Jim led this 4-mile stroll starting near the Old Ship Inn, Lowdham. From Main Street, we climbed over Barker Hill to The Hermitage, an isolated cottage on the Dover Beck. The route then took us along the Beck firstly to Cliffe Mill, across the Lowdham - Southwell road and to Hoveringham Mill. Then we circumnavigated the Hoveringham Lakes, now a carp fishery, and back across the main road to reach the isolated Church of St Laurence on the outskirts of Gonalston for a drinks stop.After passing through Gonalston Village, we reached The Hermitage again and then walked around Barker Hill back to Lowdham for a drink in The Old Ship Inn.
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| An alternative short walk through Lowdham to Cocker Beck and the Church of St Mary the Virgin |
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| Hermitage Cottages, probably built to house apprentices at the nearby mills |
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| Cliff Mill (aka Gonalston 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 |
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| Hoveringham Mill |
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| Drinks stop |
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| St Laurence's Church |
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| Celebrating a local resident, Richard Whitehead |
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| Commemorating Harold Cottam, 1891-1984, wireless operator on RMS Carpathia on April 15th 1912 who received Titanic's call for help and whose diligence and prompt reaction were instrumental in saving 705 souls |
