INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

Not been with walking friends for over a year due to moving to Sundays. It was a hot day and a few people had dropped out. We stopped for breakfast at the Poppy and pint, a good venue and value for money. Heading out over familiar ground until we got to Holme Pierrepont Country Park. A place with good scenery and long straight paths. Our leader didn't seem too concerned as the group of 20 got strung out. At Radcliffe on Trent we had the option of leaving the walk by bus. Due to the heat and early work commitments, I did.

Somewhere completely new was long overdue even though it required 3 buses. Starting opposite the gold course we headed towards Breadsall via Cloves Hill , Brackley Gate and Drum Hill. It was a great combination of rolling hills, t racks, fields and woodland . Breadsall seemed an upmarket type of place where we stopped for coffee and cake. From there we headed back to the starting point via Broomfield Hall, Morley Church and the Golf Course.

  I started out 6th on the waitlist with 30 people on the walk. Mothers day combined with slight rain reduced the list drastically to 14 on the morning to only 5 people turning out for the walk. I went for the simple reason I'd never been Long Eaton before and it was convenient for the buses on Sunday. We headed along the canal north and turned west onto a footpath that went towards the M1 bridge. The walk was good so far if a little muddy but then a few problems began to occur. 1) The 3 others were too slow for the group leader and I got the not so subtle hint he was getting annoyed by this. Under normal circumstances with a bigger group slow walkers get the memo but not this time. 2) I mentioned in conversation that I started walking with this group at the end of covid lockdown. The conversation drifted towards anti vaccination and other conspiracy theories. I have a very low opinion of these people but couldn't be bothered to argue so ended up walking ahead alone for aroun...

  Meeting in Weatherspoon's for a well needed breakfast it was cold crisp but clear day, perfect for walking. We headed downriver across the suspension bridge onto Melton road, I thought it was going to be a mostly urban walk until we got to an old trainline called the green line all the way to Edwalton.  The half hour stop for coffee was well needed.  We headed past the gold course and followed the canal back to the city as it was starting to get dark. An excellent walk, unfortunately no pictures.

    I had a choice of Strelley on Saturday or Beeston canal on Sunday. Having done Beeston only a few months earlier I opted for the Saturday walk. We met at Strelley hall and headed west crossing the M1.  It was a warm sunny day and a flattish, easy enough walk. We headed south then back to the road near where we started. Had an hour of coffee and cake at Strelley hall then headed home.

  I hadn't previously planned to do this walk due to having covered 90% of the route before in the last year. However after a recent family bereavement I needed to get out the house. It was a hot sunny day but there was a big turnout of over 20. Starting off at Trent bridge we followed the river south towards Clifton.  Had a stop at Owen's beach which in reality was just a big Stoney riverbank. Going away from the river we stopped at Macdonald's for a much needed shade stop. Passing some expensive looking houses we went mostly via road towards Ruddington. We stopped for one drink at the Frame breakers pub before the bus took us back to the city.

  It was a refreshing change to do a walk in my own area, especially after all the travelling of the last few weeks. I'd done Coalville before but it was a slightly different route this time. We headed round Coalville town football ground, I even covered ground I'd never walked on before. It was through the industrial estate to Swannington, where we followed the train line until a blockage caused us to make a detour. Crossed the field to Thringstone where we has a pitstop at the Bulls Head. After Gracedieu ruins a couple got lost and a couple more bailed out of the walk to the bus stop. We were doing far more mileage than planned so it was slightly rerouted going back.  At least the rain held off......................

  I was amazed this walk was even happening, first I'd been on the pub crawl yesterday but woke up feeling ok. Then the heatwave reduced the 30 walkers by the hour to 8 by the time I arrived at the start. To be honest it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We headed north then along a footpath due east, before joining the back of the airport trail. The airport was one side and soulless warehouses on the other. The rest point was Greggs in the terminal before the most interesting part of the walk. It was surprisingly scenic for saying we were so close to the airport with ponds and shaded woodland. There was about a mile of road before the aeropark where loads of people were plane spotting. Then a short walk through the estates back to the start point.

  Halfway between Nottingham and Newark it was a bit of a trek but well worth it in the end. I initially thought we would be doing the ponds and canals but went in the opposite direction. We stopped off for a drink at the Cross Keys in Epperstone before heading back to the starting point.

  The last walk before Christmas, I missed the pre breakfast but was ready to go. It was a 90 minute short walk with no stop.

It was admittedly  a long way to travel just for a walk but turned out to be well worth it. A place I'd never set foot in before so wasn't sure what to expect. A cold, but clear and calm day so no winds to bother us walking around a very flat route. We headed south along the canal, it definitely had a "nice place to sit outside in summer" feel about it. We went around the park and back through the centre of town. Stopping at the Lord Nelson pub.  At Winthorpe we re-joined  the canal and headed south to the starting point. One of the best walks.  

  We met in the Forge mill tea room where the others had a breakfast meetup that I didn't attend.  We headed towards Bestwood colliery, there was a good turnout and the weather was fine for the time of year. I'd not been on many of these walks lately because many of them were now on Sundays where the transport. I'd also got to the point where many of the walks were repeats. It was a flat walk that finished with a lap of Mill lakes.   

  I'd not been on a walk with this group for a while because for some reason they had shifted a lot of their walks from Saturday to Sunday. This is not good since public transport home is poor.  Had to go to Ilkeston via Derby due to traffic disruption and nearly missed the start of the walk.  We headed across mostly flat open fields to the halfway point at Strelley where we stopped for (overpriced) coffee and cake. Moved on through the housing estates then to Wollaton park where we see plenty of deer. Finally heading back to Nottingham city center.