I've never been to Holbrook before. It's a small village on a hill, just south of Belper, and I instantly like it. Look at the view!
And interesting buildings too.
I leave my car to enjoy the scenery and head down Stony Lane. Good thing I didn't bring a vehicle for this bit - there are several signs warning me that This Is Not A Road. I pass a few farms and the back of Holbrook School for Autism and come out on Port Way, just where I left it last time.
A short distance up the road is St Michael's Church, which has a semi-circular window, a secret tunnel, and a sprawling graveyard. The church is closed today.
I'm now back in the centre of Holbrook. I take a left on Mellors Lane and soon leave the houses behind. There's a good playground. I still find myself rating play equipment, even though my boys are far too old for it now!
I cross a couple of fields, then the ground starts to slope downhill, with a fantastic view across the Derwent Valley. There's a square tower on the opposite hill - a church? a water tower?
Soon enough I am right down next to the Derwent, passing the entrance to Makeney Hall and arriving at the A6 in Milford. The King William pub has an old chapel building attached to it, though I don't take a photo because someone is piling bed linen in the open doorway. Once it seated a congregation of 250; now it is holiday accommodation sleeping 20. It looks nowhere near big enough for either.
The village is still dominated by the chimney of the Strutts dye works. The mill was on the other side of the road, and was demolished in the 1960s.
Having got down to the river, I now have to climb up the other side of the valley. Sunny Hill is living up to its name - it's a beautiful day - but the angle of the sign gives away how steep the slope is!
 |
| looking down Sunny Hill |
At the top of Sunny Hill I find the tower that I saw from the other side of the valley. That little red water wheel shows that it is on the Derwent Valley Mills heritage trail; the QR code tells me that The Tower was built by the North Midland Railway Company to assist with constructing a tunnel through the hillside. No one is quite sure what assistance, exactly, The Tower provided.
 |
| I'm watching you! |
With that mystery at least partly cleared up, I turn onto North Lane. This track, running along the ridge of the Chevin Hills, is a favourite family walk. There are chestnuts in autumn and I've seen an owl here before. Today the path is fringed with bluebells, and I catch a glimpse of a hare up ahead. I look at the mossy walls and the stones set in the ground: Who laid them? How long have they been here? How many thousands of feet have come this way?
 |
| wall for an old firing range |
Down in the valley, Belper and its red brick mill come into view. Then I'm at the end of the path, and it's time to drop straight down the hill. Wheee!
I originally planned to cross the River Derwent by the sewage works and go through Belper. Then I remembered that I had been disappointed to miss Milford on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. So I follow Chevin Road all the way back to Milford. It's a nice little road.
 |
| looking back up to North Lane |
 |
| Chevin Road |
 |
| railway tunnel |
The Baptist Church is a solid stone building with a nativity in one window and what looks like a preschool in session. There's a primary school a little further along the road.
Crossing the river on the A6 bridge again, I follow the main road for a short distance, then clamber up a steep path which takes me to some allotments. A woman is pulling a small cart loaded with railway sleepers. There's a water harvesting station, mysteriously shrouded in grey sacks.
Slightly back down the hill again, the church is no longer in use. The Strutts were very keen that their workforce attended weekly worship, and provided accordingly. Now the mills are empty, religious habits have faded, and a church seating hundreds is more of a hindrance than a help. Holy Trinity was sold last year.
Hopping Hill is a long line of terraced mill-workers cottages, all solidly built with little walled yards at the front. Some of these yards have more personality than others!
Bridge View has a good panorama of Milford, although the actual bridge is hidden among the trees.
Shaw Lane takes me most of the way back to Holbrook, crossing the path of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way which I walked about a year ago. I enjoy one more view as I eat my lunch. It's been an interesting blend of familiar walks and new territory, with plenty of hills and bluebells. A good trek.
20 April 2026 Holbrook to Farnah Green
8 miles / 13 km
Comments