A1 walk ...

Once you've negotiated the A1 and driven into Elkesley there are quite a number of walking options to the west. Clumber Park is for example just three or four miles away as the crow flies.

I parked by the church and walked along the village street before turning left and passing the 'Headland Avenue' sign in a privet hedge ...

I then followed a narrow tarmac lane west towards Crookford Hill and walked alongside a tall metal fence surmounted with razor wire. Beyond it was a large building which seems to be a woodmill and/or recycling centre ...



Turning south, I soon reached the footbridge over the River Poulter near the ford ...



The Robin Hood Way led away from the river towards Spitfire Hill ...



The Robin Hood Way lies beneath electricity lines for some distance. The day I was there the fields on either side had been ploughed ...



Beyond this I left the Robin Hood Way and followed a path that would lead me to Bothamsall. Turning round three trees in the autumn light caught my eye ...



On the edge of Bothamsall there's a motte topped by a group of trees. 



Once I reached the top of the field, I had a closer look at the motte ...



I walked below the village sign of Bothamsall.



Bothamsall's an attractive village with a church that wasn't open.



Some of the locals didn't look very friendly ...



 I walked along the lane beside the church that becomes a bridleway leading to Haughton Park House Farm ... on the way I passed Cottage Plantation to my right. A greater spotted woodpecker was calling in the wood ...



 At the farm the bridleway joins the Robin Hood Way. According to my OS Map the Robin Hood Way splits to the south west of Bothamsall with one section heading straight to Clumber Park and the other heading along a more circuitous route passing through both Bothamsall and Elkesley.

Anyway ... the Robin Hood Way passes through Elkesley Wood ...







I crossed the River Poulter again to get back into Elkesley.

As I was taking off my boots at the end of the walk to put on my shoes, a young girl about 12 or 13 walked up to me and said "Excuse me Sir, are you waiting to go into the church ?"  I told her I had just walked around the churchyard but the church itself seemed to be closed. Then I asked if she was waiting to go inside ... but the conversation fizzled out as she walked away. Strange !

The view of the church from amongst the yew trees in the churchyard was a good one ...



Date of walk ~ 31st October 2009

Length of walk ~ 5 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 83 1/2 miles.

In Darley Dale ...

Autumn was drawing to a close and for some reason I hadn't got out early enough to go far. For once I did a local walk. Many people would be happy to walk locally around here.

I parked on the Promenade near the Red House Hotel, just off the A6.

I took the path beside the Red House Hotel. I wonder how long it is since it was red ?



The path runs down to the railway line ...



I crossed the line and followed the path that runs between the river and the railway line itself, heading towards Matlock. There's a fallen tree here which has been like this for ages ... years rather than months.



Down by the river the sun shone brightly on the waters of the Derwent.



I walked through a couple of fields until I reached a point where the path from the A6 and Hackney Lane joined the path I was on from the left.





I walked through another two or three fields before climbing up the railway embankment and following the concessionary footpath that runs beside the line itself. I was now heading back the way I had come.



Just to confirm the status of the path ...



Beside the line, a little further on, there's an old Midland Railway marker. I wonder how old it is ?



I left the railway line and walked across the fields to the Square and Compass in Darley Bridge before walking along the road to Darley Dale Station. From here I got back onto the public footpath that runs alongside the railway line back towards the car. On the way I walked past the DFS outlet ... out of picture on the right in the next photo ...



On the left of me as I took the above photo was an old Midland Railway notice ...



I was only two or three hundred yards from the car ...

Date of walk ~ 25th October 2009

Length of walk ~ 4 1/4 miles

Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 78 1/2 miles.

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