Winthrop volunteers, friends and customers had a fantastic visit to the Houses of Parliament on Monday 2nd June thanks to Jake Richards MP and his team. After a very early start from Wickersley, the group arrived in time for an expertly guided tour of the Houses of Parliament – Westminster Hall, Central Lobby, the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Kings Robing Room being particular features!
A quick lunch in the Jubilee Café followed and then they went into Central Lobby for the Speakers Procession and quickly up into the Public Gallery to watch Home Office Questions. Jake, Winthrop’s MP, spent time with the group fielding questions on a wide range of local, national and international issues. Then, there was a quick visit to the House of Commons Gift Shop before getting onto the bus for the journey home!
“This was a really fantastic visit and although it was a very long day we saw and learnt so much,” said one of the group. “It’s not just a fantastic historic building, it’s a working Parliament and it was ‘at work’ when we were there – just fascinating!”
Wickersley Walking Festival
The second Wickersley Walking Festival took place in May and was another huge success. Organised by a small team of Winthrop volunteers, this year’s Festival featured 24 different walks ranging from a ‘Toddle around Winthrop’ to walks of up to seven miles.
Highlights featured a canal walk to Sheffield, a Dawn Chorus Walk led by local birder Paul Leonard, walking to Silverwood and Ravenfield Ponds and a dizzying climb of 150 steps to the top of Hoober Stand to admire the 360 degrees views.
The youngest ‘walker’ was just 13 months old and the oldest just four days shy of her 90th birthday!
The last walk of the Festival was the Platinum Jubilee Walk. This walk around Wickersley was curated to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, as part of the Commonwealth Walkway programme. It was one of only two such walks developed for the Platinum Jubilee – the other being in Birmingham as part of the UK-hosted Commonwealth Games. A worthy accolade for little old Wickersley!
Walk Leader Councillor Elizabeth Harwood said: “Altogether 431 walkers walked a cumulative total of 1,736 miles – just about reaching Casablanca! My favourite walk was the ‘Elsecar Circular’. We negotiated fields of cows, saw many of the Wentworth Follies, climbed Hoober Stand and enjoyed a drink in the pub with friends old and new.”
Huge thanks to all the walk leaders, back markers and walkers who made the Festival such a success. Here’s to 2026, when there will be a new programme of walks along with some old favourites. If you’re interested in getting involved in next year’s Festival, please get in touch via the Parish Office on 01709 703270.
And if you want to do more walking then go along to one of the regular walks organised by and from Winthrop – Tuesday afternoon for a ‘Stroll’ of around a mile with coffee, cake and conversation to follow, or if you’re up for a bit longer walk join one of the regular Wednesday morning walks.