The 15 Mile Circuit including Shortheath, Overseal, Mount Pleasant, Castle Grestley, Swadlincote, Woodvillle and Ashby

Date:  15th April 2011
Distance: 15.5 miles

Epic walk today so I started at 8:00am.  This is the longest walk of the training so far so I took it at a steady pace.  I strolled through Moira and into Shortheath - there are a lot of new houses being built and renovations going on.  There is a dilapidated sign attached to a lamppost claiming that Shortheath is at the centre of England!  Who knows - might be true but .wikipedia doesn't think so... 

I walked through Woodville and admired the Victorian houses - they knew how to build beautiful. I called in the very handy Co-op store to buy a carton of juice - just to keep me going.  I spotted a lovely mileage marker on the A444 -I wonder if it used to be a toll road?  This is such a busy road - the traffic is relentless - lorry after lorry after lorry.  I wouldn't like to live in one of the houses even if they are lovely with fantastic open views over the countryside out the back.  

I decided to take a detour and headed along Mount Plesant Road into Castle Gresley.  This is a great little place now bypassed by the A444 and it was good to have some respite from the traffic.  Plenty of churches here and I've just read that there was a large brewery in the village.  The best thing in Castle Gresley is, of course, the castle.  The castle is long gone but the motte and bailey are still there waiting to be explored.  It's a short climb to the summit of the hill behind Toons Furniture store and then you have a smashing view of the area from the top.  You can see why the Normans chose this spot - commanding views over the countryside in all directions.  Now the view is a mixed bag - Toons, the railway (which only carries goods trains - such a waste - why o why is it not open to passenger trains??), the A444, new housing estates, Burton-on-Trent and the breweries, fields with sheep and cows, Mount Pleasant and, nestling just below the motte and bailey, is a small hamlet with some Victorian cottages, new builds and a pub (The White Lion).  During the Second World War there was an oberservation post - there is still a bunker just below the site of the castle which you can explore...if you're feeling brave...

After a five minute break to admire the layers of history all around me, and to have a cereal bar and drink, I headed off towards the bright lights of Swadlincote.  I motored along past the large industrial units and stopped off at the Bison depot.  They have a marvellous sculpture of a Bison by the main entrance which I've glimpsed as we've whizzed past in the car and wanted to see it close up.  I bravely sauntered into the yard and a security guard came out to see what I wanted.  After explaining that I wished to have a look at the Bison and take a photo he left me to it.  It was certainly worth a closer look (see photos below).

A golf course and hotel are being built just next door - who'd have thought it...in Swad.  The ground works are being done at the moment on the site of an old mine (new golf course).  I carried on manfully towards Swadlincote past the big warehouses for TNT and a company who make toiletries for M&S and then I was in Swad town centre and...what was this?...the sound of mournful pipes and the sight of American native indians in full feathered headdresses...you just never know what you're going to see on these walks!  Swadlincote was v busy as it was market day.  I bought some lovely looking lemons for D to make some more Lemoncello - mmmm.  Also, called into Greggs - it has to be done.

The rest of the walk was a slog and uneventful.  I just put one foot in front of the other and soldiered on with  two brief respites:  one on the bypass when I left the path and climbed up the hill and watched the lorries trundling past and one in Ashby by the roundabout, again, watching the traffic and the pedestrians.  I see Pippa's are having a bra measuring day - the sign says, "Do you know your bra size?".  Yes I do actually - I was measured there last year.  I can highly recommend it...

The Walk to Albert Village by the Sea

Date: 18th March 2011
Distance 7.3miles

So called because when we first moved here, over ten years ago now, when we first saw the lake at Albert Village we came upon it quite unexpectedly and it was an awesome sight...it was huge and bright turquoise with stark, barren banks.  And then there was a small village attached with a new housing estate overlooking the water and speed cameras waiting to catch you out and a pub called Mushroom Hall (why)?  I thought we'd driven into another world - a parallel universe where things are slightly off because someone stepped on a butterfly..

Anyway, the water is no longer turquoise but the cameras are still there and Mushroom Hall are still serving pints.

A good walk today with plenty of sunshine and it was truly warm - t-shirt and bare arms weather - marvellous.  A quick trot to Butt Lane, along Boothorpe Lane and up and down Gorsey Lane which deposits the walker 1/4 mile down the road from  Albert Village.  You have to be quick on your feet to avoid being mown down by traffic on this road as it hurtles along but you're soon over and looking down into the huge gaping chasm that is Donington Island which I have mentioned before.  A tunnel takes the trucks under the road and directly into the bowels of the pit where enormous machines help unload and bury the waste - who knows what they're putting in there...  The whole scene reminds me of old episodes of Doctor Who when the good doctor always seemed to end up in quarries, chemical works and other industrial landscapes.  It's grey and foreboding - here come the Cybermen! 

I walked down the zig zag path and onto the lakeside to do a circuit.  There were a few dog walkers and a couple of twitchers with binoculars and cameras aimed at the birds.  There are plenty to see here, the board mentions a selection of duck varieties, Grebe, gulls, Coots, Moorhens, Kingfishers - over sixty bird types to be found on this manmade, unpromising looking stretch of water.  Indeed, I think the lake is beginning to settle into the landscape now - reeds and bullrushes are growing along the banks and the birds look comfortable and settled.  The gulls in particular are on to a good thing.  They feed at the tip across the road and then fly over to the lake to do all the other stuff gulls do.  I managed to get within 5 yards of a Lapwing - I've never been so close to one and they are beautiful.  There are plenty round here but in other parts of the country they are struggling as their habitat disappears.  I also saw a couple of Grebes doing their courtship dance - weaving and bobbing their heads in unison - lovely.

A quick sit down on a convenient bench to take in the scene and have a drink and then I was off to complete the circuit and head off along the Conkers Circuit towards Conkers and Waterside.  A walk by Ashby Canal and then a swift toddle along the main road back to Moira.  Of course I had a cup of tea on arriving home.

a truck driving into the pit

the barren landscape

the Lapwing

Albert Village Lake

The Noisy Ashby By-pass walk

Date:  11th March 2011

Distance:  6.5miles

Another brisk walk today entirely on pavements and unforgiving tarmac - harsh but necessary.  Walking along the by-pass is not the most pastoral and relaxing of experiences but it gets the job done.  I can cover plenty of miles quickly without deviation, mud or stiles.  The pavement pounding strengthens hip and knee joints. I used my ipod today for the first time this season and, as always,the music lifts the spirits and drowns out the hateful sound of fast moving traffic. Florence and the Machine accompanied me along the two miles into Ashby. Led Zeppelin saw me zooming along the first part of the by-pass to Smisby Road and then the batteries went - doh!  There was a moment of pure pleasure today in spite of the lorries, vans and cars.  As The Battle of Evermore played through the head phones I looked up at the beautiful blue sky and white clouds whilst the sun sparkled and shone.  I'd settled into a fine rhythm and a flock of pigeons wheeled and circled over the surrounding fields.  A small moment of joy.

I walked past the water tower at Boundary and then headed down Heath Lane to Blackfordby.  I sat by the medieval spring for a few minutes and watched the world go by whilst I had a drink.  Then  it  was 20 minutes to home.

The view from the by-pass

Smisby from the bypass

Beauty in small things

Blackfordby entertainment

Judy's bin

It's all happening in Blackfordby

The Moira Donisthorpe Round

Date:  9th March 2011
Distance:  4.5miles

Fast and furious today - I don't know why.  The sun shone and lo it was good.  An hour and a half and I was back home with not much to report.  A swift walk down the road to The Woodman Pub past the fine and very useful Moira Post Office.  A left turn onto Measham Road and I do believe I don't think I have walked along this road before.  It's a very up and down kind of road so very useful for building up leg muscles. Most of this walk was along pavements so also good for strengthening joints ready for the charity walk on 1st May.  There are some very interesting buildings along this road and some tantalising looking footpaths which I shall explore when I have more time.  Back to the buildings - a mixture of terraced houses, cottages, detached two story houses and bungalows; all ages, shapes and sizes. One of the most intriguing was the Red House (which was painted white).  it has a date stone - 1911 - so bang on for arts and crafts and most interestingly the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris, lived in  The Red House, Bexley Heath.

Our lovely post office - long may it reign

A left turn  at the crossroads and then a walk past Donisthorpe Primary School and then onto the Forestry Commission Land at Hicks Lodge.  A very brisk walk up to Horace's Seat with the most fantastic views today then down the hill and home for a nice cup of tea.  Not many people about today - not even dog walkers but there was evidence of horse riders having climbed the hill to my view point at Horace's seat. The cycling centre is nearly finished  - the diggers are doing the landscaping at the moment and it is due to open at Easter.  The daffodils along Willesley Woodside are almost open now.   Another week and they will be a delight to walk by.

The Smisby Round anti-clockwise

Date:  6th March 2011
Distance:  6.5miles

The walk didn't start promisingly, the weather was grey and cold, but by half way the sun came out - huzzah. It was warm for the first time this year.  I walked down Ashby Road into town past the bullocks who are quite a size now.  They always look up and watch me go by and I'm glad there is a thick hedge between us.  I once watched the farmer arrive to check them.  The bulls charged along the fence following him; bucking and leaping as they went.  That's a lot of animal throwing itself around. In Ashby I  nipped into the Co-op for water (forget to bring some) and then headed up Smisby Road.  The milk factory never stops.  It can't be much fun living near it with tankers and lorries constantly entering and leaving.The old mental hospital's roof is still covered in tarpaulin since the fire a few months ago and over on the left the new industrial estate is still half empty.  I crossed the bypass quickly - no strolling here - and headed up the b-road to Smisby.  On the right is a small woodland owned and managed by the Woodland Trust and on the left a field with a heard of highland cattle munching hay and tossing their fringes out of their eyes.  I had a close up view of a Buzzard.  One landed in a tree just by the road and I hadn't realised quite how big they are - they're huge.  buzzards
Smisby village is beautiful.  There are some lovely old buildings - cottages, farm buildings and a good pub (The Smisby Arms).  If you have too much of the hard stuff there is still a lockup.  Then it was out of the village and by the Bluebell Arboretum.  This is a great place if you love trees.  They have a tree called the Honey Tree and, guess what, it smells of honey - lovely.  The lane crossed over the bypass and then the road dipped down to The Tap House pub where the smell of the carvery dinners wafted over the fields.  Then a right turn to Boundary - and across the fields to Blackfordby via the pig houses.  No pigs out today.

felled tree

a sign

The Smisby lock up

The church

They're free!

Which way now?

The lovely doves from above...

One last lovely sight today - I looked over to St Margaret's Church steeple to see doves cooing and roosting.

The Walk to Boothorpe and Beyond

Date:  3rd March 2011

Distance: 4.5miles

A walk taking in the delights of Boothorpe and the great big hole in the ground which I thought was clay extraction but was actually opencast coal mining - what a blot on the landscape.  Still - some nice walking.  The weather today was grey and very cold.  There wasn't an inkling of any sunshine and even the birds were lying low and keeping quiet.  After the walk across the usual fields to Boothorpe I turned left and headed down a green lane.  There have been many changes round here. The paths have been cleared of brambles and nettles, there are new signs, fences, gates and, most spectacular, thousand of trees have been planted.  They stretch all across the fields towards the site of Norris Hall on one side and up to the edge of the mighty hole on the other. I decided to leave the green lane and explore.  I ducked right off the path, traversed the mud and entered an expanse covered in trees - all a foot high.  I think I could see beech, birch and oak but it was hard to tell as they are just bare sticks stuck in the ground  at the moment.  I walked to the edge along wide grassy paths and peered into the murky depths of the abyss.  Far below me refuse trucks were discharging their loads whilst giant machines shovelled the rubbish into the gaping grey mouth of the tip.  Very reminiscent of Sauruman and his Orcs ravaging the trees of Fanghorn Forest except here, as soon as the land is being reclaimed, trees are being planted and not torn up.  Eight million tons of coal were extracted from here - yes, eight million tons.  It's hard to imagine the scale of the operation and yet it was all happening cheek by jowl with farming and villages and normal life. See the mighty hole in the ground .

I followed the grassy paths past more new trees and pockets of woodland and hedging that escaped the  mining destruction.  It was very quiet here - not even dog walkers seem to venture this far - a haven for wild life.   I descended to Rawdon Road  where the path emerged  amongst signs of coppicing and repair work to to the footpaths.  The National Forest company has been busy here.  There are notices warning visitors not to nick the freshly felled wood....

I trotted across Rawdon Road as the cars take no prisoners on this stretch and walked along a section of the new The Conkers Circuit

I then returned to Gorse Lane (the green lane which heads back to Boothorpe).  Just by the lane is a collection of ramshackle, prefab buildings which are now private houses but at one time this was the local sanatorium (or so I've been told - not been able to check this).  The path then makes it way back to Boothorpe, the lane gently rises and falls, a rabbit hops off into the undergrowth and birds are busy  in the hedges.  A short walk through a field with fierce looking sheep, another field with skylarks, a inpassable path forcing some traversing of fences and a brisk walk down Blackfordby Lane.  Another walk completed.

The new trees

More new trees

The mighty hole

Signs of spring

The prefab houses

The fierce sheep

The very muddy path

The Adjustable Blackfordby Round taking in Woodville and Boundary

Date:  2nd March 2011

Distance:  5 miles

I finished work at lunchtime today and the sun was shining so it was a perfect time to do a walk.  I'm increasing the mileage this week as the muscles are warming up and time is marching on. 

I wasn't sure which route I was going to do so it was quite exciting leaving the house without a plan.  The weather was cold with a light breeze but the sunshine was lovely and there was a promise of spring in the air.  I tramped across the fields to the hamlet of Boothorpe and instead of veering off along Boothorpe Lane I went directly into the hamlet.  It's a pretty little place with an old hall, a farm and a few cottages - a bit tatty round the edges but all the better for it.  Next it was a walk along an old path once used by miners on their way to the pits at Rawdon, Donisthorpe and Oakthorpe.  This path skirts the most enormous hole in the ground which was created by the local clayworks .  The clay from this area makes particularly good drains.  Not the most glamorous of products but, I think you will agree, one of life's essential items. The hole is now being rapidly filled in with rubbish from exotic locations such as Birmingham.

The path became very muddy as I progressed across the fields towards Woodville.  Clay was much in evidence and now my trainers are full of the stuff.  This section of path has scared me in the past.  I once came across a dead, bloated cow next to the path and had to steel myself to walk by it.  I avoided that route for quite a while. This whole area is a mixed bag of farmland, derelict factories, new housing estates, new recreational footpaths and lovely old Victorian houses and terraces.  The derelict factories and wastelands are gradually disappearing as the builders move in to "create desirable residences over three floors."  A bit of road walking next along the A511 to Boundary.  The footpath was narrow and the juggernauts hurtled past blowing dust and fumes into my face.  It wasn't pleasant but there are some interesting house along this road and some enticing side streets to explore . The A511 is up on a ridge and once you leave the main road the land rapidly drops away to reveal fantastic views over the surrounding countryside.  It's surprising how quiet it becomes as soon as you leave the hurly burly of the super highway.  There is a lovely distance marker which I'm sure the car and lorry drivers never notice and there are some beautiful gardens with snowdrops and crocuses - plenty to delight the eye and blot out the noise and pollution.

I then took a right turn onto Heath Lane which turns into Blackfordby Lane.  At once peace descends and I can enjoy the views towards Blackfordby church in the foreground and then, in the far distance, the hills beyond Tamworth.  I took the path which skirts round the back of the church, past a lovely thatched cottage with pretty gardens and then down Strawberry Lane past the hedge train and from there it's the usual toddle along Blackfordby Lane to home.

The miners' footpath

The view towards Hartshorne

The busy A511

The milestone

The view towards Blackfordby

...with short tempers

The thatched cottage

The hedge train