The Source of the River Don

A view of the Pennine moors above Sheffield at the location of the source of the River Don.

The river emerges from the peat in the gulley to the right of the image.

Within two kilometres of the River Don’s source, the river is dammed to create what you see here—Winscar Reservoir, which provides water for the city of Sheffield. Winscar is the first of many interruptions to the flow of the Don even before it reaches Sheffield. There are many ancient weirs dotted along the river where the energetic flow of the river was harnessed to power water wheels for the fledgeling cutlery industry during the 17th and 18th centuries.

This is my starting, where I’m going to walk the full length of the river. Over seventy miles and never leaving Yorkshire!

I love to go a-wandering,
Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back.

Chorus:
Val-deri,Val-dera,
Val-deri,
Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Val-deri,Val-dera.
My knapsack on my back.

I love to wander by the stream
That dances in the sun,
So joyously it calls to me,
“Come! Join my happy song!”

I wave my hat to all I meet,
And they wave back to me,
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet
From ev’ry green wood tree.

High overhead, the skylarks wing,
They never rest at home
But just like me, they love to sing,
As o’er the world we roam.

Oh, may I go a-wandering
Until the day I die!
Oh, may I always laugh and sing,
Beneath God’s clear blue sky!

Acknowledgement to Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller