Day 3: Belper to Shardlow (31 km)
The first round of Storm Babet swept through Derbyshire overnight, depositing large amounts of rain, and leaving leaden skies and further light rain in the morning. We caught the early train back to Belper, which we left via a pleasing path from the Coppice Carpark. This took us over hill and dale, till we could see Milford and its soaring mill chimney below. The Way then drops down to the famed and historic Holly Bush pub in Makeney – too early for a drink! – and then on down into Duffield at the Bridge Inn. Here we paused to observe the surging Derwent, already close to overflowing its banks. We walked on past Peckwash Mill and then up into the woods above Little Eaton. Dropping down into Little Eaton, we were greatly strengthened by an “all day breakfast” cob at Barry Fitch’s. To make our happiness complete, the rain eased and disappeared, at least for the time being!
From Little Eaton there are still many pleasures in store, but the conurbation that is Derby stretches ominously ahead, with a dramatic change to the terrain. Hills and woods, indeed any real semblance of valley, are now all but gone, and the rest of the Way is across broad flatlands.
It’s hard to imagine that Little Eaton was once a significant canal port, yet a few port buildings remain, and for a while the Way goes alongside the sorry remnants of the canal, although one has to search to find it. It then reaches and goes under the noisy A38, a far cry from the rural tranquillity we have enjoyed in the past two days. We crossed the billiard-table-smooth Talbot Turf land beyond, and a passerby warned us – the river is rising and by evening these fields will all be flooded!
Working through the clustered buildings of Darley Abbey Mills we came again to the river, and the recently installed footbridge, replacing the one previously condemned. Here the river surges over another massive weir. We passed the Darley Abbey pub, the last remnants of the old Abbey itself, before climbing to follow the park’s upper edge. A little more walking took us under the A52 and to the old Silk Mill, the most southerly point of the World Heritage Site. Up the slope towers Derby cathedral, with the lonely statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie in between. We paused at the Silk Mill, now the Museum of Making, but chose not to be tempted by its coffee shop.
It’s hard work marching out of Derby, with the industrial zone of Pride Park alongside, the numerous concrete road bridges to go under, and unyielding tarmac beneath the feet. But fields opened out again, and the land lay flat all around. Little rain showers attacked us, and the swollen river, now deep and wide, surged alongside.
Some miles after Derby the Way angles away from the river, across low-lying fields. These were already filling with water. We jumped from tussock to tussock, advanced and retreated, tried this way and that, and eventually succumbed to wet feet. Again we met a dog walker, who told us that the floods would peak that night and we were through just in time. Happily, we reached the one-street hamlet of Ambaston.
After further uneventful road walking, with the cooling towers of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station emerging in the distance, we finally entered the Heritage Inland Port that is Shardlow. We found the dreaming canal, and completed in its company our last long mile, to Derwent Mouth. The serenity and wonder of this confluence of waterways – Derwent, Trent, and Trent & Mersey canal – is disturbed only by the rumble of the nearby M1. Returning to Shardlow, we celebrated our achievement, still with damp feet, with a fine meal at the Clock Warehouse.
The next day Storm Babet returned in full fury, with sustained heavy rainfall. The river rose to cover much of where we had walked. The Museum of Making was flooded and closed to the public. Nevertheless, we had tested and proved the new guidebook edition, and we had delighted yet again in the wonders of our Heritage Way!
