I recently spent a most enjoyable sunny Sunday with my family, doing two of my favourite things- walking and eating  (though not at the same time). I thought I’d share it with you here in case you’re after some inspiration for a nice day out that doesn’t cost the earth and doesn’t require a long drive.

We headed out to Damflask Reservoir, which is easy to get to and only took about 30 mins from our place in S8. We tried initially to park in Low Bradfield, near the village hall, but it seemed everyone had had the same idea. So we headed to Loxley Road to park on-street there instead; lots of cars park up on the stretch leading up to its junction with New Road, and on New Road itself. The good thing about Damflask is that it’s a circular walk, so it doesn’t really matter where you park/start from, as you’ll end up back there eventually.

The walk is fairly flat and doesn’t require walking boots; trainers or Converse would do you. The path is in pretty good condition and we saw several runners and parents pushing buggies. It’s a nice route whether you’re super-fit or not as active, as it is so flat and not too challenging.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, so as well as walkers and runners, we also saw plenty of sailing enthusiasts doing their thing:

After working our way round the 3.8-ish miles of the circular walk, it was time for lunch. We headed over to the Old Horns, just 2 minutes’ drive away, where we’d booked a table to make sure we would get into the popular pub.

It’s easy to see why it’s so popular! As well as its cute village setting, the Old Horns boasts fantastic views and a great value carvery for just £8.95pp (£4.95 for kids), with a choice of meats, or you could have a mix as we did:

All this, and dog-friendly too! Our pooch was really well catered for with a water bowl next to our table and dog treats available from a sweet-style dispenser.

You’d be right to think we were full after our carvery. However, we had my father-in-law with us and his favourite place to visit in Sheffield (other than our house, obvs) is Our Cow Molly. So we headed over there- it’s only about a 10 minute drive from the Old Horns- and all had a scoop or two of their amazing ice cream for dessert. Even Otis the dog had a mini cone with a tiny scoop of Just Molly flavour, to cool off after his walking:

Our Cow Molly is also hosting one of the most beautiful elephants on the Herd of Sheffield route, so if you’re hunting down the trail before it goes on 5 October, make sure you call in here for a scoop and check out the gorgeous Nelly Through the Looking Glass:

This all made for a really nice day out, enjoying the countryside that we are lucky to have on our doorstep, making the most of the sunshine, showing some more Sheffield off to visitors and not worrying about spending loads of money. Great to take the dog with us and get some exercise in, too (even if my two scoops of ice cream cancelled it out).