After the hottest day of the year, the drizzly grey skies that greeted us at the start of the walk at Pentrich were a bit of a contrast. The weather improved as the walk progressed and the “gentle undulations” afforded some lovely views towards Fritchley, with Crich Stand in the distance.
We learned about the Pentrich Revolution of 1817 and the Butterley Gangroad Rail Tunnel, which is the oldest railway tunnel in the World, all whilst negotiating many styles of stiles and 2 fields of curious cows.
Post walk refreshments at the Dog in Pentrich were most welcome.
Our March walk proved to be considerably drier than our February excursion, and on much firmer ground, when we set off on our third Nottingham City walk.
Starting from the High School tram stop, we set off through the Arboretum, pausing to hear a bit about the history of Nottingham High School, which was founded as Nottingham Free School in 1513.
We then followed the route of the Inclosures of the 1840s, along Elm Avenue and Corporation Oaks, gaining height to the reservoir at St Ann’s Hill, where there are good views to the south and west of the City.
We were nearly derailed by the planned coffee stop at the Chase community centre being closed, but found a good café in the rejuvenated Sneinton Market area.
Continuing to Sneinton, we paused at Notintone Place, at the birthplace of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. The house is tucked away out of sight, but we were spotted on CCTV by the site manager, who very helpfully opened up so that we were able to have a look round the museum.
Continuing via Green’s Mill, which is currently minus its sails, we carried on through Sneinton, then finally following the railway back to London Road and the Nottingham – Beeston canal, noting on the way the large amount of building work for new student accommodation.
Our City walks have opened up areas which were previously unknown to many of our members, and combined with good public transport, there are many possibilities for an interesting half-day.
Our Medium Length walk on 19th February was a 7.23 mile walk which started at Aslockton and took in the River Smite. The weather stayed fine and mild for us, but there was a lot of standing water and of course a lot of mud, coming towards the end of a very wet winter.
What should have been a 6.5 mile walk turned out to be slightly longer because of diversions around standing water, which sometimes resembled ponds or even lakes.
We were all in a jovial mood despite the conditions and we managed to find some benches for our lunch break.
We walked through the picturesque villages of Thoroton and Orston, along a route that followed the River Smite in parts.
We did spot a Red Kite at quite close quarters, not something we often see around the Nottingham area.
All in all, this was an enjoyable walk, if slightly challenging at times! Everyone, though, was pleased to slip out of their muddy clothing and have a well earned drink in the Cranmer Arms.
The start of the new year found 24 of us taking part in our latest City walk photo quiz, looking for a total of 28 building and architectural features scattered across the City Centre area. Some of the features were quite difficult to find, and the winning team was decided on a tie-break question.
As we have found on our previous events, there is a wealth of features to be seen around Nottingham, but generally they are only noticed when looking upwards or walking slowly!
We concluded with the judging and eating taking place at the Three Crowns pub on Upper Parliament Street, where the buffet proved to be very welcome, and slightly too much for even our seasoned eaters!
We are planning another in our series of City walks, probably in March, which will take in areas towards the east and south of the City Centre. In the meantime, our next walk will be on Monday, 19th February.
If you enjoy walks of around 6 – 7 miles and are not currently a member of the group, just use the contact form below – new members are always welcome.
Our last walk of 2023 took place yesterday, at the Idle Valley Nature Reserve, near Retford. The weather was remarkably good for November, and this was an interesting walk to end the year. Thanks to Steve and Anne Lawrence for organising this walk. The photo shows us near one of the lakes within the reserve, slightly muddy by this stage of the walk.
Our first walk of 2024 will be a City walk and Photo Quiz in January, with lunch afterwards as an added incentive.
More details in the New Year. We hope that new members will continue to join us, but in the meantime, if you no longer want to be a member of the Group, just let me know via the website.
