As you come up the M1 just before the exit for the Parkway there is a sign saying South Yorkshire Forest complete with two bushes at the side of it.

Is this a joke to alleviate the tedium of driving on the M1. If it is it's a pretty good one particulary for anyone living in Sheffield who will know there is no such thing. But anyone else will think Sheffield is full of loonies.

I can vaguely remember that it was some sort of fiddle to get some extra money from the Government.

Anyone know the real reason (if there is one)?

A forest is not a thickly wooded area but a large area with various types of terrain, which can include grass.

The project has areas of tree planting all over the county, you can see a similar sign on the Bochum Parkway. I would guess it indicates that you are entering a landscape which is managed by the scheme.

There's a large patch of forest by the M1 as you drive south from Barnsley that's also signed 'South Yorkshire Forest'.

South Yorkshire Forest (http://www.syforest.co.uk/) :)

I welcome the planting of trees near the motorway because it breaks up the crosswind and buffers the noise of the motor vehicles to some extent so that it is less loud for anyone who lives nearby.
Also these areas are largely left untrampled by human feet because it is illegal for pedestrians to walk alongside the motorway and as a consequence rare butterflies and native grasses can re - establish

Great Bunch of people at the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership helping people to plant trees and running the 'Gift that Grows' scheme and working in Schools with kids and supporting woodlands.

There's a fantastic South Yorkshire Woodfair at the Wentworth Mausoleum in Rotherham this weekend Sat 30 July 10-4 with wood carving, furniture making, dozens of stalls, music food, woodm carving and fun and a tree to be felled in one day and made into furniture.

BBC Radio Sheffield will be there too sounds like a brill free day with Marquees if it rains.

All organised by the South Yorkshire Forest people

Top guys !!

NB: The Wentworth Mausoleum is between Wentworth and Upper Haigh ( pron: HORFF)

i live in the middle of whatt was the SY Forest,i think the sign relates as much to the historical as well as the present scenario.

I LOVE that sign.... what a loada crap that is! I have often asked myself.

"what forest... surely they don't mean those trees... madness"

I have a large-scale OS map for Sheffield and Barnsley.

Its cover is oragne-coloured and the series is called Explorer.

Anyway, on the back is a plan showing the area covered by the detailed map.

It is covered in two shades; one covered by the Peak District National Park, and the other covered by, you guessed, The South Yorkshire Forest!

Now, the plan is smaller insize than a mobile phone screen but the area covered by the forest seems a bit peculiar.

Meersbrook and Gleadless? Included.

Most of the rest of Sheffield? Excluded.

Rotherham? Bang smack in the centre of the forest.

Deepcar and Swinton are included as is Mexborough.

Must be a very long term project.

I just wonder which brainy cartographer sat at his desk and included Meersbrook but rejected Heeley and Woodseats?

I am not decrying the work of the South Yorkshie Forest people, they are doing a useful job. What I don't like are those signs.

What do you think of when you think of forests, that's right - trees. What do you get just after the signs, Meadowhall on one side and the cooling towers on the other. Perhaps they should put up signs just after that reading "OK, we know it's not a forest, but we are getting a few quid from the Government and providing jobs".

Good luck to the Forest people but let's get rid of those stupid signs.

the signs have sprung up in several places, generally no-where near a large body of trees.

Originally posted by dishwasher
...I just wonder which brainy cartographer sat at his desk and included Meersbrook but rejected Heeley and Woodseats?
I don't think it's the cartographer’s fault, they just make the map show what has been decided by others.

I agree that the signs do seem "odd", but the reasons have been well explained on here already...

...and it does seem a worthy project, run by decent people, so good on 'em.

:thumbsup:

further to my earlier post. the signs signify the reaches of the ancient south yorkshire forest which was cut down to make way for the m1, houses etc of the last century or two.
it was allegedly the link for Robin Hood from Sherwood to Doncaster- the very tenuous link that allows them to call it Robin Hood airport.

i assume every time u see a speed camera sign you think it's a photo oportunity for a beauty spot like the japanese tourists allegedly did.

I didn't think that South Yorkshire had existed for all that long?

it hasn't , i think the renaming of the area was the government subsidy bit.although the area of south yorkshire is mapped through out the 19th century. The area within the m1 corridor & surrounded by the forest have nearly all been denoted in the doomsday book of 1086.so the forest has been around but "the name has been changed to protect the innocent."

Originally posted by Cyclone
I didn't think that South Yorkshire had existed for all that long?

It's esisted forever..... Only under different names:D

An american guy (the same one I mentioned already this morning in an un-related thread, bizzarely) once saw the signs for the SY Forest as we passed them on the Bochum Parkway, and said:

Oh my god! You guys only have one forest?! We have loads back home!!

Dear god man.

i had heard that sy forest was something that was created then never got off the ground... hence the signs but no actual forest....

Originally posted by empea
i had heard that sy forest was something that was created then never got off the ground... hence the signs but no actual forest....

Did you look at the web site posted by meaks ?

The aims of the project are clearly stated on the home page, - it's a long term project. Some hardwood trees take several decades to reach maturity. But it's not just about planting trees, - generally improving our open space environment and converting derelict industrial land into outdoor amenity sites are two other objects of the scheme.

he he! yeah I've seen the signs too! I'm sure I'll crash one day though, coz everytime I go past it I look all around to see if there are some trees I've missed! Ah well, one or 2 that I can see are better than none at all I guess :)

Don't forget the big day tomorrow at Wentworth organised by the South Yorkshire Forest ...I'll be there and there's a marquee music and food if it rains.

If you've ever been lost in Greno Woods with the light fading you'll know the meaning of "forest" in Sheffield! Kev.

Yep, the next time you drive down the parkway you will see a sign for Bill and Doris's Corner Shop.

Originally posted by James987
Yep, the next time you drive down the parkway you will see a sign for Bill and Doris's Corner Shop.

where is that?lol

Originally posted by muddycoffee
A forest is not a thickly wooded area but a large area with various types of terrain, which can include grass.Ugh? :confused: I suppose recycling is good. Once we have cut down all the forests, I think its good that people have thought up a new definition for it. No I do!

Originally posted by AndyK
Great Bunch of people at the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership helping people to plant trees and running the 'Gift that Grows' scheme and working in Schools with kids and supporting woodlands.

There's a fantastic South Yorkshire Woodfair at the Wentworth Mausoleum in Rotherham this weekend Sat 30 July 10-4 with wood carving, furniture making, dozens of stalls, music food, woodm carving and fun and a tree to be felled in one day and made into furniture.

BBC Radio Sheffield will be there too sounds like a brill free day with Marquees if it rains.

All organised by the South Yorkshire Forest people

Top guys !!

NB: The Wentworth Mausoleum is between Wentworth and Upper Haigh ( pron: HORFF)

Thanks for posting this AndyK - Took the kids along and it kept them occupied for about three and a half hours. Also gave me chance to sample a pint of Barnsley Bitter from the Acorn Brewery.

Originally posted by drolnhoj
...gave me chance to sample a pint of Barnsley Bitter from the Acorn Brewery.
Now that is one fine pint!

Try also "Old Moor Porter" & "Darkness" by the same brewery.:thumbsup:

what is the south yorkshire forest as i see signs titled "south yorkshire forest" there is one on the bochum parkway but there is no sign of this forest when i look out of the car window :confused: :confused: :confused:

It all depends upon what you understand by the meaning of "forest":

http://www.syforest.co.uk/

as i understand it a forest is like the Sherwood forest

I haven't seen the South Yorkshire Forest signs, but I used to work for an organisation called the Forest of Cardiff. Again, that wasn't one big forest, it sort of represented all the trees in the region, and the organisation was about tree planting and protection wherever the patches of greenery were in the city and environs. Perhaps the SY Forest is a similar sort of initiative. :)

I haven't seen the South Yorkshire Forest signs, but I used to work for an organisation called the Forest of Cardiff. Again, that wasn't one big forest, it sort of represented all the trees in the region, and the organisation was about tree planting and protection wherever the patches of greenery were in the city and environs. Perhaps the SY Forest is a similar sort of initiative. :)

You’ve got it basically it’s an initiative to plant trees.

You’ve got it basically it’s an initiative to plant trees.

Ah, right... ok, so why the brown 'tourist' signs on the M1, etc? Aren't they there to point out attractions, and the like?


.

If you travel in to Nottingham from the south (West Bridgeford), just before you reach the river Trent there is a very large open air building that carries a sign saying "Nottingham Forest" - but there aren't any trees inside, only grass.

There are 2 " South Yorkshire Forest " Signs on Bochum Parkway near Norton, I wonder if thats why it is a 40mph zone:confused:

I think the 'forest' concept is partly virtual: it's a designated area parts of which will be planted in the future.
The siting of the signs can be slightly unfortunate: there's a 'South Yorkshire Forest' sign at Halfway just as one leaves the wooded area after coming up the hill from Eckington, and a 'National Forest' sign on the M1 near Leicester with not a tree to be seen in the vicinity. But let's wish the projects success. :thumbsup:

An american guy (the same one I mentioned already this morning in an un-related thread, bizzarely) once saw the signs for the SY Forest as we passed them on the Bochum Parkway, and said:



Dear god man.Too much bloody forest. Nowt but trees from top to bottom. Its alright until you have to clean up all the autumn leaves, then its a right chore.

.........I think the signs are misleading, but it seems a worthwhile cause.

.....Can anybody tell me what the 8 foot high wooden sculpture in the 'forest' at the side of the Parkway is supposed to be about?