Stainforth is situated 7 miles from Doncaster town centre and has access to railway links and motorway networks. The name Stainforth means 'stone ford' and it marks an ancient crossing of the River Don.
It was once reliant on the canal system and the busy boat building yards that bordered the village for a working environment. These have disappeared and the canals now offer relaxation to those seeking solitude by cruising and fishing. The coal industry came to Stainforth in the form of Hatfield Colliery, but after the decline of coal mining in 1994 the colliery was closed. The colliery was later re-opened as a private undertaking and as the colliery is situated in Stainforth, effectively Stainforth is still a mining community.
Stainforth today is fundamentally a housing community that is well served with a variety of shops, doctors, churches and a library.
Hatfield is situated 7 miles north east of Doncaster within easy access to Thorne for railway links to Doncaster, Sheffield, Scunthorpe, Hull and Grimsby.
Hatfield has grown from a small South Yorkshire village into a town with a Mayor, a council and a larger population. It has a long historical tradition with hunting as Hatfield is sited on the original Hatfield Chase, (the largest unenclosed royal hunting deer park in England comprising nearly three hundred square miles). It was originally an agricultural area but now consists mainly of housing communities fringed with open countryside and is within easy access to Thorne and Hatfield Moors. It is well served with local shops, a church, post office and a library.
Dunsville is situated 4 miles from Thorne and 5.3 miles from Doncaster. It is close to motorway networks and has railway links at Thorne for access to Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Hull and Grimsby. Dunsville leads into Dunscroft, which due to the building of new housing estates ultimately joins up with Hatfield.
On the edge of Dunsville, Wyndthorpe Hall can be seen set back from the road. Wyndthorpe Hall was built in the late 18th Century and was originally the home of Lord Chetwynd. Today it is a Residential Care Home with added outlying buildings.
Dunscroft is situated 3.3 miles from Thorne and 4.9 miles from Moorends. It is in the township and parish of Hatfield and is one of four wards, which make up Hatfield Town Council. It has always been a part of Hatfield and until the 1920's there had never been more than two or three farms and a few farm cottages. Today it has expanded into a substantial residential community.
Both villages have easy access to Thorne and Hatfield Moors with plenty of open spaces. Both were mining communities and are now made up of mainly residential housing.
Fishlake is a rural village located in the east of Doncaster approximately 8 miles from Doncaster town centre, and is situated 2 miles from Thorne and 2.9 miles from Moorends.
It is an interesting village, formerly on the north bank of the River Don and once a small inland port. Today it has an attractive village centre and is served with a church, parish hall, post office and various small shops along with a cricket and bowling club. The Fishlake area consists mainly of arable and livestock farming with a small hamlet of housing, where most of the residents work outside of Fishlake itself.
Fosterhouses is a very small rural hamlet which nestles alongside the village of Fishlake.
Sykehouse is a small village to the northeast of Doncaster, partly tucked into a corner formed by the River Went to the north and the New Junction Canal to the east. It is situated 15 miles from Doncaster and 5 miles from access to the motorway system M62/M18.
It is said that Sykehouse is the longest village in Yorkshire, stretching for nearly eight miles along the long main street. The area is mainly mixed arable and livestock farming with a large equestrian interest. It is located within the Humberhead Levels with significant areas for wildlife and conservation.
