Thirteen walkers met in the long lay-by between Dronfield and Unstone. The route that Richard and Phoebe had devised shared some paths with the North Chesterfield Way but the start of the walk was different, taking us through Hallows Golf Course rather than via Ouzle Bank cottage and Bull farm. We also took a more direct route through Barlow which to our surprise and delight was in the midst of its annual festival.
On our route through Barlow we saw scarecrows, well dressings and farm tractors getting ready for the parade. After the excitement of Barlow our lunch stop in Cutthorpe was far more serene affair. We ate our sandwiches whilst watching the cricket match. We carried on a little further stopping for an ice cream at the Cutthorpe Creamery Farm Shop. The mint chocolate chip and the lemon meringue flavours proving very popular within our group.
Our next major landmark was Holmebrook Valley Park which hosts all sorts of activities including pétanque, nordic walking, orienteering and dog training. For the last section of the walk we mainly followed the route of the North Chesterfield Way roughly following the Holme Brook all the way into Chesterfield town centre.
On reaching the town hall we dispersed in all directions, a few of us calling in at “Spoons” for a spot of refreshment.
Many thanks to Richard and Phoebe for leading us round, we all had a great time.
