Tucked
in between the industrial areas of Derby
and the Erewash Valley, this undulating and varied nine-mile route
took in the three interesting villages of Ockbrook, Stanton-by-Dale and Dale Abbey and gave far-reaching
views all round.
The walk started with a visit to the Hermitage, a rock shelter carved out of the local sandstone, and continued across fields and through woods to reach Ockbrook and its impressive Moravian Settlement and School. Leaving Ockbrook we came upon the site where the Risley Park Lanx, a large Roman silver dish, was discovered in 1729. Another climb then took us to Stanton, famous for its ironworks, where we had lunch at the church.
A further two miles took us along high ground overlooking the Erewash Valley and down to the remains of the Abbey itself and All Saints Church before retracing our steps through Hermit's Wood.
 |
| Early view of the remains of Dale Abbey |
 |
| The Hermitage was made around 1130 AD by a Derby baker who had a vision and set out from Derby to find Deepdale, as the area was formerly known. He dug the cave into the hillside and lived there for about 20 years |
 |
| Present day hermits |
 |
| In 1750 the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, established a settlement here, one of only three remaining in the country |
 |
| The adjacent Ockbrook School was founded in 1799 by the Church |
 |
| View back over the Ockbrook Valley to the village |
 |
| A bonus - distant views of not one but two power stations, Ratcliffe on Soar and Willington |
 |
| The site where the Risley Park Lanx, a large Roman silver dish, was discovered in 1729. Subsequently lost, the Lanx re-emerged in the 1990s as a supposed heirloom of the now-notorious (and brilliant) art forger Shaun Greenhalgh and his family who made it in their garden shed in Bolton |
 |
| The (fake) Risley Lanx |
 |
| Medieval Stanton Village Cross (1632) |
 |
| "The village gave its name to the world famous Stanton Ironworks whose blast furnaces and foundries dominated the valley below for over two centuries. Founded in 1789 to produce pig iron and, later, iron pipes for water and gas mains, Stanton was the first in the world to produce spun iron pipes in 1921. Its foundries supplied much of the tunnel linings for London Underground; bombs in World War II; roadway castings across the world. Stanton joined French producer Saint-Gobain in 1985 creating the largest global iron pipe group in water pipelines. Local production ceased in 2007 but major national distribution of modern iron pipe remained. At its peak in 1951 the famous company employed 10,000 mainly local people. This plaque pays tribute to its historical place in British industry and to all those who worked there through the generations." |
 |
| "Erected in commemoration of the beneficent reign of Queen Victoria, June 22nd 1897, the gift of the women of Stanton." |
 |
| St Michael and All Angels Church - lunch |
 |
| Middlemores Almshouses (1711) near the church |
 |
| Panoramic view of the industrial estate on the site of the old ironworks. Erewash Valley and Ilkeston in the distance |
 |
| Yellow flag irises in Furnace Pond. The pond is thought to be related to Dale Abbey Ironworks built in 1788-9 |
 |
| The remains of the Abbey. This was founded by Augustinian monks in 1162 from their previous home at Calke Abbey. In 1539, the Act of Dissolution brought an end to almost four centuries of monastic life in the Dale |
 |
| Is that it? We have come all this way just to see an arch? Well, not quite - this is what's on the other side |
 |
| All Saints Church |
