Eakring, Rufford Park and Wellow, 18th September 2022

Phil's 12-mile walk from the church in Eakring took us first to see Mompesson's Cross on the edge of the village and then along the Robin Hood Way to enter Rufford Park from the A614 for coffee (and cakes for some!).  Further good tracks took us to the Maypole in Wellow for lunch.

A section of Eakring Road followed and some took a shorter, direct route back whilst the remainder headed towards Ompton and back to Eakring.
St Andrew's Church, Eakring - the start
Mompesson's Cross at Pulpit Ash
This marks the spot where, in the early 1670s, William Mompesson, the newly arrived rector, preached in the open air to his flock. He had come from the earlier plague-sticken village of Eyam in the Peak District, where he had witnessed a decimation of the population that included the loss of his wife. He is credited with having prevented the spread of the infection to neighbouring villages and with tending to his afflicted congregation.  During the epidemic he abandoned the church and preached in an open area in an attempt to avoid the spread of infection

Dovecote at North Laithes Equestrian Centre

Drinks stop

Fine lodge on the edge of Rufford Park

The impressive front of Rufford Abbey

The less than impressive back of the Abbey

Rufford Mill

A brave (or foolish) driver at Rufford Ford
Camera vultures at the ford waiting for the next victim

Dropping down into the deep cutting of the old railway line from Ollerton to Bilsthorpe Colliery


Lunch at the Maypole in Wellow

Autumn crocuses, Crocus sativas, at North Laithes

Fine avenue of trees on the track from North Laithes

Mompesson's mosaic inside St Andrew's Church

The land near Eakring and Bilsthorpe has hosted an extraordinary variety of energy-related projects, some old some new.  From top left: Eakring Windmill; Rufford Mill; Bilsthorpe Colliery; Duke's Wood Oilfield; Eakring Solar Farm; National Grid Training Centre; Eakring Wind Turbines; Rainworth Energy Anaerobic Digestion Plant; Eakring Ecohouses; and (not shown), Bilsthorpe Energy Centre (energy from waste); Fisher German green hydrogen plant; Rufford Battery Energy Storage System





Creswell Crags and the Welbeck Estate, 11th September 2022

Sue's 8¼ mile walk today started at the Museum and Heritage Centre of Creswell Crags, the spectacular magnesian limestone gorge that straddles the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.  The caves in the gorge were occupied during the last ice age, between around 43,000 and 10,000 years ago and contained the northernmost cave art in Europe

After walking along the gorge and past the caves, the route took us close to Whitwell Quarry and on to the hamlet of Belph before heading northeast to enter the Welbeck Estate.  After lunch we passed through Manor Hills Woods to reach the entrance to the 5th Duke of Portland's famous tunnel at South Lodge where we joined the Robin Hood Way and followed it along the line of the tunnel, across Welbeck's Great Lake and eventually back to the Creswell Gorge.

Caves on the south (Nottinghamshire) side of the gorge

Arch Cave on the north (Derbyshire) side of the gorge

Pin Hole cave on the north side

Whitwell Quarry, source of a million tonnes of high purity dolomitic limestone per year

Whitwell Quarry works

Cottage in Belph

Manor Hills Woods

Entrance to the tunnel at South Lodge

Following the line of the tunnel - on the right

Memorial dedicated to the five Canadian aircrew of a Wellington bomber which crashed near here in 1944

Today's route compared with another in the same area

Hickling, Kinoulton and the Grantham Canal, 4th September 2022

 Angela's 6¾ mile walk today started at The Old Wharf at Hickling Basin and took 14 of us along the Grantham Canal to Kinoulton for coffee.  We then headed across fields towards Colston Bassett before turning south to reach the canal at Clark's Bridge and the way back along the towpath to Hickling.


The start at Hickling Basin

Heading towards Kinoulton
The closest we got to Colston Bassett
Recently restored Clark's Bridge

Hickling Lengthsman's Hut built to provide a resting place for the workers who maintained this section of the canal

And back for refreshments - beer at The Plough Inn or tea and cakes at The Old Wharf