St Catherine's Walk 6: Into the Wild Country

[1] Turn left along Firshill Crescent, cross Firshill Croft and bear left up the steps just before reaching a seat. Pass under a tunnel and keep straight on towards a wooden fence. Turn right and curve round behind the flats to reach Batworth Road. Follow this left to Shirecliffe Road.

[2] Cross over with care opposite the bus shelter and turn left past the public footpath sign to an A-frame, leading onto Parkwood Springs. Walk through the car park, past the barrier and on along the wide path. Keep straight on past a small community garden with seats (A). The path curves left to a fabulous viewpoint (B) over Sheffield city centre. Follow the stony path left through a lovely wild area of heather and broom. Ignore the path dipping right and keep straight on to a little pond in the far corner.

[3] Here the path turns left and climbs up through woodland (C). Note the changes to your body as you ascend. You get warmer, you start to pant and your legs become wobbly. Believe it or not, this is good for you. After one final steep pull, just as you think you’ll never make it, you come out of the trees onto flat open ground and you can rest and get your breath back. Follow the path behind the green containers and branch to the right on a stony path leading to Shirecliffe Road. Turn left and pause to look at the as yet un-named sculpture (D). You wouldn’t want to meet this mythical being on a dark night, would you? It is made of iron by Jason Thomson in 2011 and left to rust on purpose to blend in with the landscape. Jason has another sculpture of a boy on a kestrel at the Rutland Road entrance to Parkwood Springs. Re-cross Shirecliffe Road at the bus shelter and return along Batworth Road.

[4] Turn left at the yellow salt bin then right and immediately left between the flats bearing the numbers 643 to 659. Cross Firshill Crescent to the path opposite and follow this to the right, with the grassy slope on your immediate left. Descend alongside the white handrail and turn right at the junction along the path with the red stripes. Leave this to follow the path alongside the rough area of grassland to the zebra crossing to reach school.

The school is situated in an old suburban area of the city, so there is a lot of history close by as well as some pleasant greenspace, making it an ideal location for a programme of walks aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of the children and their families. The six walks incorporate the themes of Trail Tales, but it is up to you, the teachers and the Get Walking volunteers, to interpret these ideas in a way that make the walks enjoyable, educational and fun. Every walk contains an area where the children can gather safely for some form of group activity, whether it is a treasure hunt, a quiz, nature study or just to play.