W/C 12th October 2013 - Ashford-in-the Water Circular, via Longstone Moor

Once again I joined the Sutton In Ashfield Ramblers for a walk in Derbyshire. This one started at Ashford-in-the-Water, doing a figure of eight via Monsal Head, Great Longstone, Longstone Moor and Little Longstone before returning  to our starting point. The weather forecast had been very pessimistic, promising heavy rain all day. In the event, it only rained heavily for about an hour - the rest was very gentle rain, dry or even sunny at times.

We began at Ashford , heading north west along footpaths towards Monsal Head. This is the view as we left Ashford, looking down the hill towards our finishing point by the old bridge.

 Looking back to the south, it was very cloudy, but we experienced little or no rain at this stage.

 The sun came out briefly, just as we approached Monsal Head. The sharp curve of the valley was visible below.

 At Monsal Head, we stopped for a brief break. I took a similar shot to that below when we last visited the area in early June - in bright, warm sunshine.

 Monsal Head was very quiet.

 Here is a view of the old railway viaduct from the main road. We shortly walked down to the left hand end of the viaduct, before following the old railway trackbed to Great Longstone.

 The railway enters a tunnel just east of the viaduct. Here is a view looking west from inside the tunnel mouth. The railway trackbed is now a walking and cycling trail.

 The tunnel is fully lit. Here is a view from around the middle of the tunnel, looking towards the eastern portal.

 Great Longstone Station is now a private property, situated next door to the Thornbridge Hall, which seemed to be undergoing restoration.

 A short way beyond the station, we turned north towards Great Longstone village. Passing through the village, the rain became moderately heavy. This is a view looking down from the church towards the village centre.......

 ......and the church itself.

 We then climbed up onto Longstone Edge. The route we had passed along was below us, including Great Longstone in the middle distance.

 For a time, it rained quite heavily. Here is a view looking west along Longstone Edge towards Monsal Dale from the same spot as above.

 By the time we reached the top, the rain had eased considerably. Looking back south, the view was really dramatic for a while, with dark clouds rushing overhead and sunshine in the far distance.

 Once up on Longstone Moor, the weather improved dramatically. We almost felt sunshine again. This was the view looking south west towards Cressbrook and Monsal Head.

 Monsal Head became much clearer, lower down the slope. The buildings are visible, middle left in this shot, with the V-shape curve of  the valley to their right.

 By now the view south east was very clear. The Derwent Valley is in the far distance.

 We turned south and paused in Little Longstone for a late lunch. We left in very gentle rain.

 By the time we reached our destination at Ashford, the weather was more or less dry again. Here is a view from the old bridge towards our starting point, just up the hill.........

 ..........and the church.

The turnout was not as large as usual for these walks. I guess the weather forecast had put some off, which was a shame as we only experienced a short period of really poor weather. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Many thanks again the the Sutton in Ashfield Rambling Group for an excellent walk.

W/C 5th October 2013 - The Grantham Canal from Grantham to Nottingham

A walk I have planned for several months is along the Grantham Canal - or at least the towpath, since I make no claim to be able to walk on water. The canal once ran from the River Trent at Nottingham, eastwards to the town of Grantham. The last part was closed in the 1930s. It was last used for transferring Nottingham sewage to farms in the Vale of Belvoir. Much is now badly decayed or impassable, but a short section is navigable at the Grantham end and other small sections have been restored to some degree.

The canal walk is about 33 miles, plus a mile or so at either end to get to or from the nearest railway station. Add a mile each way from home to my local station and the overall walk was around 37 miles. I decided I had to do it now or leave it until next year, as I expected to reach the Nottingham end from Grantham just as it was getting dark.

The canal has its own society and web site HERE

I caught the train to Grantham, via Nottingham. Here is the train in Grantham station, about to reverse and head off for Skegness.

 The canal is accessed by heading south west along the A607 Harlaxton Road, from the bridge just north of the station. You turn right into Earlsfield Lane, across the stream and slightly up the hill beyond. The canal starts immediately to the right of the road. The start is pretty grim, but it does get much better! Originally the canal carried on to a basin slightly nearer the town. The warehouses were demolished and the basin filled in during the 1930s, so there is nothing left to see there.

 The canal passes through modern housing. At least it begins to look like a canal though. I saw the first of many swans here.

 There are mileposts every quarter of a mile along the canal bank. These gave me a good idea of how fast I was walking. In general, I seemed to be doing exactly 4mph - though I stopped a lot to inspect the canal features and other things near the canal, which made my overall speed slower.

 For a short section near the A1, you have to leave the canal and walk along the A607 road. The A1 marks the boundary between the urban area and the countryside. Beyond here, the canal banks are heavily wooded. Eventually, you reach Harlaxton Wharf. The canal society run trips along part of the canal from here.

 Every so often you pass a semicircular turning point in the canal, where barges could be reversed. This one contained the Mudlark, a dredger.

 Soon the trees thinned out, giving better views of the surrounding countryside.

 The Lincolnshire Edge finally disappears to leave the canal running along a relatively flat plain all the way to Nottingham. This is the view of the Edge, looking north from the canal.

 Just a little further on, two further barges were moored. The furthest from the camera is the one used for canal trips.

 The first locks are reached at Woolsthorpe, which has a flight of 3 locks. Here is the middle lock, with the adjacent lock-keeper's cottage.

 The Rutland Arms pub is situated here - also known as the "Dirty Duck".

 This is a view of the middle lock from the bridge. This lock is well restored.

 The first view of Belvoir Castle can be see from here. I walked a short way along the lane towards the castle to get this view in the early morning sunlight.

 Beyond Woolsthorpe wharf, the canal is no longer navigable. The lower lock is in disrepair. This was the view looking west from the bridge. This was also the start of the first grassy part of the towpath. Up to here, the path had been very good.

 The canal now had a very neglected air, far from civilisation and very quiet. I might as well have been the only person on earth!

 Belvoir Castle was often visible on the ridge to the south - more as a dark shadow as I moved further west.

 Beyond Muston, most of the the traditional bridges were flattened in the name of progress. What is left of the canal runs through pipes under the roads.

 Much of the canal was covered in green slime. The ducks still managed to swim through it though!

 This part of the canal was very quiet, with few other people around. The swans around here were very possessive of their little bits of canal bank, hissing at me as I passed. This was a large family basking in the sun near Bottesford.

 ......... and another family looking as if they were about to dive in.

 Just before Redmile, another family was out for a swim.By now, the canal had turned south west.

 Redmile is the first village passed through en route. All the others had been avoided as the canal tried to cling to the contours as it meandered towards Nottingham. here is a contrast of old and new - Redmile church and a brand new house next to the canal.

 Looking to the north the landscape was very flat.

 There were a few commemorative plaques along the way - this one for a Lancaster bomber crew. All but one lost their lives when it crashed here during WW2.

 It was still very flat to the north!

 The first industrial canal building I passed was the old canal warehouse at Harby.

 Many of the roads and bridges had signs like this describing the location. This one is the halfway point of the canal.

 Beyond here, several relatively modern swing bridges have been installed, like this one.

 Clark's Bridge is an occupation bridge accessing farmland. It is not quite in original state, but as close as you can get to what the over bridges originally looked like.

 Hickling has a large canal basin, now a distinctive leisure feature in the village.

 Beyond Hickling, the canal quickly disappears under trees, weeds and shrubs. The canal bed is on the left in this photo!

 On the approaches to Cropwell Bishop, another old warehouse came into view. This was a centre for the gypsum industry. The towpath changes from the north to the south side beyond the main road.

 The villages of Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler are passed at some distance before the canal arrives at the Fosse Way - now the A46. Here is the remains of a swing bridge immediately east of the main road.

 There were locks here too - now sadly neglected. At least the newly-upgraded main road has been built with future navigation in mind though.

 The flat countryside continued to the north, as the canal continued to hug the low hills to the south. The soil had become much redder.

 The canal runs north of Cotgrave village, close to the site of the old Cotgrave Colliery. This has now been landscaped. A couple of the locks here have been restored.

 The canal now looks a lot more like a navigable waterway again. It was noticeably wider for a long stretch beyond Cotgrave, towards Gamston.

 At the A52, this came abruptly to a halt though. There was not even a safe crossing of the busy road for pedestrians.

 Beyond the A52, the canal passes by Morrison's supermarket and through a modern residential area. The canal has been partially restored and used as a "feature".

 Beyond Gamston, the canal passes under the main road into Nottingham. One side of the dual carriageway is passed under by the towpath. For the newer carriageway, you have to walk across the road. The canal then swings away from the man road for a short distance, before passing through the back gardens of an older residential area.

 Eventually, you reach Nottingham Forest's football ground and the end of the canal at the River Trent. Unfortunately, it was a bit too gloomy by then to take pictures of anything. I did get this shot from Trent Bridge though, in the twilight.

I then walked to Nottingham station to catch a train home.

On reflection, I really wish I had walked this in the summer. This would have allowed me to take  time to see more of the items of interest en-route. I will probably try and do it again next year when the daylight hours are much longer- perhaps from west to east for a change.