Round the reservoirs

I've been waiting a few weeks for some pleasant weather to do a long, slow run, and today was the day! Over the winter I've looked at various long distance paths, some near home, others that would need accommodation. On the LDWA website I found Round the Reservoirs which looked perfect. It is only a 45 minute drive from home and promised to be a good days jog. I planned to travel in reverse so that I'd finish on the boring, but easy, track alongside the reservoirs.

I made a reasonably early start to benefit from the sunshine. The route passes many of the small reservoirs to the northwest of Sheffield, including Dale Dike which caused a fatal flood in the 19th century.  

Many sections of path were muddy, slippery and often including black puddles. Of course, where there is farmland, there will be ruined buildings and rusting equipment. Occasionally they can be photogenic.

After Langsett the route turned to cross Midhope Moors which gave me the last significant ascent. As a bonus, navigation was much easier than previously, I just had to follow the scar of the path across the landscape.

Although the path was easy to follow, in some areas it returned to bog, in others it was practically a river to walk in.

With 1300m of ascent across 45km I struggled to maintain my target pace of 10 minutes per km. The easy track in the Derwent valley allowed me to catch-up some time and even though my legs had run out of run, I could achieve a very brisk walk.

Ultimately, I've had a grand day out and seen some parts of Sheffield for the first time.

New shoes 2025

 My favourite Topo shoes have about 1200km wear on them and the uppers have lasted very well. Better than Altras have previously. However the soles are worn, almost smooth on the heels and little grip around the midfoot area. So I decided some new shoes were in order. I really wanted to renew the Topo but when I was looking they didn't seem to be available. Perhaps they'd managed to sell all of 2024 models and 2025 hadn't arrived? 

So, I went back to Altra's Lone Peak, this time the eighth incarnation. Supposedly the uppers have additional reinforcement so, with luck, they won't rip in normal use.