On the south wall of the visitor centre. The Valley is quite extensive, stretching from Beighton to Gleadless. This walk only covered a few km of that.
The Valley used to be heavily industrialised and polluted but has greened up nicely over the last 20 years.

The outside of the visitor centre - no one home! It's a bit Fort Knox-y which indicates that the site is quite remote and suffers from a bit of vandalism.
Check out the murals round the outside of the centre if you go.

A pretty wet day but not enough to get in the way of a good walk. This was a nice break in the clouds.

It lasted 10 minutes.

The ponds are the remains of old sewage tanks, a reminder of the former use of the valley.

No frogs in August, lots of invertebrates though.

I wanted to get a balance of flora and fauna on this walk but thinigs with legs and wings move faster than I can change lenses.

The reserve is highly accessible and the council do a good job of keeping the paths in good condition.

Wish I was a botanist. Can't name this. Can you? My wife suggested ragwort.

This bridge marks the old boundary between Derbyshire and Yorkshire (hence Shire Brook Valley). The current boundary is a few miles further south now.

Legacy of the mining heritage of the area...

You could go this way if you want. Like, whatever...

For most of the way round the valley youo can forget that you're next to a major arterial road into Sheffield. Not here, though.

Hawthron berries overhanging the path.

Just as the rain started...

Usually there's quite a lot of bird life here. Not today, though.

[insert moral outrage here]

Any guesses?

Always thought there should have been an Gladiator called "Bracken".

...or bindweed. Evil invasive plant when it gets in your garden.

Going towards Rainbow Dam

The vegetation has been cleared here to allow for the electricity pylons.

A stand of elder and birch.

Again.

Souonds like it must have been a pretty place but suspect it was pretty grotty and industralised when it was active.

Heading northish back up a steep incline.

Couldn't identify these insects properly, bees or wasps. They were covered with white pollen from the flowers making them look ghostly.

Quite a diverse range of trees in the valley, Elder, Beach, Oak, Prunus etc. These leaves still covered int eh rain that has just cleared.

The vegetation has thinned out up here, feels like the edge of moorland.

Nicely in flower, adds to the moorland feel.

The site of the old Birley East Colliery. With recent additions from the local artistic community ;)

The Shire Brook Valley is used for different types of recreation. Saw some bikers round here but they were camera shy and didn't want to show a pic of lycra-clad backsides in the distance.

Locals call this "Coronary Hill". Pretty steep.

Housing backs onto the tops of Sally Clark's Meadow but it's discretely shielded by trees and shrubs.

Highest point on the trip. Panoramic views of the surrounding suburbs and townships.

The path along the tops of Sally Clark's Meadow

There's a stand of cherry and oak here. The cherry (prunus) leaves are just starting to turn (it's the end of August).

Thought it was a beech but these don't look beechy. Have spent too much time on computers and not enough outdoors [sigh].

Heading southwards down the hill now.

Windswept trees that still bear quite a lot of fruit. There's occassionally highland cattle on the meadow but my timing was off.

Sally Clark was, according to local rumour, a witch who lived in a cottage on the meadow. There's little left of the cottage now.

The main points of interest round the valley have these nice stone markers.

Looking north back up the hill.

This is all that remains of the route of the line to Birley Colliery.

Again, no idea. Not rowan. Autumn is just around the corner

I love the patterns you get looking at plants like this close up.

These distinctive trees have been cut back numerous times to create new growth possibly for charcoal burning.

Good dog walking country. It's a maze of paths here so there's plenty to explore. Different every time.

The main access road to the valley. Newly surfaced so access is good.

Again the vegetation thins leaving you with some nice views round here. Nice meadow with wildflowers and associated wildlife.

Just missed a pair of goldfinches. They were too quick and I was too clumpy!

Back to start.