The government want us to be "fit and healthy" especially us slightly older folk. No sitting in front of the television during the daytime and watching all those Black & White films that contain such a wealth of historic cars, phones, buildings, buses etc. So with that and in mind and a promise of some decent weather it was out with travel passes taking train to Sheffield to carry our walk from Tinsley to Sheffield alongside the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Canal . After cheating a little taking the tram from Meadowhall to the Meadowhall South Tinsley tram stop. We started the walk at the junction of the path that takes you to Rotherham to the left or Sheffield to the right. We took the path to Sheffield armed with our walking boots, rucksack with a drink and our sandwiches.      Cameras with us the selection of photographs below are only a few of the many that we took. The walk took us past the many locks and some very beautiful surroundings, a true wildlife corridor to the industrial settings nearer to Sheffield City Centre. 

The start of the walk took us past some buildings that had received some attention from the human wildlife, but soon you reach the peaceful and tranquil settings by the first of the many canal locks

The beauty of the trees in their first tinges of autumn colours provided us with endless photographic locations. There were many settings and contrasts to take photographs and different types of bridges too.  We used the bench by this bridge (above right) erected in 1993 when they constructed the Supertram system to eat our lunch. We could hear the trams passing along the tracks not too far from us a reminder of what was just the other side of the foliage. 

A different view of the Stagecoach Supertrams as they pass alongside the canal as we start to approach the industrial area alongside the canal. Buildings that were made famous in the film "The Full Monty" some still in use, but many becoming derelict  with only a wall remaining plus many broken windows a reminder of Sheffield's massive steel industry.

Long gone are the days when the horses once pulled the barges along the canals tow path, but the rubbing of the ropes underneath the bridges can still be seen. Gasometers are becoming rarer but the one near to the city centre is still being used. Perhaps we will see more of these back once Russia turns the gas tap off and we have to resort to making what I seem to remember being called "town gas"  Finally we reached the end of our walk at The Canal Basin Victoria Keys Sheffield.

A further half mile walk from Victoria Keys and we were back in the heart of the hustle and bustle of the city centre to catch a tram back to Meadowhall then the train to Doncaster, no not the train here which I think was heading to Birmingham, now would the travel pass cover that journey, regrettably NO, then that kind Mr Gordon Brown any chance of extending the use of our travel passes?  P.S. That is not me in the middle photograph!

Three weeks later it was time to take a walk alongside the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Canal this time from Meadowhall to Rotherham. Again the train was used from the railway station at Kirk Sandall to Meadowhall. We cheated a little like last time and used the Supertram from Meadowhall to the first tram stop along the line, thus avoiding some difficult road crossings next to the shopping centre.

The start of the walk soon takes you to the first of the locks (Bottom Locks) at Tinsley after you walk under the double deck bridge of the M1. The beauty of the nature is soon abounds in what is a wonderful wild life corridor. The other wild life seems to be the humans who seem to use the canal sides as a dumping ground and for the local graffiti artist to leave their artist signatures on anything that can be sprayed on as above even the locks themselves. Below are some of the works of art and one view showing the rubbish by one of the canal locks. There is something very classical about the "Ban the Bomb" sign underneath the railway bridge support, compared with today's modern spray can graffiti. A tin of paint and brush was probably all this protester had.

There are many fine examples of industrial architecture along the way. For those interested in pipes and switch gear then there is no finer example than the plumbing of the Tinsley Sewage Works. These are best viewed on a cool day, we noticed the smell follow us for at least about one third of the walk towards Rotherham with the wind in a South Westerly direction, be warned! I would suspect raw sewage is being carried on some of the pipelines that cross the canal again judging by the smell and corroded pipes.  Graffiti appears on the Half Penny Bridge where the River Don and the canal merge.

At Jordan the river and the canal separate, piles of rubbish gathers behind the buoys strung along the location where the divide takes place, perhaps the view from a distance is a little more scenic. An improvement in the smell and scenery makes a suitable location to eat our packed lunch using one of the benches. It was near to this location where we saw the blue flash of a Kingfisher. Despite all of the rubbish and the graffiti we must say that the bird song along the route was very noticeable, as were trains behind us on the main line serving Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Cleethorpes, Hull and Leeds.         

Along the way we only saw one farm amidst the industrial landscape, a surprise for us was to come across the access for the Blackburn Meadows Nature Reserve. Time was now going against so we were unable to look fully at the reserve, perhaps another time.         

Opposite the nature reserve at Holmes Lock Bridge at the end of Steel Street this disused railway track still graces the bridge and continues to an abrupt halt by the wall behind, which must have originally seen a gate for the track to enter the yard behind. Back on the canal we see a type of barge but I am not sure what they were called any ideas?       

Some of the barges although now deep into the industrial settings of Rotherham which we were now nearing, have some attractive small gardens and settings that are like an oasis in the scenery of scrap yards. The single line link from Rotherham Central station to what was the LMS line provided a brief distraction as the crossing barriers went down.

At one time the trains would have ventured into the Sheffield Victoria Station, but this was closed on the 5th January 1950 so all passenger trains for Sheffield then used the Midland Station. For us it was back to the final stretch of the canal into the centre of Rotherham. At Ickles Lock a glance in the direction we had come from. 

No more will the door of what is now a listed building will see staff file through to their jobs as well as customers and the directors. A peep hole in one of service doors reveals that at least some of the building has survived. 

Looking to the rear of the building it looks like the demolition team have already been busy, whilst further ahead on our walk, new kinds of businesses are appearing on the skyline as we reach the end of Don Street the final section of the walk along the canal and in parts the River Don. Time for us to walk into the town centre of Rotherham for a welcome cup of tea.