Laxton and its open field system ...

The public toilet in the Visitor Centre at Laxton, Nottinghamshire, has a shower in it ...

Whether it is available for the public to use I don't know, but it's there, in the corner.

Walking down the side of the Dovecote Inn, between the inn and the Visitor Centre, you reach the village green ...



Just beyond the churchyard I turned right, along this bridleway. Looking back you get some idea of the mud on it. Still, it's used by agricutural vehicles ~ it's a working environment.



A few hundred yards later I turned left along Hall [or Back] Lane ...



Twenty minutes or so later and I was walking across Mill Field where the majority of the old field strips can be seen. I reached a crossroads of paths ...



 It's quite an open landscape around here with just the odd tree here and there and the occasional copse. Sometimes a larger tree grows in a hedgerow as can be seen here on Mill Lane ...



I climbed a small hill and turned sharp left across a recently sown field. The farmer had restored the path which was good to see.



 A few paths later and I was walking eastwards along an avenue of trees as the showery rain dripped through them.



At the far end of the trees I passed through a farmgate and came to a really mud field. Near the gate the cows had created these 'furrows' from constant use ...



Back in the village I sat on a seat in the churchyard drinking my coffee and eating my chocolate bar [with added nuts and stuff]. The church wasn't open ...



A couple of gravestones caught my eye ...





  Then it was back out onto the main street. Most of Laxton seems to be owned by the Crown Estate. All the farms have their names uniformly marked in blue on a silver background ...



... except for Mr. Grundy and Mrs. Freer ...



I finished the walk with a pint and a bit of a slap-up meal in the Dovecote. Good to see it was reasonably busy at lunchtime during the week.

Date of walk ~ 22nd October 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 1/2 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 74 1/4 miles

Eyam and me ...

I was in Eyam on the 21st October 2009, looking at my teashop walk from there.

Never use a house name as a marker, as in "turn right immediately beyond 'Fairholme' ". A new owner may change its name to Scrumpy Acres ... or something.

It was midweek and autumn and the usual horde of walkers were nowhere to be seen.

The route of the walk crosses the fields towards Foolow. On its way the path dips into Linen Dale ...

I always thought 'Eyam' was pronounced 'ee-um' but no ... it's 'eem' ...



Entering Foolow along the lane I hoped I might see the homemade sign warning motorists to beware of the duckpond ducks but no, there's an official sign now ...



  The Victorian postbox is no longer available for the collection of letters but has been retained for posterity.



No photos of the village pond [I need to get a wider angle lens] but St. Hugh's Church caught my eye. According to the interpretation panel the church was originally a smithy but in the late 19th century it held its first service. St Hugh was born in the 12th century [not around here I hasten to add] and pictures of him usually show him accompanied by a swan ~ you can nip along to Foolow to read the panel to learn more about him.



I took the footpath to Grindlow. Once, when we were writing the book, there were paving stones along the side of this green lane ... a real feature. Now, unless they're buried under the grass, they appear to hae gone. Have they been taken up ?



I didn't go right into Grindlow but swung left towards Silly Dale. At the entrance to the dale [if I could call it that] there's a warning for our friends who like to explore these old green lanes using things mechanical ...



Although it may look as though you're going to end up in someone's garden, the bridleway actually passes to the left of this bungalow ...



Silly Dale, like Linen Dale, is dry and rather featureless. Looking back you can see the bungalow recently passsed with the buildings of Grindlow in the background.



Once I had reached Stanley House I turned left. Three or four fields later I met a man taking his fifteen stone Bull Mastiff for a walk. He assured me that the dog was friendly and when I offered the back of my hand for him [the dog] to have a sniff, he wiped his slobber right across the sleeve of my fleece ...



... lovely.

Brosterfield Farm is being improved, developed. The farm buildings are being renovated and rebuilt. Is someone going to be selling them off as  desirable country homes ?  Another farm  broken up ? 

It appears not ... a couple of holiday lets have resulted from the renovations ... http://www.brosterfieldfarm.co.uk/index.html

At Housley I started to follow Tideswell Lane back to Eyam. A few yards along it this caught my eye ...



I wonder if everyone will take note ?

Walking along Tideswell Lane [it's basically a walled track] I heard a call from a chap in a barn to my left. He was asking if I could lend him a hand for a minute or two ...

It turned out that his hay baler had got a bit of a problem and he wanted me to hold the baler twine whilst he [by hand] turned over the mechanism. The job was soon done and he thanked me. I said it was good that a walker could help a farmer and he replied [with a smirk] "Ad a asked any bugger that were passin' ".

I met another man, a local dog walker, who stood and talked with me for the best part of twenty minutes. Then we bid farewell and I walked back into Eyam ...



 Date of walk ~ 21st October 2009

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 68 3/4 miles

In which I admire the beauty of Staythorpe C Power Station ...

Parking in Farndon, a mile or two south-west of Newark, Nottinghamshire, I walked through the old part of the village, with its redbrick Georgian houses.

As you usually find, the local church was closed ...

The graveyard looked interesting but I didn't have enough time to look around ...



A public footpath runs through the churchyard and out the other side ...



I passed through the newer part of the village, leaving the old redbrick Georgian houses behind. Then I reached the River Trent after crossing a field or two. Turning right, off the route I was going to follow, I had a look at a ruined windmill. It's only inhabitants a handful of pigeons ...



What a pity someone hasn't restored it. 

Back beside the River Trent there were two or three of these clapper gates.



I really like these gates and they're a clever design too. The only place I have ever seen them is beside the River Trent.

Walking around a corner beside the Trent, I was confronted by more evidence of the damage that scumbags do to our countryside.



A little further along, immediately beyond Averham Weir, is Staythorpe C Power Station. A lone fisherman informed that it was being powered by imported gas ... and that there were no Englishmen working there, just other Europeans.



You may recall that Staythorpe was recently in the news because of all the protests by English workers ...



There was a lot of wildfowl on the river near the weir. A flock of Canada Geese flew over ...



As I got nearer Farndon I noticed that there are some informal paths, created by the Parish Council, and nestboxes on some of the trees ...



A hundred yards later, a seat by the side of the Trent was very welcome ... just as a shower of rain ended. Still I had my coffee and a small chocolate bar ...



 I do love to find a conveniently placed seat. Some purists say they are an intrusion in the countryside. I don't ...

I crossed the substantial bridleway bridge over the riverside entrance to Farndon Marina. This is the view looking back ...



With the rain falling more steadily I studied an information panel beside the river, in front of the [now closed] Britannia Inn ...



Then it was back to the car and off for a bite to eat at the Rose & Crown in the village. I forget what I had ~ burger and chips, I think ~ and an enjoyable pint of beer too.

Date of walk ~ 20th October 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 62 1/2 miles