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| Walk Three:
Dale Abbey to Locko Park East via
Ockbrook and Spondon |
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A great way of joining Walks 1 and 2
into a circular route.
If you've completed Walk 2 to the Carpenters Arms, retrace your
steps into Ockbrook Woods. Cross the road out of the pub and head
straight down the lane. At the junction, follow the road around to the left. The road eventually
becomes a track. Pass All Saints church on your left, then turn
right before the barn, following the 'Midshires Way' waymarker. The track then continues through
two gates and enters the woods.
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A short way into the woods, the path
splits in two. Take the left path that climbs the slope of the hill.
Take care towards the top of the slope - exposed tree roots may be a
trip hazard. At the top of the hill, the path turns right and
follows the field boundary to the left hand side of the hedge. In
the next field corner the path crosses through the hedge over a
stile. Turn right to head up the
next field. Follow the field edge with the hedge to your right,
first uphill and then around to the left. |
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On a clear day, the views from this
stretch can be fantastic as the land rolls away into the Derwent
valley. At the next field corner, look out
for a gap in the hedgerow on the right. Go through the gap, turning
right into the next field. Continue along the right hand side field
edge. The path eventually becomes a farm track. Follow this as it
rounds a copse. Keep to the track as it bears to the right;
almost immediately turn left over a stile to follow the edge of the
copse on your left hand side. |
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Now keep the copse and then hedges to
your left as you cross through several fields and stiles. The path
eventually crosses a field downhill to its far
corner. Here, cross a footbridge and stile into the next
field on the left. Continue downhill along the field edges with the
stream and hedges on your right. Cross a stile, then follow the
field edge around to a footbridge over the
stream. Cross over and follow the right hand field edge uphill to a
stile and the road. Turn left and head up the road into Ockbrook
village.
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Cross over the road onto the pavement. On the
right hand side you'll pass The Royal Oak pub. Don't pass it!
Excellent beer (including real ale brewed in honour of the landlady)
and award winning food. Continue up the hill, passing another pub
(the Cross Keys) and turning right immediately after the pub into a
private road. This is the Moravian Settlement; a row of redbrick buildings
(some now listed) including a chapel and a school built for the
Moravia chrstian sect in the mid-eighteenth century. |
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Look for a public footpath sign on your right hand side.
Turn up the lane between houses. Cross over the stile, and head
straight across
the field to a gap in the hedge. Turn left and follow the path
between the hedges. The path crosses the hedge; continue onwards
with the hedge now on your left. Follow the path as it crosses
three fields with the hedge on your right hand side. The path leads
to playing fields; bear right here onto a track and continue to the
junction of Dale Road in Spondon. Cross the road and turn left.
Carry on over Wood Road, past the shops, over Huntley Avenue and then turn right into Sancroft Road.
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Turn right by the side of house number
100 onto the signed public footpath. With a hedge on your left,
follow the path downhill and across a field to a farm track. Turn
left and almost immediately right to cross a stile to the left of a
gate. Continue down the right hand side of the field and cross the
stream via the footbridge. Aim for the top left hand corner of the field. Cross the stile and turn right along
the road - beware of traffic - leading to the lay-by and South Lodge
of Locko Park. |
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