Twenty walkers gathered in the Hollingwood Hub car park ready to explore the Chesterfield canal and countryside around Staveley.
After a short section of road walking we paid a visit to the large pond behind the Ringwood hotel. This was a really nice spot with plenty of wildfowl on the pond. Continuing on, we soon reached West Wood which had another treat in store for us; two intricate wooden sculptures in the middle of the wood (see picture below). After leaving West Wood we made our way to the Transpennine Trail which we followed all the way to Poolsbrook Country Park. This was a lovely spot to have our lunch/coffee break.
After our break we continued on through more built-up areas until we reached the the new Trans Pennine Trail bridge. The bridge is 38 metres long and weighs about 40 tons. It replaces a brick bridge on what was originally the Great Central Railway. The old bridge was knocked down about thirty years ago. You can read more about the bridge on the Chesterfield Canal Trust Website
A little further along our route we reached the Staveley canal basin which already looks impressive with further development ongoing. Our route back was now straightforward, following the canal all the way back to Hollingwood Hub.
Many thanks to Barry for leading the walk and to Joe for back marking. A great walk with loads of interesting places to see.
