Starting in the car park of Sconce and Devon Park, Elaine's 5-mile mornng walk took fifteen VBR members and guests to the four corners of the Queen’s Sconce earthworks before following the River Devon for a short distance. Then we crossed Fardon Road to Mill Gate (the old route of Fosse Way), past (the closed) Newark Castle and along Stodman Street to the Market Square to view old buildings in the centre of Newark.
We then headed towards The Wharf to view the work being done to the Castle but had to then walk along North Gate to Trent Lane to gain access to the Trent. We then followed the right bank of the Trent to Newark Nether Lock for a coffee stop. After retracing our steps for a few hundred yards, we crossed the river and followed the left bank upstream to Riverside Park, Newark Town Lock, Mill Gate and back to the start.
You might be interested in
this leaflet produced by the Institute of Civil Engineers decribing a 1½ mile tourist trail looking at the ten bridges of the River Trent, most of whch we saw today.
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| The start in Sconce and Devon Park |
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| Queen's Sconce is an earthwork fortification that was built in 1646 during the First English Civil War to protect the garrison of King Charles I based at Newark Castle. It was built using gravel from the River Devon |
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| Royal cannon monument on one of the four arms of the Sconce |
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| Bridge over the ditch surrounding the Sconce, the group examining .... |
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| ... a plaque showing Newark's defences at the time of the Civil War |
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| One of many fine houses in Millgate. Millgate was developed as a dockland area as trade increased along the Trent with houses and businesses mixed together |
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| The local blacksmith in Blacksmith Lane off Mill Gate and a large pile of horseshoes similar to the one in Scarrington |
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| The Watermill, first licensed in 1794, the last of seven on Millgate |
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| Otter Park next to the river - sculpture created by Judith Bluck depicting two bronze otters poised on a large piece of limestone rock |
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The Governor’s House earned its name during the English Civil War (1642–1646). Newark was a Royalist stronghold, and this building became the headquarters for the town’s military governors during the sieges of 1643 and 1646.
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| The Old White Hart Inn in the Market Square dates back to the 15th century |
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| View of St Mary's from the Market Square |
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| King Charles' Coffee House |
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| Civil War statue showing a roundhead and cavalier, one a drummer, the other a soldier |
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| Renovation work at Newark Castle |
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| View of the Trent and the A46 Newark bypass approaching Nether Lock |
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| Train to Lincoln |
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| A 70kW, Archimedes Screw turbine, installed next to the weir in 2020, provides enough power for about 175 homes |
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| View from rear |
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| The King's Marina |
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| Newark Castle from Riverside Park |
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| Barge cutting through the ice near one of the remaining fine warehouses |
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| Grade II listed Longstone Bridge (~1827), an old towpath bridge upstream of the Town Lock. The main flow of the river, by-passing the lock, flows under this bridge and then over a weir. It was built by the Newark Navigation Commissioners, replacing a timber bridge. There used to be a flour mill just downstream. |
