On a sunny day near the end of June, I set out to walk from my village of Findern to Derby Cathedral.
If this had been 1826 or even 1926, this would have been a perfectly normal activity. In 2026, no one spends two hours walking to the nearest city. They drive, or catch a bus. It feels faintly subversive to ignore the more obvious modes of transport and to set off on foot.
Priory Way, the footpath north out of Findern, is on the Six-Inch series of OS maps from the late 1800s. It has probably not changed much, give or take a few electrical pylons. The fields and farms are still there. Butterflies flew over bright yellow flowers of lady's bedstraw; a hare paused to look at me; a squirrel panicked and almost ran over my toes.
After a few miles I came out at Heatherton Pond, greeting its more manicured path with relief. This is now the edge of Derby city; the boundary runs just south of the lake. However, I was surprised at how much more green space I encountered.
A cycle path took me past Derby Moor School. The fields had been repurposed as amenity space but not, until I reached King George's Playing Fields, had much added to them. The park itself is well supplied with football pitches, playgrounds, and skate ramps.
Crossing The Hollow, I wove through a network of footpaths to reach St Peter's, Littleover - a long, low building with a tiny attempt at a steeple. Opposite it is the White Swan pub, at which I have eaten several delicious meals.
Had I been a 19th-century Findernian, I would have continued from the Hollow by following a path (yellow on the map below) that is now streets with various names - Willson Road, Normanton Lane, Carlton Road, Whitaker Road - before finally coming out on the main Burton Road (the Romans knew it as Rykneld Street). Instead I fought my way across the big set of traffic lights on the ring road and found my next bit of green space, Rykneld Recreation Ground. This was a beautiful sweep of grass running downhill, dotted with mature trees. Much nicer than I expected.
On the other side of the park I reached the semis and rows of terraced houses that I had expected to be walking through. I passed the diminutive Dean Street Methodist Church, came out into Stockbrook Park (which used to be a brickworks) and looked up at a tall tower with an odd pointed roof. This was the slightly dilapidated church of St Bartholomew & St Luke.
The terraces continued, interspersed with a few more interesting buildings - an old factory, a former pub, a shop with a good slogan - and then I crossed the inner ring road and reached the centre of town.
I realised I hadn't seen the new Vaillant Live venue yet, so I found that (the back of it, anyway). A grand building over the road was, I discovered, the former Derby Education Department. It's Grade II listed but has been empty and decaying since 2009. Sadly there are several buildings like this in Derby. Sometimes they mysteriously go up in flames.
St Werburgh's Church is more of a success story: disused for many years, it is now thriving again, affectionately known by its congregation as Werbs.
And here's the classic view of Derby Cathedral, looking up Irongate.
Inside, I got my stamp from the helpful greeter, and went to look for the cathedra - the bishop's seat. These seem to be a curiously overlooked part of a cathedral despite, in some ways, being the reason for their existence. Derby's cathedra looks like it is decorated with snakeskin at the top. It may have originally come from a Greek Orthodox church. The Listed Building Record says, "apparently from Asia Minor", and there is a vague rumour that a vicar found it in a second-hand shop in Constantinople, but I haven't been able to find enough information to be sure about that.
Derby Cathedral is also famous for the Bakewell screen, a wrought iron fence dividing the chancel from the nave; the white and gold canopy over the altar (called a baldacchino, if you want to sound knowledgeable); and the monument to Bess of Hardwick. Down some steep steps, I discovered the tiny St Katharine's Chapel. This used to be the vault of the Cavendish family (of which Bess was a member).
I attended the 1pm Holy Communion service with about a dozen others, mostly sitting in the choir stalls. Afterwards the priest said to me, with querying intonation, "I don't think we've met before?" and I struggled to come up with a one-line explanation of why I was there that day.
I walked from Findern. I'm visiting as many cathedrals as I can. I wanted to attend a service. This is my local cathedral so I drop in from time to time. I'm non-conformist by background and tradition, but I've got a soft spot for Anglican churches. Thank you for having me. I'm getting the bus home now.
Derby Cathedral 29 June 2026
7 miles / 11 km
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