Friday 3 May 2013

The Cuckoo Way ~ the ninth day ... I have company and we walk up the middle of the A1 ! No ... really.

Some two and a half years ago, a walk similar to this was going to be included in my next pub walks books ... the pub walks book that never was. The walk had one major drawback ~ crossing the A1. Now I don't mind crossing roads personally but the thought of a stream of my readers negotiating such a busy road would probably not have done much good for my sleep patterns.

Let me show you ...

  

This was only half the crossing ! We'd already crossed the southbound carriageway and then you see us walking along the footpath that runs between crash barriers between both carriageways. An interesting experience ~ goodness knows what motorists and lorry drivers thought when they saw Jamie and me walking up the centre of such a busy road.

The main thing is we made it ... the book didn't.

We started off parked near the pub in Ranby a few miles to the east of Worksop in Nottinghamshire. After crossing the A1 things got a lot quieter. In the lovely Spring sunshine we saw Thievesdale Lane stretching away in front of us for a mile or more ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...


A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ... 

After a mile we had Coachroad Plantation on our left ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 As we turned the corner, now heading southwards, I looked back along Thievesdale Lane as the sun tried to push its way through the trees ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

Unlike the area I come from, Nottinghamshire had quite a few RAF airfields during World War II and RAF Worksop was one of them. There's an excellent and interesting website here ... worth looking at for the photographs alone.

Jamie suggested I imitate a plane coming into land as we passed over where RAF Worksop had been ... I'm not too sure about my aerodynamics. Too much underbelly.

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

  Once we'd reached the hamlet of Scofton we turned right heading westwards towards Worksop. The sun still shone. It was a beautiful day. Another straight Nottinghamshire footpath stretched out ahead of us ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

Some of the cattle were taking advantage of the shelter provided by a large tree in front of Osberton Hall ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 The gravel path continued ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

Then 'almost' before we knew it we were walking beside the Chesterfield Canal again and passing Bracebridge pumping station ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...
 
A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...
  
Ahead of us, in the reeds, we espied a master fisher ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 Not all was beauty and light ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 We reached milestone 22, 22 miles from Chesterfield ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

  You know what I said above about this walk not being all beauty and light ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 We reached Bridge 45. The further we got from Worksop the 'quieter' things became ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...  

The white flowers of the Blackthorn were in bloom. A shrub that flowers before its leaves are out.

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...  

We passed under a new road. Jamie's is just over 6 feet tall. He just managed not to scalp himself ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 Milestone 23 was next ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 ... the half way point !

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 We were getting near Osberton ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 At Osberton Lock you can cross the canal and head back to Scofton but we stayed beside the canal ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 There were no hills on this walk. It was all pretty easy going, easy walking ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 On the edge of Ranby the canal passes under the A1. This time negotiating the dual carriageway was much safer ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...

 Soon after this we were back in Ranby and able to cross the canal back to our car ...

A 9th walk featuring the Cuckoo Way ...  

This walk was followed on the 18th April 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 9.58 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 122.89 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 18th April 2011 ~ 650.94 miles

  27 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

13 comments:

  1. A lovely walk, Charlie. I like the play of light in some of the photographs ... but they are all great.

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    1. Thank you Pet ~ I always think a black background helps.

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  2. Lots of different features in this walk,love the big sky,I think it is a mackerel sky.The road crossing is horrendous I wouldn't like to cross it.Ann

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    1. I've never heard of a mackerel sky but it certainly took my attention. As for the crossing of the A1 I love doing that sort of thing ... from time to time.

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  3. I wonder if anyone in those cars and lorries would have known you? I can imagine them going "wasn't that ....?" as they zipped past. lol

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    1. I'm not that famous Jenny ... at least I don't think I am :-)

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    2. Oh, I think you'd be surprised!

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  4. Considering the A1 is a motorway in all but name, it's not something I'd want to attempt to cross!! However, the rest of the walk was beautiful. I love those long, straight roads and paths....you get a great perspective in photos of them. Had to smile at your one-man recreation of bomber-command!! Great capture of the heron, they usually take flight at the slightest hint of a human.

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    1. Fortunately when we crossed it wasn't too bad. I would hate to think what it is like during the rush hour. I think it was nearer 10am when we crossed. Yes, I like the straight paths though they can begin to get a bit tedious after a while. Glad you liked my bomber ... as for the heron it was the zoom on my Lumix that did the trick I think. I agree though, they tend to take off sooner rather than later. I think I got even closer to a heron when I walked on the Macclesfield Canal a few weeks later.

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    2. I assume you're back home now Mitch ... hope you had a great time in the States.

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    3. Yes, I'm home again now. Joanne and I had a wonderful holiday, thank you :-))

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  5. Your pics make this look a an attractive walk, Charlie. I had a similar experience once crossing the A3, only to discover that an underpass for walkers had been inserted since the map was printed . . .

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