Autumn Footprints 2017 - Week One
w/e 17 September 2017
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

The OpeningIt's the time of year again for another sixteen days of guided walks in the Autumn Footprints Walking Festival in Amber Valley and Erewash. The event was opened by the Mayors of both Councils, pictured here with Marion Farrell (Healthy Lifestyles Co-ordinator at Groundwork Creswell, Ashfield & Mansfield) who is instrumental in organising the Festival. After opening speeches by both Mayors, the volunteer Walk Leaders were presented with commemorative badges at the Shipley Country Park Visitor Centre before many of those present gathered outside for the short Launch Walk around the Park.

Assembly

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of Autumn Footprints and whilst the majority of those years have enjoyed good weather, it seems to have become a tradition recently for the opening walk to be conducted in rainfall. This year was no exception and a heavy shower started just before the assembly outside the Visitor Centre and continued for at least the first half of the walk.
Dark Sky

It did brighten up later and this photo taken shortly before midday shows the clearing skies. This was at about the halfway point of the walk which took us over newly opened paths in the part of the park that has been reclaimed from the recent opencast workings.
Route Map
Amber Valley

By Tuesday when I joined up with a group to walk "In the Footsteps of the Pentrich Rebels of 1817" around Pentrich it was a much better day and we paused several times to enjoy the views of the Amber Valley as well as to hear about the Pentrich Revolution.
Pentrich Plaque

The walk was the first of five in the Festival led by the Pentrich Revolution Bicentenary Group and pointed out many of the locations associated with the uprising. There are many plaques in the area highlighting these locations, this one at Buckland Hollow indicating that Widow Hepworth's Farm, where a servant was accidentally shot dead, was near here.
Route Map
Crich View

On Wednesday I joined up with the Horsley Woodhouse Walking For Health Group for a walk on footpaths and bridlepaths that give a "different perspective of the surrounding villages and countryside." One of those perspectives was to the north and the distant memorial Crich Stand on the horizon (just right of centre on the high ground in this view).
Golf Course

The walk also took us over the nicely manicured fairways of Horsley Golf Course but as we passed the lovely beds of wildflowers, I wondered how many golf balls will be found once they die down.
Route Map
Ripley

Thursday saw me back with the Pentrich Revolution Bicentenary Group for their second walk in the series which this time although touching on the same route as the Tuesday walk at Butterley, was centred on Ripley. The walk started outside the Town Hall in the Market Place in Ripley. Ripley is now the main town with Pentrich just a small village nearby but at the time of the Revolution the roles were reversed with Pentrich having the more important role and Ripley being the adjacent small village.
Butterley Reservoir

From the centre of Ripley the route took us down the hill via Hammersmith to Butterley Reservoir before returning via Carr Wood. I took a similar photo of the reservoir from here on Tuesday where the two routes overlapped but it was a much duller day then and it looked much better on Thursday.
Route Map
Cromford Canal

On Friday I chose another Walking For Health walk and travelled to Holloway for a walk along the Cromford Canal and Lea Woods Nature Reserve. This photo shows the group crossing the canal and about to enter Lea Wood. Someone has gone to the trouble of decorating the windows in the derelict building with pictures of wildlife.
Lea Wood

The walk to the canal had been downhill from the start in Holloway but the return through the wood followed a gently rising path through the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Nature Reserve.
Route Map

The third Revolution Walk was on Saturday and was a short walk at Alfreton and again looked at some of the locations associated with the Rising of 1817 but I took a break over the weekend, and resumed more of the Autumn Footprints walks on Monday in Week Two.
Forward to Autumn Footprints 2017 - Week Two

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