Traffic thunders along Sheffield Road within 50 yards of the Bar Brook in an area where the stream is at its most picturesque. Over the years I have taken countless shots of the stream in flood, the waterfalls and the contorted shapes of frozen ice. Historically this was an important site for lead production, with at least one lead smelting mill and one slag mill.  Slag can still be readily found in the stream when the water is low and evidence of the mills, the layout of the watercourses and reservoirs  can be identified What does appear unusual is that no lead was mined within 5 miles of here as lead comes from the White Peak (limestone) area of Derbyshire and not the millstone grit of the Eastern Moors.  But what this valley does have is water power and plentiful timber. The wind also whistled down this valley to help draw the fire and heat the furnace. Over the generations these industrial relics have slowly become engulfed by nature and it is good to see that some clearing is now happening to expose the workings so the current generation can see evidence of their industrial heritage.