Ticknall and Calke Abbey, 18th October 2026

Starting in Ticknall Village Hall car park, Dave's varied, undulating, 8.7mile walk first took us through the village to enter the grounds of Calke Abbey by way of limestone quarries and the old Ticknall Tramway with its bridges and tunnels.  After a coffee stop near the Abbey, we walked along the side of Staunton Harold Reservoir to the Visitor Centre before passing what's left of the Staunton Harold Tower.  We then followed good tracks to Robin Wood for lunch and returned along the National Forest Way to Ticknall.

Limestone quarry

Location of old lime kiln

End of the long tramway tunnel under the main access road to Calke Abbey

Side view of Calke Abbey

Mere Pond - one of several feeding water into the reservoir

Staunton Harold Reservoir, planned by the River Dove Water Board in 1955 to provide drinking water for Leicester and completed in 1964

Remains of Staunton Harold Tower Windmil built by the first Lord Melbourne in 1798

 St Bride's Priory (attached to Repton) from the 12th Century until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1538. The present building was never an abbey and was remodelled between 1701 and 1704. The house was owned by the Harpur Crewe family for nearly 300 years until it was passed to the National Trust in 1985 in lieu of death duties.

St Bride's Farm converted from the knave of the Norman Chapel

"This bridleway is part of an ancient route between Melbourne and Repton, crossing the uncultivated heathlands between Stanton and Ticknall. About a third of a mile to the east it crosses the old Derby to Oxford road, which is now the bridleway running north-south by St Bride’s Farm, beyond the present A514. The route originally entered Melbourne via High Street, formerly known as Bride Street, and leads down to the Parish Church, which was once at the main crossroads in the village.

If you are travelling east along the bridle path, you will soon come to St Bride’s Farm. The farmhouse (private) appears to be converted from the nave of a Norman chapel. St Bride, harassed by a persistent suiter, is said to have plucked out her own eyes, later restoring her sight with the water from a spring. There was once a spring to the east of the farmhouse, which was perhaps considered holy, and may explain the presence of the chapel and its unusual dedication."

Robin Wood - lunch stop

St George's Church, Ticknall (1842), next to the Village Hall, and the remains of the old church dedicated to St Thomas Becket and blown up with gunpowder in 1841!

Barnstone, Granby and Langar, 11th October 2026

In excellent weather, Angela led 15 members on a 6-mile morning walk from the Village Hall in Barnstone, over fields (and a bit of road) to the outskirts of Granby, then round the edge of the old landfill site, past the new biodigester and cement works in Barnstone and out to Langar before returning to Barnstone.

Thanks Bill for the photos.

The start in Barnstone

Coffee stop in Granby

By the River Whipling

River Whipling again

Works Lane, Barnstone Cement Works in the background

Trent Bridges and Colwick Country Park, 4th October 2026

Elaine's 7.3 mile walk, starting at the bus stop near the Victoria Embankment, was aimed at visiting the newly-built Waterside Bridge and Colwick Country Park, both for the first time.  The route took us to the Wilford Suspension Bridge;  back along the Trent; under Trent Bridge and Lady Bay Bridge to the new Waterside Bridge for a drinks stop at Trent Basin.  Then we followed the river to Racecourse Road to enter Colwick Country Park near Colwick Hall.  After circumnavigating the lakes in the park we reached the new Holme Sluices Fish Pass, one of our targets for the day.

After returning to Waterside Bridge, we crossed The Hook Nature Reserve to Lady Bay before joining and following the Grantham Canal for a short distance as far as Radcliffe Road to catch a bus back to Bingham

Elaine briefs us on the Victoria Embankment

Trent Bridge (1871)

Riverside Memorial Arch

Wilford Suspension Bridge (1906)

Trent Bridge

These two arches (just off route) are the remains of the 15-arch Old Trent Bridge which dates back to 1364

Grantham Canal (to be joined later) meets the Trent

Lady Bay Bridge (1878)

First view of Waterside Bridge

Mural beneath the bridge

Trent Basin - coffee stop

Permissive footpath between the River Crescent flats and the Trent

Nottingham Racecourse

Remains of St John's Church

Front view of Colwick Hall

Rear view of Colwick Hall

Heron taking off from Colwick Lake (with a little bit of help from ChatGPT)

Holme Sluices (private bridge)

After hatching, young salmon hide in riverbed gravel.  As they grow, they stay in the river for many years.  They then turn silvery, ready to travel to the sea,  At sea, they feed and grow, then come back to the River Trent to breed.

Fish pass around Holme Sluices

Back to the Waterside Bridge after lunch

And along a short section of the Grantham Canal to reach Radcliffe Road and catch the #90 bus back to Bingham