The River Dove, without the crowds ...

Friday afternoon I went out to pre-walk the Ramblers' walk I was going to lead the following day. It had been wet in the morning but by early afternoon this had stopped and there was a promise of sun .... and shine it did.

Being an Friday afternoon there were likely to be few walkers about and as I was walking between 3.30pm and 6pm, even fewer.

From Alsop Station on the Tissington Trail I followed the Trail north to Alsop Moor where I left the old railway line and turned left down the valley for Coldeaton Bridge. There were Early Purple Orchids on the left and rabbits on the right as I descended. Then further down the valley there was a thick drift of cowslips on the steep, valley side.

The level of the Dove was higher than normal and the brown, muddy, water was really pouring over the weirs as I walked downstream. Lode Mill looked lovely in the sunlight and I took a few photos which are posted elsewhere.

Then I crossed into Staffordshire to walk down to Milldale. On my way a sole fisherman was looking to cast his fly into the murky waters of the Dove - would the trout actually be able to see anything ?

At Milldale, the National Trust Information 'centre' was closed which was surprising seeing as it was only 4.30pm. Coffee was taken on a seat right beside the river as I watched a duck and her seven ducklings forage for food.

A steady climb up from Viator's Bridge beckoned but this didn't prove too hard and I was able to take the photo shown looking down from the bank above Milldale.

I then proceeded along the rim of the dale and took another shot looking down on the weirs where I'd seen the angler half an hour before.

Nothing much happened on the way back though I did have a look down onto Lode Mill from the access land above it. It's surprising how quickly you can climb up from the valley bottom when you're enjoying the scenery.

Next day of course I was joined by 23 other walkers and it was a very different walk. More sociable, not so sunny, but still very enjoyable .... and they did seem to enjoy it.

Shipley Park, near Ilkeston

I was due to lead a walk from Straw's Bridge, Ilkeston, up to Shipley Park on Sunday. And I would have done - if anyone had turned up .....

I'm putting it down to the heavy rain rather than my lack of popularity.

I decided to walk on my own though, in the rain, and it was a really enjoyable 5 or 6 mile morning stroll.

There is usually plenty of wildlife at Straw's Bridge, including the odd rat. Curiosities on Sunday were a Mandarin Duck and a pair of terns flying round the pond.

The route I followed went along the Nutbrook Trail to Shipley Park itself, passing the American Adventure across the other side of a small lake. Even at 11.00am and in the rain there was a handful of people no doubt enjoying themselves.

I had a stop at Nottingham Lodge and enjoyed the view and my coffee.

A few hundred yards later I passed Derby Lodge where I see you can get a cup of coffee though I don't know whether it's open during the week. I pressed on.

At Mapperley Reservoir I followed the concessionary path through the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Reserve before picking up a bridleway which led me in the direction of the start. After following a few more paths and getting my boots mudded up and then cleaned in the long wet grass I got back to the car.

I really enjoyed walking in the rain !

A walk near Chatsworth

Apologies for not keeping you up to date with what I've been doing. [Too busy on my other blog - that's a more personal, topical and provocative one - let me know if you're interested in looking into The Pit].

Yesterday though we went through the bluebell filled woods above Rowsley. The photos I took were slightly disappointing being rather bleached so instead you've got one of the pond on Calton Pastures.

It was a cloudy day and whilst we were walking between 3 and 5 pm there were very few people about though we did bump into someone we know.

It was a lovely walk from Rowsley up Church Lane passing Bouns Corner before we took the Haddon Estate concessionary path through Manners Wood. This brought us out onto Calton Pastures where we walked across the fields, past the tumulus and into the wood again by the bridleway which drops down into Manners Wood. We had a coffee here and having passed through a couple of farmgates on the bridleway watched a cyclist haul his bike over the ladder stile. We were too tired to climb the stile whilst he said he was too knackered to open two gates !

Then we walked down the bridleway which is much drier than it has been before getting back to the car.

No problems - just a beautiful springtime walk in England admiring the spectacular display of bluebells.