Rowthorne, Hardwick Park and Teversal, 9th November 2025

Elaine's 9.7 mile walk explored the River Doe Lea/River Maun watershed on the Notts/Derbys border.  It started at the end of the Rowthorne Trail and took us up through Rowthorne village and  Ault Hucknall before entering Hardwick Park.  We dropped down past a quarry to a series of fishponds on the River Doe Lea before stopping for drinks at the nearby cafe.  After circumnavigating Miller's Pond and walking past Great Pond and Duck Decoy Pond, we climbed up past Hardwick Old Hall for lunch near the National Trust Visitor Centre which, unlike the Hall gardens, was open to walking and cycling non-members.

After lunch we dropped down past the Stone Masons' Workshop and through Lady Spencer's Wood to Norwood Lodge where Elaine and three others took a shortcut across to the the Rowthorne Trail. The remainers crossed fields to reach St Katherine's Church in the manorial village of Teversal (the fictional home of Lady Chatterley) for a short break. The route back then followed the Teversal Trail to regain the Rowthorne Trail and car park.

The start - seven VBR membes and two visitors

Rowthorne village

St John the Baptist Church in Alt Hucknall dates back to Saxon times

Entering Hardwick Park

Walks in Hardwick Park

Distant view west towards the Derbyshire hills (on a good day)

Quarry which supplied stone used in the construction of Hardwick Hall

Bridge near Miller's Pond

View of Hardwick Hall and Hardwick Old Hall across Great Pond

Sculpture next to Decoy Pond

Building next to Decoy Pond where nets were stored to catch unwary ducks

Approaching Hardwick Old Hall

Hardwick Hall (1597) - visited on the recce when we were allowed through the gate.  Note Bess of Hardwick's initials, ES on the parapets

Hardwick Old Hall

National Trust Visitor Centre - lunch stop

Stone Mason's workshop - worth a visit when open to see how Hardwick Hall is being restored

St Katherine's Church, Teversall

Both the Rowthorne and Teversal Trails make use of the trackbeds of the disused railway lines which once served local coal mines like Teversal, Silverhill and Pleasley.  Both were constructed on impressive embankments and through deep cuttings in the local Magnesian limestone bedrock

Derbys/Notts border in green; Rowthorne and Teversal Trails in red

Woodborough, Lowdham and Epperstone, 2nd November 2025

In glorious sunny weather, Angela's 6¼ mile walk took thirteen members from Woodborough Village Hall car park up to Ploughman Wood and the high ground between Woodborough and Lambley and then down to Lowdham Church for a coffee stop.  From the church, we crossed the A6097 to skirt Epperstone before recrossing the road and walking back to the start.

View of Woodborough from Ploughman Wood

Not all grass and tarmac

Approaching The Hut. This impressive mansion on the brow of Eliment Hill north of Lowdham Church stands on the site of a home that was once made of old railway carriages!

The original image of St Mary's Church, Lowdham - coffee stop

A better image courtesy of ChatGPT - amazing

This pipe over the Dover Beck at Wash Bridge is possibly one of the main Severn Trent water supplies to south Notts

Kinoulton, Colston Bassett and the Grantham Canal, 26th October 2025

 

Seventeen VBR members and five visitors on Scott's 7-mile walk today starting outside the Nevile Arms. The route took us across fields to Colston Bassett for bacon butties and a drink at the Village Hall. The way back went by Colston Bassett Hall and past the ruin of St Mary’s Church before following Colston Road to the Grantham Canal which we followed back to Kinoulton.

Outside the (closed) Nevile Arms

Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board digger dredging the River Smite

Outside the Village Hall

Colston Bassett Hall

The 14th Century ruin of St Mary's Church

Overgrown Grantham Canal

The Poplar Trees information board on the Grantham Canal

The original avenue of 184 Lombardy poplar trees was planted by Sir Jesse William Hind and dedicated to the memory of his son Lt. Francis Montagu Hind, who was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 27th September 1916.

The trees also commemorate the 183 other officers and men of the 9th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters Regiment, who died between 7th July (when the battalion entered the battle) and 30th November 1916 (the official end of the battle).

St Luke's Church, Kinoulton

Church Warsop, Cuckney and Norton, 19th October 2025

Paul took a small group on this 8.3 mile walk from Church Warsop on the River Meden over to Cuckney on the River Poulter and back across the Meden. The group set off in fine weather and walked quickly so as to be finished before the rain - almost did it. There were lots of poppy displays in villages and fine woodland paths with lots of sweet chestnuts.

Thanks Paul for the photos and route.

St Peter and St Pauls's Church

War Memorial

Fine display in Church Warsop

Cuckney Water Meadows

 Cuckney Water Meadows information board
(see below for detail)

Church Warsop display

Cuckney Water Meadows

A water meadow is a man-made pasture irrigation system designed to allow a shallow layer of water to flow over ‘panes’ of grass during cold winters – a practice called ‘floating’ or ‘drowning’ the meadow.  In contrast to flooded meadows, the flowing water was kept oxygenated and being warmer than frosty soil, stimulated growth. This allowed more hay to feed livestock, and therefore more manure to fertilise surrounding land. The system was also used to irrigate hay crops in summer, naturally supplying the soil with nutrients and sediment.

Water meadows are operated by finely tuning the levels in rivers and adjacent carriers (artificial channels), to provide a continuous trickle of water over the area. The stream is spanned by a ware, that can be used to hold back water and to raise the level on the upstream side so that it will flow through the meadow. Sluices on the carrier can be raised to permit water to flow out over the turf.

After passing through the meadow the water enters a bottom carrier and is taken back to the river below the ware or the carriers. By carefully operating the ware and the sluices, the drains have a greater fall than the mains to prevent the land becoming waterlogged and to ensure water is carried away as fast as possible.

Water meadows once ran almost continuously along the River Poulter from Cuckney to Minthorpe. They were commissioned by the 4th Duke of Portland between 1839–1850 and are thought to be the last primarily intact water meadows constructed by the Welbeck Estate. The main section of water meadows was watered from Cuckney dam, along a man-made channel called ‘The Water Lane’ the remains of which can still be seen today.