Industrial Past And Natural Future

Today's Rivelin Valley is so idyllic that it is hard to believe that it has had an industrial past that stretched back to the 16th century. Walking down the trail you'll find evidence of 20 watermills and 21 mill dams, although nature has reclaimed and hidden a lot of it now. Most of the mills and forges have not survived, but the ponds that provided the source of power are very much in evidence. Not surprisingly, it is thought that the Rivelin valley had the densest set of mills in the country. Once coal and steam became dominant, larger scale production moved to other parts of Sheffield.

The area is now a haven for wildlife and is managed by the Rivelin Valley Conservation Group. The trail deserves a slow plod, taking time to appreciate its natural gems, rather than walking through blindly.  

Birds Aplenty

There are a selection of paths on both sides of the river. As long as the path continues down the valley, it doesn't matter which one one you choose. I preferred to keep as close to the river as possible in order to keep an eye out for Kingfishers or Dippers. Occasionally there are stepping stones across the river. If you don't fancy crossing them, just backtrack a bit and there will be another path, higher up the side of the valley, that bypasses them. It wasn't long before I saw a Kingfisher. I didn't even attempt to photograph it since it was flying so fast. It was like an electric blue missile following the river upstream. I saw several pairs of the splendidly colourful Mandarin Ducks today; they seem to be thriving in this area. 

'Do you mind if I ask you about your camera?' An pension age man approached me with his black Labrador. He told me he was going on holiday soon and wanted a DSLR to take with him. I gave him a 10 minute spiel on what camera and lenses I use. Once I told him the price of them, he seemed less interested in the DSLR and more interested in the cheaper compact camera I also carry with me. His dog was whining throughout my presentation. I'm not sure whether the cause was the quality of my delivery or whether he just wanted his owner to throw the tennis ball for him. Once I'd finished, the man thanked me for the information and I left man and dog to play with the tennis ball.

Kingfisher

'You look like you've spotted something.' The man and his Labrador had caught me up. A Kingfisher had flown past me and disappeared into some trees on the other side of the river. I could see an occasional appearance of a blue wing and I was hoping that the bird would fly back again. I told the man that I'd wait a couple of minutes to see if it reappeared. 'I'll leave you to it then. Good luck!' With that he threw the dog's tennis ball into the river and his Labrador dutifully belly flopped in, resulting in a massive splash and a tsunami that breached the bank on the other side of the river. I sighed. Whatever chance that the Kingfisher would make an appearance again had totally gone now.

A little further downstream I was stopped by a couple and asked what birds I'd seen. I told them about the Kingfisher that I'd just seen further upstream and they said they'd keep a lookout for it. For some reason I had the feeling that the couple weren't particularly well matched. Maybe they were on a walking date and thing's weren't working out.

The man and his Labrador caught me up again. He warned me that a large tree had fallen down further along the trail, caused by the weight of recent heavy snow. He said some workers were sawing it up, but it shouldn't be a problem passing them on the trail. I thanked him for the info.

The tree had fallen near the Rivelin Valley Chair. This is a steel chair that sits on a small island in the middle of the river and can be accessed by some stepping stones.  It does seem a little bizarre, but a representative of the sponsors of the artwork said: 'I wanted something that would encourage quiet reflection and appreciation of the wildlife of the river Rivelin, whilst echoing the woodland heritage and industrial architecture that can be observed all along the river's banks'. Hmmm...well, I suppose it provides a functioning seat too, although you do put yourself on a pedestal if you decide to use it for that purpose.

Cafe Encounters

There is a cafe at a park area near the eastern end of the trail and I decided to stop for a coffee. I sat down at a table outside and started reviewing the photos on my camera. I heard a chair pull back and John,  the male half of the mismatched couple I'd met earlier, sat down beside me. His partner had gone into the cafe to fetch coffees. I had the uneasy feeling that I was more of an interesting prospect than his date. He turned out to be quite a well travelled character with tales of trips as far ranging as Vancouver and India. His date looked a little excluded at the other side of the table, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. As they started getting up to leave, a large, rough looking man approached wearing baggy, grey tracksuit bottoms, a football shirt and a JCB hat. 'Is that your camera?' he asked, pointing to my camera bag on the table. 'You can have it. Take my wallet too. Just don't hurt me' I was about to say, when he politely enquired whether I'd spotted the Dippers nearby. I went from an encounter where I thought I was going to be mugged, to a conversation about bird watching. We ended up talking about the merits of each northern nature reserve, and he ended up showing me a photo of a Bittern he'd taken at Potteric Carr. I congratulated him through grated teeth of envy. Eventually he left me, and I decided to make a move before anybody else dropped in for a chat.

The Return

There isn't much of the trail remaining after the park. Houses start appearing and eventually the trail ends at the B6076 and the view of a carpark of a Lidl supermarket. I turned around and started heading back. I met my Bittern friend sat on a bench in the park. 'Spotted any Dippers yet?' he enquired. I had to confess that I hadn't. 'I've just seen one again over there' and he pointed to the nearby park bridge. I thanked him and made a quick departure before he could show me a photo of one on his phone. 

I did see a Dipper about half an hour later. It was standing on a branch and seemed quite happy to have its photo taken. A Heron flew up the valley and I caught up with it at one of the ponds. I was a bit surprised that it didn't fly away from me as I approached. Given the number of people walking up and down the trail, maybe it just gets used to it.

The day had been wonderfully sunny, but as soon as I got back to the car, grey clouds approached and it started to rain. I'd timed the walk perfectly. Rivelin has got to be one of my favourite 'pottering' trails. One for people who like mindfulness walking.