With light rain falling from gloomy skies, 8 of us set off from Hollingwood Hub to walk alongside the Chesterfield Canal to Staveley Basin.
After recent heavy and consistent rainfall the canal was full to the brim and there was flooding in some parts of the adjacent river Rother. The most extreme example of the destruction caused was the collapse of a footbridge over the river Rother (see photos below) which we thought must have been due to storm Babet back in October. After visiting the basin at Staveley we walked on the Trans Pennine Trail, (click here to see the full extent of the trail) branching off to Poolsbrook Country Park for a coffee break. At that point we all decided that we would all like to do the optional 1 mile lap of the lake. For the homeward leg of the walk we retraced our steps until branching off by Staveley church to join the canal crossing, returning to the Hub along the towpath. By this time the rain had stopped and the skies were a little brighter which put us in the mood for a snack at Katey’s cafe in the Hollingwood Hub.
Many thanks to Joe for leading us on a very enjoyable 6.5 mile walk.
