Saturday 23rd Oct 2021, 10:30 a.m. start

The meeting place for this walk will be the public car park at Ticknall Village Hall, just off the minor road from Ticknall to Ingleby (SK353240). The public parking is at the back of the car park and is free but there is a box for donations. Toilets were unfortunately permanently closed when we visited in September. For anyone wanting pre walk refreshments there is a nearby café on the Main Street: Scoff and Shop.

The walk will start with a tour of eclectic crags of South Derbyshire, firstly heading down through fields and woodlands towards the Trent Valley and Anchor Church, once the home of hermits, rarely if ever visited by climbers nowadays, but it has become a popular swimming spot if anyone fancies a late October dip. From there we climb away from the Trent Valley, with good views back over South Derby and the hills beyond, skirting round Foremark Reservoir to the nature reserve which contains Carvers Rocks. A picnic lunch will be taken somewhere in this area, bouldering on the soft sandstone optional.

From here we head further southwards and over Pistern Hill which should yield views southwards towards Charnwood Forest. We then return to Ticknall through the grounds of Calke Abbey, exploring some of its industrial past in the form of tramways and lime kilns.

Distance about 20km, no refreshments en route so please bring your own.

Nigel and Janet Briggs