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A lot of people call it Manor Castle, but in fact they are wrong. It is called Manor Lodge.

Manor Lodge lies roughly two miles to the south east of Sheffield city centre. It was never intended as a castle and never built as such, although the grounds and surrounding ruins give off that impression.

Today all that remains of Manor Lodge is a one story square built keep tower. Which history reckons housed Mary Queen of Scots for some fourteen years or so.

It's vary hard to imagine a Queen having resided at Manor Lodge. For it does not seem fit enough these days for a Queen.

COOKSPRING WOOD is located in the Moss Valley, roughly five and a half miles North East of Dronfield and one mile North East of Coal Aston and lies behond the North West boundary with Owler Carr Wood.

Cookspring Wood lies on the South bank of a brook called "The Moss" that flows Eastward and eventually joins the River Rother.

A few centuries ago the wood was worked as a coppice plantation, where men felled the standard mature trees almost at ground level (this is what's called coppicing), the felled trees were then cut into logs and stacked in a whitecoal kiln earth in the shape of a beehive and burnt very slowly from the inside outwards to form whitecoal or charcoal, the whitecoal or charcoal was then used to line furnaces in the iron industries of nearby Sheffield.

Not all the standard mature trees were felled at the same time, and so luckily in Cookspring Wood it is still possible to see a few trees aged well over two hundred years old.

Forming the East Boundary of the wood is a little stream called "Lovers' Leap". Folklore has it that if a young couple in the 18th. Century wanted to get married they were brought to Lovers' Leap, where they were tied together and forced to leap across the stream from the East Bank to the West Bank. If the couple succeeded they were then classd as a married couple. If the couple failed and fell into the stream the maiden was classed as a witch and tied to a stake and burnt alive.

So next time you venture from Cookspring Wood into Owler Carr Wood do so by the wooden footbridge, for it is not always safe to leap.

THE SHRUBBERY is situated roughly six miles south west of Doncaster town centre and about one mile west of the village of Wadworth.

The Shrubbery is as the name implies and was once a part of the grounds of Wadworth Hall.

To the untrained eye there isn't much to see at The Shrubbery today apart from a mixture of broadleaved decidious trees and the occasional shrubs. There's also a small pond, that is thought to have been an outdoor bathing pool.

It's what lies in the central area of The Shrubbery that makes The Shrubbery today historically important. There is three Gospel Wells. Now caged for safety reasons but still easy to view.

The wells were thought at one time to be of Spa quality and have great healing powers. But research carried out within the last ten years has proved the wells do not hold Spa Water.

The Wells were not wells as such, but cooling pools where the previous owners of Wadworth Hall stored their wines to "chill the drink" before drinking.

The Shrubbery is open to the general public free of charge.

CANNON HALL COUNTRYSIDE PARK is situated four miles North West of Barnsley town centre, on the outskirts of the village of Cawthorne.

A huge grassy parkland with a ford flowing eastward into a lake and then forming a brook that eventually meets the River Dearne near the village of Darton.

To the North of the parkland situated on a high flat plateur is Cannon Hall, a magnificent former countryside mansion built of claystone blocks that were mined locally. Today Cannon Hall is used as a museum and well worth a visit.

ROCKLEY CAMPSITE is roughly located four miles South West of Barnsley town centre and situated on the former Wentworth Castle Estate which is now a residential adult further education and teacher training college.

The Campsite is difficult to find unless you use an ordinance survey map or you know the countryside area well.

Travelling from Birdwell you head down a road called Birdwell Common, as you pass under the M1 Motorway bridge notice a farm on your left handside, take to the dirt-track to the rightside of the farm. Head straight on until the track comes to an abrupt end, you are now at Rockley Campsite.

The Campsite is used as a camping holiday destination by members of the Camping Club of Great Britain.

Amenity wise the campsite hasn't much to offer apart from the usual toilet and washing facilities. But for people who enjoy walking and history the surround countryside is magnificient and steeped in history.

"Ajoining the campsite is the ancient area of land known as Don Forest, formerly a deer hunting park. Near by there's also The Duke of Argyle's Monument", these are just two of the historic areas for you to visit whilst staying at Rockley Campsite. Well worth seeing.

MICK & JENNY'S SHOP is situated on a once busy shopping plateur just off Moorland Road, in the Herdings Park District of Sheffield.

The shop is difficult to find if you are a newcomer to the area. It sells a wide range of foodstuff, general everyday household goods, local Sheffield newspaper and gambling scratch-cards, alcohol, wines and spirits to drink off the premises.

The goodside of this shop is; The staff are polite and friendly.

The badside of this shop is; Due to the central floor shelves there's little room to move about inside when customer trade is busy - usually in the morning and at teatime.

THE FAR LEES Public House is situated three miles south east of Sheffield city centre, at the junction of Leighton Road and Fleury Road.

This establishment is very rundown and in need of a grand facelift, due to this it is certainly an eyesore to the local community.

Surrounding the premises is a tarmac surfaced car park which is in such need of repair wild plants and young trees have forced their way to daylight.

A local business is interested in purchasing The Far Lees to convert it into a General Food Shop and Cafe Bar, unfortunately the local community are not willing to give their backing.

THE FAIRWAY is located on Birley Lane, beside the entrance to Birley Golf Club, which lies about four and a half miles south east of Sheffield city centre.

Opened in 1985 it has established itself has one of Sheffield's leading public houses. It offers a wide range of drinks, a carvery and other pub meals that are well worth the charge and excellently served, live entertainment and pub' games including poker matches. There's a large functions suite that may be booked for private functions.

At the rear of the premises there is an outdoor lawned area equiped with picnic style benches where you can sit and have a drink and smoke cigarettes etc. if you wish and also watch a game of live golf being played as you view south eastwards across the open golf links.

Although children are welcome there is no children's play facilities - indoor or outdoor, which proves the establishment is aimed at mainly adult patrons.
Disabled persons are welcome and there is disabled persons toilets on the premises if needed.

There's a huge car park at the front of the premises and bus and Supertram services nearby.

GLEADLESS VALLEY COMMUNITY FORUM is a registered charity that is working to make Gleadless Valley a better place in which to live and work.

It offers training courses to unemployed people in subjects such as computer technology, English, maths etc.. It has a youth advice centre giving "confidential" advice on sexual matters, as well as other matters related to growing up into adulthood.
It organizes public events such as the Gleadless Valley Festival which is held annually in Herdings Park. The festival is aimed at getting as many people - tenants and residents - together as possible and having a good time.
It publishes the Gleadles Valley Newsletter, which is aimed at showing everybody all that is good in Gleadless Valley. Unfortunately they are not allowed to publish what's bad about Gleadless Valley, so due to that the Newsletter becomes a "one-sided affair" that doesn't really show the reality of the Valley.

On the whole it's a good organisation with really good intentions. An organisation that's worth backing. Gleadless Valley Community Forum will be ten years old on 28 May 2010. WOW!!! How time flies.

HERDINGS PARK, Sheffield, situated three and a half miles to the South East of Sheffield city centre. The park is served by Supertram and the 47/48 bus, which have their terminals beside the park.

At the moment there's nothing much in the park apart from a bowling green, two football fields and a badly vandalised kiddies playground.

However, plans are now being brought to fruitation with the erection of a new multi-purpose pitch. And in the near future Sheffield City Council will transform this dreary park even further by erecting more amenities to cater for the older generation as well as the young generation.

The thing that's different about this park compared to any of Sheffield's other parks is, firstly, it's location, it's the only park in Sheffield that is located beside two County Boundaries, the boundaries of South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire form the park's south boundary. And secondly, this park is located on top of Sheffield's second highest land area, thus giving tremendous views northwards across the city and partly westward towards the Peak District National Park.