Springtime walks: Croxden Abbey and Shining Cliff Woods

It seems to be taking a long time to get properly warm, this spring. But suddenly there are flowers everywhere and the world has turned green. We had to go and see it all.

Croxden Abbey

800 years ago, there was a community of 70 monks at Croxden Abbey, hidden away in a beautiful nook of Staffordshire. Now there are peaceful ruins, carpeted with soft green grass. It was hard to imagine the space filled with busy worship and work.

Croxden abbey cloisters

the west door of the church

We had parked at the village of Hollington and walked down the hill, playing a game of spot-the-animal. In just a few short fields we had seen sheep, cattle, horses, alpacas, rabbits, a dog, and even a donkey. We decided we only needed pigs to make our farm animal collection complete!

It wasn't a long hike - we probably spent just as long eating snacks and playing hide and seek in the abbey ruins, as we did walking. Our return journey took us past a few horses, but sadly no pigs. We followed an old Roman road (now tarmacked) back to Hollington, where we removed ourselves from history and jumped into our very modern car.

Shining Cliff Woods

It's bluebell season! Usually that means a trip to Calke Abbey, but this time we decided to venture a little further afield. Shining Cliff Woods are just off the A6 between Belper and Cromford. They certainly lived up to their name on a surprisingly warm April day. The sunshine picked out startlingly green leaves, enthusiastic streams, and yes, the gorgeous colour of bluebells in bloom.

We had paused at a direction sign when some people came past and said, "Go that way, it's more interesting". That way took us up to a small reservoir, built to supply power to a wire works in the valley below. It had a No Swimming sign which I suspected many people ignore - it looked a perfect place for a wild dip.

Further on, we passed a hostel and a fire circle tucked under a rocky outcrop. Graham had read about a 2000 year old yew tree at the other end of the wood, so we set out to find it. After a decent hike we found it - a broken stump, with two tiny yew saplings bravely carrying on the family line. Definitely not the enormous gnarled tree we had been expecting!

Theo and I by the stump

Fortunately the path back down the hill turned into a stream, which turned our walk into an exciting hop from rock to rock. The boys forgot their disappointment as they splashed their way down as fast as they could.

We came back through the derelict remains of the wireworks factory, which closed in 1996. This blog is worth a look if you like photos of deserted buildings - they obviously had a good time exploring the wireworks. Most of it is securely bricked up now, to prevent entry. So here's our attempt at a family selfie instead.

Comments

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog