Category: Medium Walks

Medium length walk 23rd September 2026

On this sunny morning, 10 U3a walkers assembled at Riverside Gardens in the historic town of Belper. Dominating the area is Strutt’s North Mill (UNESCO) built in 1804.

Having crossed the Derwent we began a steady ascent out of the town. the Derwent valley coming into view. The Mid Shires Way took us onto the Roman road below Chevin Hill, a tree lined path linking Belper to Strutt’s second mill town of Milford. Near the start of North Road, the trees open up to give a panoramic view of Belper. This was Strutt’s vision for his town, and in the main this is how it remains today. Near the end of this section there was a crashing sound, broken branches and leaves fell and one of our group was hit – by a golf ball. A cry of ‘fore’ was heard, followed by two more projectiles. The first ball had hit John on the knuckle of his right hand, with no serious damage fortunately.

Emerging at the top of Sunny Hill, lunch was taken after first investigating the very tall tower, constructed for waste removal from the railway line below, or as a sighting or semaphore tower. Descending the steep hill, we followed the course of the Derwent back towards Belper, stopping to view the Milford tunnel constructed by Stevenson in 1838. This grade 2 structure takes the Midland Main line under the Chevin hill.

An enjoyable walk 6.8 miles through Strutt’ country.

Dave Kay

Our August walk was a 6.2 miler in the Peak District.  Starting from the mediaeval village of Over Haddon (famous for fasting damsels and home to the inspiration for James Bonds’ M), we descended to the hamlet of Alport, where the rivers Lathkill and Bradford meet. 

Once the hub of lead mining, Alport was an ancient trading route and, according to a wall plaque, has a particular dislike for vagabonds, so we moved onto Youlgreave, where, the Main Street has a 19^th century water cistern; Thimble Hall (the smallest detached house in the World, where a family of 8 lived) and a converted Co-op building that houses the Youth Hostel, where one of our male walkers once slept in Ladies Underwear (the name of the gents dormitory, not what you were thinking!)

Fortunately, the weather was overcast, a welcome change from the recent heatwave and having descended once more to the River Bradford, we took a coffee break before embarking on the ascent back to Over Haddon.  With lunch at the highest part of the walk and then losing altitude again, we had an exhilarating final 20 minutes uphill to the car park.  It’s called the Peak District for a reason!

On Monday 20th July, we completed a delightful 6.79-mile circular walk starting from the Foremark Reservoir Visitors Car Park. The route began by crossing open fields towards the attractive village of Milton, passing through the peaceful surroundings of Lamont Wood. The woodland provided welcome shade before we emerged once more into open countryside, enjoying wide-ranging views across the Derbyshire landscape.

From Milton we continued over fields towards Spurs Bottom, and then headed in the direction of the woods at Repton Shrubs. The scenery became increasingly varied as we entered the fascinating habitat of Hartshorn Bog, where there would have been a mixture of woodland and marshland, but for the dry weather, creating a tranquil atmosphere. Soon afterwards we reached Carver Rocks, an impressive sandstone outcrop that made an ideal place to pause and appreciate the natural surroundings.

The final section followed the shoreline of Foremark Reservoir, with attractive views across the water and opportunities to watch wildlife along the way. We then entered the woodland for the return journey, where the well-shaded paths provided a pleasant finish to the walk before arriving back at the National Trust Visitors Car Park. It was an enjoyable and varied route, combining woodland, open countryside, interesting geological features, and beautiful reservoir scenery. 

Our June walk took us to the east of Nottinghamshire, and the rolling countryside between the villages of Car Colson and Kneeton. Starting from the green at Car Colston, we headed west over the A46 (using the bridge!) and stopped to look at an abandoned farm, deciding that the roof tiles at least looked good for re-use.

We paused at the quiet hamlet of Kneeton, for our coffee stop outside the church. From here, it is a short walk steeply downhill to the River Trent, but we carried on, heading back over the fields to our start point. At our picnic stop, a few of our walkers were attracted by an abandoned hut (ideal for shepherds or a B&B) with convenient old garden chairs.

Back at our start point, we had drinks in the Royal Oak, a pub for around 200 years with a vaulted brick ceiling.

Thanks to John Beharall and Steve Lawrence for planning this walk – our July walk will be at Foremark Reservoir, near Melbourne.

John Tedstone

Over the nearly sixteen years since this group was founded, we have roamed far and wide, but until our most recent walk, we have only ventured into Staffordshire once I think.

So, we set off this time from Branston Water Park (Branston of pickle fame), and having all successfully negotiated the quite difficult access off the A38, we followed a very pleasant stretch of the Trent and Mersey Canal. The Water Park originates from gravel workings, which are still operative. A surprisingly steep climb, although we had been warned, brought us to our coffee stop at Battlestead Hill, with views south towards the West Midlands.

We were too late for the bluebells in the woods this year, and crossing a footbridge over the A38, we came to our lunch stop, once again at the canal side, where a number of narrow boats were moored. We returned to the water park along the towpath, with both the Burton breweries in sight, after an interesting walk. The forecast for the day suggested that we might get wet, but the only rain we met was a downpour on the M1 returning to Hucknall.

Thanks to Steve and Anne Lawrence for organising this interesting walk, and for the detailed directions off the A38!

Our June walk will be to Car Colston.

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John Tedstone