West Stockwith, Misterton, Drakeholes, Everton, and Bawtry

My brother joined me on my walk today, which started down by the River Trent at West Stockwith. We started by exploring the parts of the marina we could reach, then walked on top of the levee for a few yards before continuing through the village.

On my previous walk I was having problems with my camera; I was hoping it might have just been a bit of damp that had got into the electrics. Well, whatever else it was, the camera became useless when the on/off button broke and so I had to buy a new [secondhand] one. Today's photographs are the first ones I've taken with the new camera - I'm pleased with the results; the camera seems to perform well under a variety of conditions. I took a lot of test shots to confirm this.

My brother spotted that the church was open, so we went inside. It's a rather plain building which dates from 1722.

We walked along the southern bank of the River Idle and then through a field of sugar beet, two fields of sweetcorn growing taller than both of us, and across a pedestrian crossing over the railway to reach Misterton. The church there was open too.

We then walked down to the canal towpath which we stayed with to Drakeholes.

[One of my test shots with the camera]

We used some tracks which were new to me to come out onto the road at Mill Lane right at the southern end of Everton and then continued until we reached a point about two miles east of Bawtry; unfortunately we had to walk the rest of the way on the causeway at the side of the busy road.

Clayworth, North Wheatley, Hayton, and Retford

Two consecutive days in the Peak District is a bit too much for me; it's not the walking, it's the getting there and back on public transport that's tiring. So...today I popped down to Nottinghamshire - the weather was forecast to be nicer anyhow. The bus to Retford goes from my local stop and only takes forty minutes, followed by a ten minute wait in the bus station, and then a short fifteen minute trip out to Clayworth. Total expected journey time...sixty five minutes.

Things didn't run to plan, but it wasn't a problem for me though. The number 99 was running about ten minutes late when it arrived at Retford meaning that I might have missed my connection; the number 97 Gainsborough service. However, since the same vehicle is used for both routes I merely got off the bus at the Retford Bus Station, went to the back of the queue and then re-boarded. All in all I arrived at Clayworth only about five minutes late.

I made my way through the village to the church and took some photographs before walking down Church Lane, heading east.

At the far end of the lane I picked up the footpath which led me across the fields to North Wheatley. A section of the route is part of the Trent Valley Way.

There were some good views of two power stations sited on the River Trent, West Burton, the nearer which wasn't generating any power today [I think it might be mothballed] and further away to the south is Cottam.

I entered North Wheatley from the west and walked through the village to reach the church. The church is actually a bit disappointing: it's nothing special to look at and is surrounded by trees and boxed in somewhat by modern buildings - so I found it difficult to find any interesting angles for photographs.

I headed off back in a westerly direction along farm tracks and fields until I reached Hayton. The church here was on the planned route I was taking anyhow.

I then continued down the lane to the canal and walked the final three miles along the towpath back to Retford.

The View From The Summit Of Brodsworth Community Woodland

The summit's not very high, it's a landscaped colliery spoilheap. It does have extensive views though, from nearby Brodsworth Hall, to the Aire Valley power stations, dozens or maybe hundreds of wind turbines both near and far, the tops of the chimney and cooling towers of Keadby Power Station next to the River Trent near Scunthorpe, and finally, the winding gear of Harworth Colliery in Nottinghamshire.

The photographs feature subjects much closer than the buildings on the distant horizon; lighting conditions were pretty good for an hour or so before it started raining and we retreated to the snooker hall at Woodlands for a couple of games of pool.