Vale of Belvoir Ramblers: July 2022

Hough on the Hill, Caythorpe and Gelston, 31st July 2022

Paul's 7-mile walk started near the Brownlow Arms in Hough before passing All Saints Church and on to Caythorpe. After a coffee stop at St Vincent's Church, we followed the edge of the Lincoln Cliff, with good views over the Vale of Belvoir and the Trent Valley, back to Hough and then on to Gelston Pinfold for lunch. A short walk across fields took all 16 of us back to Hough.

The start near the Brownlow Arms

All Saints Church, Hough

St Vincent's Church, Caythorpe - coffee stop

Lunch stop

Cropwell Butler and Cropwell Bishop, 26th July 2022

There were eleven members plus Carrie on a sunny evening for Angela's walk from the Grantham Canal car park at Foss Bridge just off the old A46 to Cropwell Butler and Cropwell Bishop and back along the Grantham Canal.

Sheldon Field, the Cropwell Cricket Club at Cropwell Butler.

Crop of dried beans in fields to the east of Cropwell Butler going toward Cropwell Bishop

Not much use harvesting here

Bearded wheat

Cornflowers in the wheat

Approximate route

Brinsley, Bagthorpe, Westwood and the Erewash Valley, 24th July 2022

Scott led 11 ramblers on a 7 mile walk beginning at Brinsley Headstocks on the site of the old Brinsley coal mine. The walk followed the track of the old mineral railway line north to New Brinsley and Bagthorpe, before turning west to Westwood and then south through the Erewash Meadows Nature Reserve and back to the start.

The weather was hot and humid but a light shower fell at the lunch break. A few walkers enjoyed a pint at the finish in the nearby Brinsley Lodge Inn.

The Brinsley Headstocks Heritage Site

Scott briefs the troops

Brinsley Colliery was worked from 1872 until 1934, and was then used for access to Moorgreen and Pye Hill pits until 1970, when the surface buildings were demolished. The headstocks were taken to a mining museum, but returned to Brinsley in 1991, where they were re-erected on their present site.

The disused mineral railway

Tree carving next to Brinsley Headstocks depicting 700 years of coal mining in the Eastwood district

Lunch

River Erewash

Brinsley Lodge Inn

Flintham and Syerston, 20th July 2022

Marian's 5-mile Evening Stroll took ten of us across fields of crops to Syerston and then along narrow, hedged lanes - Moor Lane, Deadwong Lane and Doghill Lane and across Longhedge Lane back to Flintham. (Wong is an Old English word for a piece of land or field, and is a common name in this part of Nottinghamshire, allegedly).

Bearded wheat

All Saints Church, Syerston

Syerston Pinfold

St Augustine's Church, Flintham - off-route but worth a look

Woodborough, Oxton, Epperstone and Lowdham, 17th July 2022

Starting at Woodborough Village Hall, four members braved the Amber heat warnings to come on Roger’s 10.6 miler. The walk (with regular water stops) went through Springfield Golf Course towards Oxton, headed round Epperstone Park towards Epperstone and Hagg Farm before approaching Lowdham and returning via Ploughman Wood.

Thanks Roger for the photos and track.

The intrepid quartet at the start. Nice hanging basket!

A hot day on the course at Springfield GC

Approaching Park Farm - a good place for a water stop

Park Farm, home of Sherwood Storage

A newish, discretionary path avoids walking through the farm park and provides good views from the edge of Epperstone Wood

An unusual but beautiful crop of Canary grass, originally a Mediterranean crop grown for game bird cover or birdseed

A nice display of lesser bindweed in the hedgerows

Passing Lowdham Mill on the Dover Beck

Coming out of Ploughman Wood heading back to Woodborough

Lowdham and Gonalson, 13th July 2022

Howard took twelve of us on this 5-mile walk starting at St Mary's Church, Lowdham before crossing through the village and climbing up over hills before dropping down to the Dover Beck and two old water mills, Cliff Mill and Hoveringham Mill. Circumnavigating Hoveringham fishing lake, we stopped at St Andrew's Church, Gonalston before making our way back via Lowdham Mill (also known as Carby's Mill).

Some information on Lowdham Village

St Mary's Church, Lowdham

Crossing Cocker Beck in Lowdham, source of much recent flooding

Cliff Mill

Hoveringham Mill on the Dover Beck. The Beck was the southern boundary of Sherwood Forest from the 13th century. The river rises near the village of Blidworth in the heart of the forest and flows southeast to join the River Trent near Caythorpe. The mill was one of eleven on the Dover Beck: Salterford Mill, Oxton Mill, Epperstone Mill, Woodborough Mill, The Paper Mill, Carby’s Mill, Parkinson’s Pit, The Lord’s Mill, Cliff Mill, Hoveringham Mill and Caythorpe Mill. See Mills on the Doverbeck by W A James for more information.

First cattle, then goats, then horses and, for the first time, pigs obstruct our path

St Lawrence's Church, Gonalston

Two tracks were recorded, one with a smartphone (see inset) which recorded and stored (4800) data points once per second and one with a Garminn GPS device which recorded (368) data points at the same interval but stored them only if there had been a movement of 20m or more. The track distance of the latter (just under 5 miles) is the one closest to that measured using a piece of string. The smartphone overestimated the distance by about 10% and this is likely to always be the case when so much data is collected

Nottingham and Beeston Canal and River Trent, 10th July 2022

On a very hot day, Heather's 10-mile walk started near Clifton Bridge on the south bank of the Trent and took nine of us through Wilford Village, crossing the river by the suspension bridge and then joining Nottingham's Big Track bike and walking route. This uses the Nottingham and Beeston Canal to Beeston Lock and then a path alongside the River Trent back to Nottingham.