valley of the River Loxley and the old tram terminus at Malin Bridge. Modern day trams also serve this location.

Motor buses of Sheffield Corporation connected with trams at Malin Bridge.

Following the Loxley downstream, we soon come to the centre of Hillsborough. Some of Sheffield's old trams used to terminate here.

South Yorkshire PTE buses once served Hillsborough.

Today, both Firstbus and Stagecoach buses can be found in Hillsborough.

Stagecoach also operate the Supertram through Hillsborough.

On the northbound platform of Hillsborough tram stop is the Rawson Spring. In my opinion, it's one of the better Wetherspoons.

Across the road, again alongside the tram stop, the Beer House.

Less than a hundred yards away, another newish pub, the Hillsborough Tap.

Along Langsett Road was the George IV, now sadly closed, but it was home to Kai the dog - a BIG dog!

Not far away, another lost pub. The Hillsborough Hotel.

Beneath the pub was the now defunct Crown Brewery.

Down in the valley, the excellent New Barrack Tavern.

Northwards now to Herries Road, where South Yorkshire PTE had a depot.

If you're lost, don't forget that you can follow the route on this map. Herries Road, near Wadsley Bridge, passes under the Five Arches viaduct, seen here with a Great Central Railway (GCR) local train passing over it.

Wadsley Bridge station, latterly only used for football specials, was on the GCR's Woodhead route.

The signal box survived into the late 1970s.

On the other side of the valley, the terminus of the Supertram at Middlewood, a Park & Ride facility.

As we head into Oughtibridge (also called Oughty Bridge), we pass Middlewood Mill.

The GCR had a station at Oughty Bridge, again on the Woodhead line. Note the elevated signal box in the upper photo, later replaced by the standard GCR one see in 1979 in the lower picture.

The remains of the station in 2007, with just a single line for traffic to Stocksbridge.

That's it for now. Next time, we'll head towards Barnsley.