Whaley Thorns and Nether Langwith, 30th June 2019

Steve's walk took 25 of us into the Poulter Country Park, through which passes the 11 mile Archaeological Way which will eventually link Pleasley Pit Country Park and Creswell Crags.  The redevelopment of the Archaeological Way has inspired some excellent community arts projects, many of which now form the Sculpture Trail in the park.  This is situated on the site of waste tips of Langwith Colliery which finished production in 1978 after 98 years of production.

The start at the Whaley Thorns Heritage Centre

Flint Flower by Ewan Allinson, said to represent the shape of a flint tool found locally

Industrial Fossils by David Mayne, black ferns that represent the coal of Langwith Colliery

Top of the World sculpture by Ewan Allinson, inspired by the area's stone age past

Scimitar Flower by Ewan Allinson created to highlight the wildflower meadows in the park

We then crossed from Derbyshire back into Nottinghamshire, stopping for coffee beside the River Poulter in Nether Langwith before walking south to Cuckney Hay Wood.

Coffee beside the River Poulter at Nether Langwith

Cuckney Hay Wood

Langwith Mill House on the Poulter downstream of Nether Langwith was a cotton mill built in 1786.  It was powered by a large water wheel fed from a lake nearby

And then to the Jug and Glass for refreshments

Chatsworth, Rowsley and Bakewell, 23rd June 2019

A classic walk, led by Paul, in familiar territory except for a small but welcome deviation along the Monsal Trail to avoid the Dogs Unleashed Show at Bakewell.

The start at Calton Lees car park

Calton Lees village

Near Rowsley, possible future extension to the Monsal Trail?

Coffee stop near the head of Coombs Valley

Definitely the end of the Monsal Trail, for now at least, before the old railway line disappears in a tunnel beneath Haddon Hall

Over Bakewell Golf club

Edensor

St Peter's Church, Edensor

Paine’s Three Arch Bridge (1761) over the Derwent, based on Italian prototypes

Chatsworth House

Looking back over the Derwent towards Chatsworth House, the Hunting Tower in the distance.  The weir was built to provide a head of water for the Chatsworth Mill

Chatsworth Corn Mill (1762)

Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler, 19th June, 2019

Ten ramblers enjoyed Sue's balmy stroll around Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler, including two from the Rushcliffe group. It even stopped raining after about an hour!

The start at the canal car park near the old A46

Around Cropwell Bishop, Hoe Hill in the distance

Yes, the path through the beautiful field of wildflowers is there but our leader missed the turning!
The recorded gpx track below has been adjusted to avoid embarrassment.

Southwell to Epperstone, 16th June 2019

Jim's 10½ mile walk took us from the outskirts of Southwell over the fields to The Cross Keys in Epperstone for lunch, returning through the village of Halloughton.

Coffee stop

Halloughton Beck

Thurgarton Beck

Advanced party sprinting for The Cross Keys in Epperstone

Blue skies at last

Crop damage due to wind and rain

Halloughton Manor House and (14th century) Tower

St James' Church, Halloughton

Harlaxton, Grantham Canal and Denton, 12th June 2019

On another soggy Evening Stroll, Richard took us from the Village Hall in Harlaxton across to the Denton Canal, returning by the reservoir and Denton.

Harlaxton Bridge 66

Denton Wharf, Bridge 65

St Andrew's Church, Denton

St Mary and St Peter's Church, Harlaxton

Nether Broughton and Old Dalby, 9th June 2019

Paul took twenty of us on this hilly walk (200m of climbing) round the pleasant countryside south of Nether Broughton with fine weather and views to the north over the Vale of Belvoir.

The start next to St Mary the Virgin, Nether Broughton

Interesting framed window of the Red House, formerly the Red Lion pub

Nether Broughton Heritage Trail

Uphill.....

35 Base Workshops, Old Dalby, was used for building, maintaining and repairing vehicles, machinery and equipment for the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME) until the 1990s

Red Admiral

St John the Baptist, Old Dalby

Liquid lunch at the Crown Inn

... and downhill

Tunnel under The Old Dalby Test Track, famous because in 1984 the line was used to test the integrity of flasks used to transport nuclear fuel elements by rail. See video.