Shelley RFM Blue Line Walking with Peter
Shelley RFM Blue Line Walking with Peter 02/01/25 On a cold January morning we set off from Skelmanthorpe towards Shelley. It was -1C but luckily there was no wind so it didn't feel desperately cold. We negotiated our way out of the village towards Strike Lane which sounds militant but actually refers to 19th century railway labours who were required to shatter rocks for the lines. Again the dominant feature of this walk is the mast at Emley the tallest free-standing building in the UK. Crossing the bridge over the Kirkless Light Railway Peter commented upon the height of the bridge and he wasn't wrong it was really high. From the path at the top of the cutting the mast looks a long way off but we were to get a lot closer before long. Our path didn't cross the railway but rather hugged the top of the cutting. We wondered what the original purpose was of the light railway and how many men must have toiled to dig this impressive cutting. The route still followed the railway ...