On a weekend which saw the highest temperatures so far this year, I could only manage a relatively short 17 mile walk in the local area. I had been suffering from a heavy cold and struggled a bit for much of the walk. I headed for Hardwick Hall and then Ault Hucknall for some photos of the church. I then headed across the fields to Glapwell and home via the Skegby Track.
My faithful Fujifilm camera had died earlier in the week - probably as a result of water getting inside it on the Sheffield walk last week. I had to make do with an old digital camera that is frankly not too good for landscape shots. In the bright sunshine it was difficult to see images on the LCD screen. It is also too big to carry in my pocket, so I had to carry it in my rucksack, which made me think carefully before taking any shots. Needless to say, I took very few pictures on the walk!
I headed for Hardwick via the Skegby Trail, calling in at the Teversal Visitor Centre, before walking a short way up the Teversal Trail towards Pleasley. I then cut across fields to Norwood Lane and into the eastern pedestrian access to Hardwick Park. I did photos of this section in a previous walk.
In Lady Spencer's Wood, a path leads due north. I followed this. It soon comes out into open parkland, crossing a fine avenue of trees, with a distant view of Hardwick Hall..
Continuing, the path eventually crosses an access road and reaches a T junction just outside the park boundary. I turned left and followed the path through woodland until I reached the bridleway from Ault Hucknall. I turned right towards Ault Hucknall. In the distance, the church and the small settlement were immediately in view. The day was quite hazy, so distant features were hard to pick out in any detail.
The church itself is surrounded by trees and difficult to photograph. This view was taken from the gate at the entrance to the old graveyard.
The western end of the building is known for its Anglo-Saxon carvings, seen here just below the central window.
Here is a close-up. According to a notice at the entrance to the churchyard, the carvings are about to undergo restoration. The meaning of the carvings is subject to debate.
From the back of the churchyard, there are long views over towards Palterton and Bolsover.
Here is a view of the church from the north west. It sits on a small hill, squeezed between a farm and a cottage.
I then walked back past the church and along the road towards Rowthorne. It was so warm, it seemed almost like a beautiful summer's day - apart from the lack of leaves on most of the trees.
This is a view from the lane, across newly-ploughed fields to Rowthorne, another very tiny settlement.
...and looking northwards from more or less the same spot towards Bolsover and Palterton. Bolsover Castle is just visible on the horizon in the centre of the image. The houses closest to the camera are in Glapwell.
I followed a footpath north east from the lane to Glapwell. I then followed the main road towards Pleasley. I then turned south along Longhedge Lane, which runs down past the old Pleasley Collliery site - now a nature reserve. I paid a brief visit to the site to take this picture of the lake, with the old colliery chimney in the background.
I then joined the Skegby Trail and headed for home.
Hopefully, I will have a new pocket camera by the time I do my next walk.
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