Sue and Katie were going shopping, so Bertie and I headed into
Derbyshire for a short walk. I had found a circuit around the canals and
tramways of Codnor and Ironville some time ago and never got around to it.
We parked in the carpark beside Codnor reservoir, and set off up the disused Cromford canal heading into the village.
The track passed the remains of a long lock, before climbing across it.
In the village of Ironville we turned up a street though the Codnor park estate
to pick up a private road at the end
This road mutated into a track and then a dirt road, as we headed for Castle
farm and the remains of Codnor castle.
The views were generally obscured by the hedges, however there were occasional
viewpoints.
Codnor castle (ruins) appeared in a field to the side, as we took a track down
the hill
Looking back up to the ruins - we could have walked along the other side of the
hedge it seemed from the bottom, but the ruins are segregated from any close
encounters.
The track changed once again into a foot path as it crossed the side of some
fields at the bottom of the hill, before disappearing ingo some woods.
Leaving the woods at a bridge over the double railway, a climb up and down.
Back into the woods on the other side, until we reached the disused Cromford canal once
again, crossing it on a low planked bridge/ crossing.
Then back up what would have been the towpath, until reaching a weir beside the
village of Jackdale.
We swapped the canal for a tramway, that linked the canal and several industrial
units when they existed, and walked through a park and up tot he main road in
the village.
We continued up the old tramway route (now a housing estate road), before we
could drop back down to cross over into the woods of Pye Hill.
The track climbed into the woods and meandered around heading towards the
village of Jubilee.
A few more zigzags and we came out in the village and followed the road downhill
to Pye Bridge. Luckily there was a wide pavement as there was a lot of traffic
whizzing past.
Under the railway lines once again and into the village. The description we were
following suggested a loop here to pick up another disused canal path (Pinxton branch of Cromford canal) at the
railway, however the map has changed and we did a loop of the local dog walk
fields before continuing up the road
We picked up the canal path where it crossed the road and followed it beside the
sewage works.
The track continued on the level and entered Ironville under a road bridge.
The canal formed the boundary of the village and we passed a car park behind the
church, before continuing into the woods beyond.
The track emerged onto Codnor lake opposite the car park, and a short walk around the end past all the birds grouped in species.
Back t the van and home for lunch.
