Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Somewhere between Marchington and Uttoxeter, the wiggles of the River Dove stop wiggling west to east, and start wiggling north to south. If it went in straight lines, it would make a right-angled bend. As I'm following the river upstream, this was my last section walking west. After this it's north to the Peak District and Dovedale. here the Dove swings north The main walk of this section was all on the south side of the river. But I also did a separate, shorter walk, to explore the village of Doveridge, and the old Dove Bridge which is tantalisingly glimpsed from the A50. Walk 1: Marchington to Uttoxeter I liked Marchington even more as I arrived there for the second time. I parked opposite the village shop - noting the "ice cream" sign outside for later - and near the brick-built St Peter's Church, with a war memorial built in above the door.  A few streets took me to the other side of the village, where I found a path alongside a stream, then across some hay m

This next section involved rather a lot of road walking. Even when footpaths existed, they tended to be overgrown and unpredictable, so that I was glad to get back to a bit of tarmac. Still, there were some sweeping views across the Dove Valley, a bit of geology, and a pretty postbox topper in Scropton. Walk 1 - Tutbury to A515 I returned to Tutbury picnic area on a Sunday afternoon, to continue heading west along the Dove. After Hatton, the next bridge is Aston Bridge, carrying the A515 over the river, and that was my goal today. I set off along Old Scropton Road, which gradually turned into a footpath. The Dove with ominous clouds There was a footbridge over the railway line, but the path continued on the same side, too. I followed it across a field of sheep and reached a level crossing. By this time there were frequent rumbles of thunder overhead. As I got to the road, the rain came down as if someone had turned on a tap. I'd hoped I might have reached a bus shelter or something