If I told you my route today crossed several major highways, wandered around abandoned quarries, and passed a hotel and a dismantled railway, you would probably think I was still in the ex-industrial suburbs of Nottingham. If I told you that I visited seventeenth-century almshouses and a ruined castle, spotted field mice and frisky lambs, and soaked up the sight of bluebells, you might picture somewhere more bucolic. Even though all the things in the first sentence are true, the second one gives you a much better idea of how the walk felt. It's amazing how much will fit into one small piece of Derbyshire countryside. I parked in Little Eaton, which was convenient to get to. It's between Morley and Holbrook, so I started by heading towards Morley. This valley's north-south road has been upgraded several times: I parked on the oldest of roads, crossed the newer one, then went under the A38, which superseded them both. Hopefully that speedy dual carriageway will not itself nee...
I didn't by any means feel I had fully explored the Erewash Valley, but I had completed my planned routes and got some idea of the transport, industry, and general geography of the area. It was time to return to the Portway. There are lots of -leys around here. Smalley, Morley, Mapperley, Stanley, Horsley. The suffix means "woodland clearing", and although there are not many woods around any more, it doesn't take much imagination to think of little villages among the trees. I started in Dale Abbey (or should that be Daley Abbley?) where the monastery once dominated the surrounding area. I've been to Dale Abbey several times but never actually walked through the village before. There is a neatly trimmed pub, an old chapel, now a church known as The Gateway, and a house with an odd lumpy corner which I realised must be part of the ruined abbey. A field path led me up to the main Derby-Ilkeston road. I crossed it and followed a couple of horses along a single-track l...