ALLESTREE WALK
ALLESTREE WALK
Allestree walk is packed with interest as it guides you through the Derwent Valley, designated as a World Heritage Site. Near the end of the walk, you visit Darley Abbey. A real gem in this country’s industrial history. Between 1782 and 1840, the Evans family transformed it from a quiet little backwater.
Route Point 1 – Allestree Park Lake was constructed in 1825 for Sir William Evans of Allestree Hall. Tall trees partly surround it and it provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife. The park is the wildest and most scenic of Derby’s parks. In 1955 the nine-hole golf course was converted to eighteen, but is now permanently closed.
Point 4 – Peckwash Mill Chimney is seen at an early stage of the walk. There was a working corn mill on the site in the 13th century. By the 17th century, the mill had turned to paper making under the ownership of Thomas Tempest but also continued to grind corn until 1793. The mill was rebuilt with turbines replacing water wheels, and it became one of the biggest paper mills in the country. A magnificent brick chimney was erected in 1895. But this led to a local man obtaining a permanent injunction preventing the emission of smoke from the chimney. As a result, the business went into liquidation.
Point 5 – The Parish church of St Alkmund stands in the water meadows of the River Derwent. A short distance from the village of Duffield and close to the busy, main Sheffield, Derby to London Railway Line. The footbridge over the line provides an excellent viewing point for the enthusiast and interested spectator.
Point 6 – St Paul’s Church at Little Eaton was built in 1791, with money raised by voluntary subscription. The Lych Gate serves as a memorial to the men who fell in the First World War. Their names together with those who lost their lives in the Second World War are inscribed on plaques inside the gate. Further up the road, the Parish Rooms was originally the National School but is now used for local activities.
Point 10 – Darley Abbey Mills today form part of The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. As a result of the pioneering work of the Evans family. The mills built by Thomas Evans, on the east bank of the Derwent, remain largely intact. Although no longer used for cotton spinning but for a diverse range of purposes.
Point 12 – Red Cow Public House at Allestree was probably in existence in the early 17th century and is shown on the 1737 map. The main body of the present building is somewhat later. Traditionally the pub played a major role in village life and was particularly busy when the village wakes were held. The week began with the patronal festival. This was held on the first Sunday before 20 November, when the death of St Edmund, the patron saint of the church, was commemorated
ALLESTREE WALK DETAILS
Length: 7.25 miles.
Start: Off the A6, Derby to Belper road, four miles north of Derby City Centre. Leave the A6 at Park Lane, which is located on the left, after passing a petrol station and a row of shops. Immediately after turning into Park Lane go to the right down Main Avenue to begin the Allestree walk (SK350400)
Terrain: Maybe a little overgrown in places during the summer during the first part of the Allestree Walk to Duffield. Also, the route can get quite muddy in places. A part of the section of the walk between Little Eaton and Darley Abbey is a floodplain. It may be waterlogged after particularly heavy and prolonged rainfall. Otherwise, this is a relatively easy walk through fields, along surfaced paths and pavements.
ALLESTREE WALK ROUTE
- Walk down Main Avenue and turn right at the bottom. Keep Allestree Park Lake on your left, and follow the path by the side of the lake. At a ‘T’ junction of paths turn right, then left along Evans Avenue. Cross the busy A6 with care. Walk down the pavement a few yards before joining a rough track signed for Duffield.
2. Go over a stile by a wooden gate and continue ahead along a discernable path to reach another stile by a metal gate. Then angle slightly to the right towards Fields Farm that you can see in the distance. Follow the narrow path, identified by yellow paint marks, at the rear of the farm. Turn right through the farm gate at the end of the path and immediately go to the left.
3. Follow the hedge on your left for a short distance, before going over a small footbridge. Once on the other side turn sharp right. At first alongside a hedge and then the River Derwent. On reaching the end of the field, go through a wide gap. To follow a meandering path through an area of woodland. At the end of which you cross a footbridge.
4. Follow a faintly identifiable footpath ahead across a large field, with Peckwash Mill Chimney on your right. Cross two more small fields, angling slightly to the right to reach a tunnel under the railway line. Turn sharply left after passing through the tunnel. Keep close to the hedge for two fields before heading towards a stile in the centre of the next field boundary.
5. After crossing the stile walk around the right-hand edge of the field towards The Parish church of St Alkmund. On reaching the churchyard follow the path to the right-hand corner. Go over the stile, keep straight ahead and turn right along Makeney Road. Keep to the right to pass in front of the Bridge Inn. At the end of the pub car park, turn right along a footpath that runs beside the car park. Follow the narrow path down to a field, turn left and remain close to the boundary of two fields. Continue to the left of Peckwash Mill. Where the path ends follow the mill drive to Little Eaton Bank Road and turn right. After about 350 yards, turn sharp left up Rigga Lane. After a short distance turn right along an obvious path through an area of woodland.
6. Continue ahead along a well-trodden path. Maintain the same direction and keep to the central path as it first leaves and then re-enters the wood. On reaching the access road to Park Farm, turn to the right and walk down Vicarage Lane into Little Eaton village. Walk past St Paul’s Church and turn right down Church Lane. Turn left at the bottom of the lane into Duffield Road. Continue through Little Eaton to the end of Duffield Road, where you go to the right. To follow a path by a line of trees, past Derby Garden Centre and the former Little Chef Restaurant, now Starbucks Coffee Shop.
On approaching a large roundabout, go right down a short lane. Past Ford Farm Mobile Home Park and on arriving at the end of the lane, take the path on the left. To ascend a long flight of steps. Go right along Derby Ring Road, over the railway line and a few yards further on, turn right down another long flight of steps. Follow the path round to the left and go through the tunnel under the road.
7. Walk along an access road for a few yards, to the first of a series of tall marker posts. These lead you across the flood plain along the official right of way. It should be noted that the access road that follows the edge of a series of fields by the river is used by some walkers. This avoids any possible damage to the land, which is used to cut strips of turf. At the end of the fourth field, the access road leaves the side of the river at right angles and a short distance away is crossed by the footpath. Keep on the footpath and head for a stile at the end of the field. This is found about 35 yards from the river, to the left of a wooden fence that juts out into the field.
8. Continue along a well-trodden path, which takes you close to the Derwent. Before keeping straight on where the river bends to the right. Shortly afterwards, the path returns to the side of the river and you walk along an access track until it bends to the right. Here you angle half-left across the bottom corner of a field to go over a stile onto a rough track. You then follow the track to Haslam’s Lane. Where you turn right and walk past the Derby Rugby Club entrance.
9. Follow the road through Darley Abbey Mills complex with care and cross the temporary footbridge over the river. Go to the left and then the right up Old Lane. At the top turn to the right into Church Lane. As the road gently begins to rise, go to the left up Darley Abbey Drive and follow it around towards the church.
10. After passing the church and school, immediately turn right up a tree-lined path. At the end of the path, cross Duffield Road at the pedestrian crossing and continue along Ferrers Way. Take the third road on the right, Cadgwith Drive. Follow it around as it bends to the left. Go to the right at the end and walk up Portreath Drive. Until 75 yards after passing the end of Windermere Crescent, at a cycle path sign, you turn right. Follow the path to reach Allestree Recreation Ground.
11. Leave the recreation ground at the main entrance and turn right. After 75 yards, go to the left, and then left again in front of the Red Cow Public House. After a few yards, turn right at the footpath sign by the church and walk straight down Church Walk to the A6. Turn left and walk along the pavement for a few yards. Before crossing Park Lane and walking straight ahead into Main Avenue the starting point of the walk.