Martha's Marvellous Munchies

The name Belper comes from Beaurepaire , meaning pleasant retreat, and the town certainly lived up to its name on this sunny day. Even the car park had a good view! I started off across the market place and past St Peter's Church. There were three crosses in the churchyard and an unusual Easter garden - I've never seen one like this before. The road went up past a dinky pub, with a view of the old mill, down by the Derwent, on my left. I would be getting a closer look later. mill in centre, above the orange extension The next section was a long straight path squeezed between lots of back gardens. This must have been an old route which had a modern housing estate built around it. I met nobody until, at one point, a lady cutting her hedge, another woman coming the opposite way with a pushchair, and I all converged at the same time. We made way for each other with very British apologies. old gate posts; new houses Eventually the path escaped from the housing estate and crossed mea...

When I was planning the route for this section, I faced a dilemma. Should my outward route take in the beautiful Shining Cliff Woods and the ancient St Margaret's Chapel at Alderwasley, on the west side of the river? Or should I explore the remains of some old tramways and make my way up to Crich, perched high above the east bank of the Derwent? I wanted to do both. But I also had to follow the Derwent Valley Heritage Way along the Cromford Canal. I decided on the Shining Cliff option, and did that loop with Toby. Then, a few days later, I unexpectedly had the chance to do another walk by myself. So I returned to the car park in Ambergate and set off for Crich. All of this rambling only advanced me a couple of miles along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Walk 1: Ambergate, Alderwasley, Cromford Canal There's a large layby on Holly Lane, Ambergate, which is very convenient for Shining Cliff Woods. It gets busy, but Toby and I bagged a space and set ...