We started our walk from the cenotaph in Bolsover under cloudy skies and strolled down a steep road, following our leaders, Steve and Julie, to turn onto a track bordered by a wild flower meadow on the right and wonderful views around us. Behind us stood Bolsover Castle and before us, in the distance we saw a cricket ground and pavilion and on the far right hand side, a wind turbine easily moving in the wind. Further on we were treated to an aerial display by racing pigeons, wheeling and dipping in the air, their wings seeming to look silvery in the sunlight. We arrived at the Model Village, where most of the houses were overshadowed by huge, mature trees and a number of children were playing on the green.
We continued towards Carr Vale Flash and inspected the sculpture, created by Andrew McKeown in the year 2000. Entitled “Breaking the Mould”, this is the first of 21 sculptures to be found around the country. The work shows a mould, broken in pieces and a large, round seed which has broken out from it. This is a message of hope that from the old, industrial works of the past, new beginnings will appear.
Our path brought us to peaceful, tranquil ponds edged by yellow iris, where a heron was spotted standing below the bulrushes. A further three herons were seen nearby. As the rain fell we turned left over the Millenium Bridge, (the letter M prominently displayed on both sides) to reach the Stockley Trail.
The Stockley Trail was once a railway line used mainly between collieries and sometimes taking passengers from Chesterfield to Mansfield. The Trail and the adjoining nature reserves are on a main migration route and large numbers of birds call in there to feed, during the winter months.
We walked up the hill to Palterton and once again admired the spectacular views before travelling over fields towards the main road. We ended the walk by walking through the churchyard and through the town centre to the car park.
Our 5 mile walk on Sunday 7th July will be led by Trish Law from the Peak Village. New members are welcome to join us. We will be meeting at the church gates at 4pm with our packed lunches.