Autumn Footprints 2012 - Week Two (Substitute)
w/e 23 September 2012
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

The injuries sustained by both myself and my wife during the final Autumn Footprints walk that we undertook in Week One of the Amber Valley and Erewash Walking Festival have steadily improved but disappointingly, not sufficiently quick enough to enable us to take part in any of the walks we had hoped to do in Week Two of the Festival. The closest we got to one of the organised events was on Wednesday when we met up with some fellow walkers on the "Breaston MacMillan Walk" as they broke into their circular route at Draycott to enjoy a coffee morning (right) in aid of Breast Cancer Week. The curtailment of our planned walks has meant that the originally intended images from Week Two have had to be substituted by a further selection from the first week of the Festival.

* The coffee morning raised £380 for the MacMillan appeal with possibly a little more still to add. *

Denby Horses

So returning to our first walk of the Festival titled "Denby Heritage" the route concluded at Denby's St Mary's Church which we approached by crossing a field that dipped in the middle to pass through an area known locally as "Soggy Bottom" before rising up to the church. It is with some justification that the area has acquired this nickname for in parts, as some of the party found to their cost, it was ankle deep in mud. It didn't appear to concern the horses in the field although in hindsight it could well have been a warning of the forthcoming mishaps that occurred later in the week.
Breadsall Priory Golfer

Earlier in the Monday "Little Eaton Round" we had paused briefly and been treated to the Tour of Britain cycle race near Duffield but when we later had a thirty minute break for lunch it was at the edge of Breadsall Priory Golf Course and we were able to watch the golfers passing by as we ate our sandwiches.
Little Eaton Land Slip

On the same walk as we neared our destination back at Little Eaton a small diversion was called for to bypass a land slip that had uprooted some small trees on the hillside and obliterated the footpath.
Mac and Mabel

Tuesday took us from Alfreton on the "Romans and Revolutionaries" walk to Pentrich and Oakerthorpe passing Wingfield Manor on the way. After starting through the park at Alfreton we skirted another golf club before turning off to follow a weaving path through a small wood. A delightful little pond in the wood was inhabited by a couple of resident ducks who according to a notice on an adjacent fence rejoiced in the names of Mac and Mabel.
Footbridge, Oakerthorpe

There was another delightful little glade in a valley near Oakerthorpe where a simple wooden footbridge over a brook prevented a repeat of Sunday's mud exploits at Denby.
A Denby Sky

Wednesday's Walking For Health stroll from "Horsley Woodhouse to Denby Pottery" started in fine bright weather but by its conclusion the sky had considerably more cloud in it than at the beginning. This view of the landscape over Denby and to the north from near Horsley Woodhouse shows the start of the transition.
Royal Oak Flowers

A possibility of thunderstorms was forecast for Thursday and although there was a fair bit of cloud at the start of our "Spondon and Locko" circuit, it soon cleared and we were treated to a lovely middle part of the day. Our first objective was Ockbrook and we passed close to the Royal Oak which had a fine display of flower filled tubs, pots and planters on the cobbles and between the tables in front of the pub.
Locko Lakeside

The walk continued to Dunshill and into Locko Park for another picnic lunch and returned to Spondon around the edge of Locko Lake.
Lower Hartshay

Many of the walks we had planned for the second week of the Festival were of a similar nature to the terrain like this near Lower Hartshay and with a swollen and sore knee I thought it unwise to be attempting five mile treks across open countryside on uneven ground and over numerous stiles. This view was captured near the start of the "Lower Hartshay and Heage Windmill" walk, a route that included about fifteen of those said stiles.
Cromford Canal

You Looking At Me?It was near the four mile mark of the same walk that I fell and caused the damage to my knee and half a mile later that my wife was kicked by the pony, the incidents that prevented our participation in the Festival's second week. The final two miles of the walk were along the route of the disused Cromford Canal and only parts of the canal are in water. I suppose we should be grateful therefore that part of the section between the mishaps was one of those where the banks were separated by water otherwise there's no knowing what fate may have awaited us as we passed this beast. Suffice it to say, it only gave us an inquisitive look.

Obviously disappointed at only experiencing half of this year's Walking Festival we are already looking forward to Autumn Footprints 2013.
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