Month: October 2020

County Top 19 – Nottinghamshire

Newtonwood Lane – 205m / 673ft and Silverhill – 203m / 666ft – 12/03/2020

So, after an extremely refreshing beer and a mediocre but welcome lasagne in the Old Thatched Inn at Stanton under Bardon I drove up the M1 in the dark and a heavy downpour, then finding my way through lanes between Tibshelf and and Fackley near Sutton-in-Ashfield. I parked in the rain on the car park of the Carnarvon Pub and went inside briefly with the sole intention to use their toilet facilities but thought it only polite to invest in some liquid sustenance whilst there. By the time I left the rain had stopped and I had already decided on another place to park for the night rather than the well lit, less secluded pub location. Two minutes later I was at a small carpark for the Teversal Trail along Silverhill Lane. There was one other car parked (windows steamed up!) but it soon left. I sat listening to the radio and another car arrived a little later with 3 young men who I guess were there to enjoy smoking something exotic. It took uncomfortably too long, but eventually they did and I set up in the back of the car to sleep.

I woke to clear skies and a frosty sunrise and kicked myself into action, ready for a unique walk amongst my County Top challenge that would cover 2 locations in the same county which have valid claims to be the high point.

The first destination was the top of Newtonwood Lane, near a communications mast site. I set off initially northwest along the lane from the car park then across boggy fields towards Stanley Grange Farm and turning south in the sunshine across more fields to Tibshelf Wharf.

I crossed a main road and then more fields and tracks heading for the communications mast eventually arriving at Newtonwood Lane and the top of the hill just across the road. This location is the “natural” high point in Nottinghamshire, so for a purist like myself it is the true county top.

I descended the hill along the lane before turning right along the Chesterfield Road for about 500m then took steps down onto a disused railway line heading eastwards back in the direction of Fackley. It was easy walking in great weather and I had my trekking poles with me for some added speed. I passed one or two friendly locals and a less friendly dog who would not move or even return to its owner, apparently scared rigid by the sight/sound of my sticks!!

After about 2km on the railway line I reached Fackley and turned off along the road, past The Carnarvon and back along Silverhill Lane before entering Silverhill Wood Park. This area is the site of two former collieries and is now a public attraction with walking trails and some wildlife. The high point is at the top of a hill on a mound marked with a statue of a miner holding a lamp. Whilst this is geographically higher than the point on Newtonwood Lane, it is technically a man-made landscape and not the “natural” county top, at least in my view!! I took the direct path straight ahead up the hill, there was no-one around except a lone excavator operator working on a new path. Although not too high up, there were some nice views around which I enjoyed briefly, filming my video before heading off on the short descent back to the car.

So that was it, 12 tops in less than three days taking my total to 19 and off on my way home with Covid 19 lockdown looming, not knowing when I would next be on the trail….

County Top 18 – Leicestershire

Bardon Hill – 278m / 912ft – 11/03/2020

It took just less than an hour to drive to my next start point, where I parked behind the Old Thatched Inn in the village of Stanton under Bardon. I had decided this was going to be another run as the sun was out, evening was drawing in and I needed to go fairly quickly. So trail gear on I set off up the main village street and through a gap in the houses to pick up the Ivanhoe Way next to some allotments. I followed the path for about 1km crossing the village road again and then across a few fields past a farm to the A511 that I had driven along about 30 minutes before. Crossing quickly in the busy traffic at the roundabout I continued west then turned right along a track which led across fields towards Bardon Hill Wood….or so I thought! There was a path diversion in place around land that had been fenced off for quarrying or some other activity. Of course I followed the diversion around the muddy perimeter for about 500m before I realised that it was going to take me further out of my way than I wanted to go.

It was time to reassess so I consulted my paper map and OS app on my phone to decide on a new route, which meant heading back the way I had come then continuing along the noisy A511 for about 600m further west where I could pick up another footpath skirting fields past a couple of farms to get me back on track, assuming no more diversions were in place. I jogged comfortably along the road, found the path which evidently was going to take me around the other side of the quarrying operation, or whatever was going on.

As I continued along around the boggy perimeter fields I crossed what appeared to be a railway line and my first thought was that this is HS2 and work had already started. I have subsequently researched that Bardon Hill Quarry began an expansion plan in 2015 to triple in size. It is a source of granite and supplied materials for the construction of London Olympic Park. Further along I came to a gate after which I had to cross a mud “road” almost wide enough to be a dual carriageway – this was clearly an access route for some serious machinery (at the time it added to my HS2 suspicions). There was also a sign explaing the other side of the path diversion

I was now into the woodlands around Bardon Hill and followed a more rocky, interesting path as it climbed up gradually more steeply towards the top where I found the trig point on a pedestal rock and lovely clear views all around in the evening sunshine and a little bit of local geological history.

I sat and admired the panorama for a while then set off at a pace retracing my steps down the hill, through the woods and fields, quickly arriving back at the main road. Not relishing the 800m uphill at the noisy roadside I had found an alternative path a short way along on the opposite side between a row of houses and the strangely named Billa Barra Hill which led to a wooded track contouring around another quarry back towards the village. This part was almost as muddy as yesterday’s adventure in the Chilterns and not welcome so close to the finish. I soon rejoined the allotment track behind the houses and jogged back to the car in good time as dusk was approaching, determined to clean up and get in the pub for some food and a well earned pint. That was my 18th County Top done and dusted.