New Walks in Central Nottinghamshire ... and Beyond

Start:  Red Brook Finish: Crowden Distance:  9 miles Total Distanced Covered:  15 miles The first morning of our walk and I was up at seven o'clock.  Breakfast  was nothing more than a drink called Rise and Shine, as I recall this was a powder that you mixed with water to make an orangy drink. After dismantling the tent we set off at nine o'clock out of the valley from the brook, immediately climbing steeply up to the Kinder Plateau to rejoin the official Pennine Way route.  We were soon going down again, leaving beside Kinder Downfall, a waterfall.  We sat nearby and got chatting to a warden from the Peak District National Park. The next stage saw us climb again to moorland and marsh on Bleaklow.  The conditions were pleasant and the path easy enough to follow and quite springy underfoot.  We had lunch on Featherbed Moss at 1.30. Many people find the section across the moors to Featherbed Moss tough but I didn't  have an...

Start: Edale Finish:  Red Brook Distance Covered:  6 miles After making our preparations the summer holidays arrived and we were ready to go. So it was that on Saturday 14th July 1979 my parents, sister and myself set off from our home in Nottinghamshire at 2 o'clock.  At around half past three we reached Edale and at 3.55 said goodbye to my mother as we began our epic trek along the Pennine Way. My father had decided that it should be a gentle introduction to the walk so the first day was a relatively easy six miles.  The previous year we had walked across the plateau near Kinder Scout.  I remember it being a real struggle going over the peat cloughs and heather and hadn't been relishing the prospect of renewing the acquaintance.  The return visit wasn't anything like as difficult and I think we must have avoided the worst of it.  It was still quite testing terrain to face first up and after two hours reaching the Kinder plateau it took ano...

In the summer of 1979 I walked the Pennine Way when I was eleven years old, along with my father and my sister who was nine.  The Pennine Way is the oldest and most famous long distance footpath in Britain running for 260 miles from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders through the Peak District, Pennines and Cheviots. I don't remember exactly when we decided to walk the Pennine Way but we had been told tales from when my father had walked it as a young man not long after it had been established. I also don't remember much of the planning for the walk.  We did one training walk of about five miles but that was it.  I do, however, remember quite a lot about the walk itself even though it was forty years ago.  I took a notebook to record a diary but only kept it up for a week.  The rest of this account is from my memories of the walk. For some reason we didn't take a camera so there aren't any photos from the walk itself. We all had ...

A circular walk starting from Farnsfield and going to Bilsthorpe taking the direct but lesser used route across arable fields, returning along the Southwell Trail, a disused railway line. I hope to publish more detailed directions soon anyway but they can be provided if you contact me. Distance: 7.2 km Map of Route From the Co-op entrance turn left along the Main Street crossing Tippings Lane.  Just after the Rustic Crust pizzeria cross the Main Street and turn up New Hill.  Go past the village centre and library.  At the top of the hill continue straight on over two crossroads, passing the tennis club.  600m from the Main Street the road descends and you leave the village.  Climb out of a dip where the old railway line crossed and then go down to automatic gates across the road.  Go through a smaller gate to the right to enter the Hexgreave Estate. Keep going straight on along the road, which has very little traffic, for 600m to a junction. Loo...

A linear walk from Southwell to Farnsfield.  The first mile is alongside the River Greet to Maythorne, then along a quiet road to Kirklington and across fields to Farnsfield. More detailed directions can be provided if you contact me. Start: Near the Final Whistle pub in Southwell to the north of the town centre and The Burgage.  There is a car park by the Southwell Trail. Finish:  Farnsfield Distance: 9.2 km Map of the Route Brief description of the Route From the car park go to the road and turn left.  Go over the River Greet near the tall old mill building.  Just past the mill turn left along a path which soon follows the bank of the river. Follow the river on this sometimes muddy path for a mile, where the path turns away from the river briefly.  At this point look for where the path goes left through a hedge and rejoins the river.  You see the buildings of Maythorne and can cross the river a little further on to go into Maythorne...

From Farnsfield, through Hexgreave and along roads to Belle Eau industrial park.  Then along tracks and across fields to the top of a hill with fine views and down to Bilsthorpe.  Returning to Farnsfield along the old railway track. Start:  The walk on the map starts from Farnsfield Co-op in the centre of the village.  Since then, however, the Co-op has imposed a one hour limit on parking in the car park and you may prefer to use the car park by the playground on Parfitt Drive a little way from the Ridgeway near the end of the walk. If using public transport you can get the Sherwood Arrow bus from Nottingham or Worksop Distance:  14 km Map of Longer Route Shorter Route Distance: 12.5 km Map of Route From the Co-op entrance turn left along the Main Street crossing Tippings Lane.  Just after the Rustic Crust pizzeria cross the Main Street and turn up New Hill.  Go past the village centre and library.  At the top of the hill contin...

A circular walk from Farnsfield across fields to Greaves Lane returning through Combs Wood and along farm tracks, including a couple of hills. Start: Farnsfield Co-op Start:  The walk on the map starts from Farnsfield Co-op in the centre of the village.  Since then, however, the Co-op has imposed a one hour limit on parking in the car park and you may prefer to use the car park by the playground on Parfitt Drive a little way into the walk. If using public transport you can get the Sherwood Arrow bus from Nottingham, Worksop and Retford or the 28 bus between Mansfield and Newark. The Arrow stops at the Green near The Lion pub and church, and the 28 bus stops at the Green, the Plough pub and Parfitt Drive. Distance 6 km Map of the Route From the Co-op car park on Tippings Lane walk to the junction with Main Street near the Co-op shop entrance. Turn right and walk along Main Street for 600m, on the way crossing Quaker Lane, passing the Plough pub and the Woodberry...