Allestree Circular Walk - Derby and South Derbyshire Ramblers

Allestree Circular Walk9 kilometres, 5½miles. Hilly in a couple of places,otherwise easy walking. Allow 2½ - 3 hours.This is an enjoyable walk for all the family, but notsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. The walktakes in parkland, woodland, river valley andpastureland using footpaths and minor roads.Wear suitable footwear, such as boots orwellingtons, and take warm, waterproof clothingjust in case it rains.Please remember to:Introduction1close all gatesnot disturb any animalskeep to the route shown in this leaflet.The walk begins at the free car park offWoodlands Road. Trent ‘Rainbow’ bus R54, noSunday service, will take you to a bus stop nearby.Ring Busline on 08706 082608 to check details ofbus services in this area.From the car park walk towards West BankRoad along the path, turning left between thehouses and Big Wood.In Big Wood, you will see trees such as SilverBirch, Scots Pine and English Oak, shrubssuch as Rhododendron and Hawthorn andplants such as Bluebell, Foxglove and RedCampion. All of Allestree Park is a site ofwildlife interest.Beyond Big Wood keep to the right as you arenow on a golf course. To your left you can seeAllestree Hall, Duffield and across theDerwent Valley.THE COMMONCHURCH ROADJoinersArms PHOLDVICARAGELANECOACHDRIVEQuarndonChurch7BurleyWoodQuarndonCommonMONTPELIERCLOSECarparkWOODLANDSROADBus stop0 ½ kilometre0½ mileBurleywoodFarm6DERBY CITY COUNCILWEST BANK ROADDUFFIELDBunkersHillQUARNDONBig Wood1ALLESTREEBURLEYLANEAllestree Halland ParkLakeMAINAVENUE 2St. Edmund's Church5A6DuffieldChurch4BurleyHillFarmRailwayLineDUFFIELDROAD3NPeckwashMills ChimneyEVANSAVENUESHORT AVENUERiverDerwentLITTLEEATONCrown Copyright. All rights reserved.Derby City Council. LA077755(2002)The Ordnance Survey mapping includedwithin this web-site is provided byDerby City Council, under licence fromOrdnance Survey, in order to fulfil its publicfunction to act as a planning authority.A3823James Wyatt built Allestree Hall for BacheThornhill between 1795-1805. In 1928developers bought it. They laid out the golfcourse and built Evans Avenue and ShortAvenue in the Park. Derby Corporation, nowDerby City Council, acquired the Hall in 1946.When you reach the end of the houses onyour right go straight on. After a while, followthe path around to your right towardsSt. Edmunds Church. Bear left after thesolitary Ash tree and follow the path throughthe woodland. You will eventually come outon to a path at the end of Main Avenue.Now follow the lakeside path.The lake is an important reserve with fishsuch as Tench and Pike, waterbirds such asMoorhen and Coot and insects such asCaddisfly Larvae and Water Scorpions. Alongthe banks you will see Willowherb, Rushesand Lesser Pond Sedge.At the end of the lake turn right on to EvansAvenue, then left towards Duffield Road.Danger, very busy road.Cross Duffield Road and turn left. Go downthe path on your right, marked by a fingerpost to Duffield. Beyond the avenue ofHawthorn, go towards the white house on thehill, Burley Hill Farm. In the distance you getyour first glimpse of Peckwash Mills Chimney.At the bottom of the hill, cross the footbridgeand turn right. Follow the path around thebase of the hill. Soon you will see the RiverDerwent. Beyond the fence, follow the pathuntil you reach a footbridge on your right.This area of acid grassland is a site of wildlifeinterest. It is dominated in parts by Hawthornand Gorse. Plants such as Heath Bedstraw,Tormentil, Sheep's Sorrel and Foxglove alsogrow here.

45Cross over the footbridge and head towardsPeckwash Mills Chimney. In the second field,continue on to another stile. In the third field,bear right and under the railway bridge.George Stephenson originally engineered thisline for the North Midland Railway Companywhose Leeds-Derby service opened in 1840.It now carries the main lines between Londonand Sheffield.Turn left and go towards St Alkmund’sChurch, Duffield, in the distance.The stone embankment you go through is theremains of a railway line which servedPeckwash Mills. It crossed the river on awooden pile bridge erected in 1889. The Millsstarted making paper in the 18th Century. Thechimney was built in the mid-1890s. Havingstood idle since about 1960, the Mills wereconverted to a private dwelling in the mid-1990s.In the churchyard, you will see Yew trees,common in churchyards all over the country.They supposedly kept evil spirits away.St Alkmund’s Church, Duffield was started inthe 12th Century, but dates mainly from theearly 1300s. It was restored twice in the 19thCentury.After leaving the churchyard, turn left towardsthe footbridge over the railway line. Cross thefootbridge, turning left and back on yourself atthe foot of the steps. Follow the path to theA6.Cross over the A6. Danger, very busy road.Walk between house numbers 38 and 40.Cross the field to the hedgerow on your leftand, keeping it on your right, continue straighton. Beyond the hedgerow bear right upBunker's Hill towards the house far in thedistance. Looking back you will see views ofDuffield, the Derwent Valley and Little Eaton.Go through the stile.67Follow the hedgerow on your left, round to theleft. Walk up the hill, crossing the fielddiagonally to the top left hand corner. Here,continue up the hill, keeping the hedgerow toyour left. Climb the stile and continue up thehill, passing Burleywood Farm on your right.At the top of the hill, bear right to follow thepath to the rear of properties off Burley Lane.On your right is Burley Wood, a site of wildlifeinterest. You will find trees such as Ash, Birch,Sweet Chestnut and Elder, and plants suchas Honeysuckle and Yellow Archangel here.After Burley Wood there are views overQuarndon Common towards Duffield andbeyond. Follow the grassy path straight aheadinto Montpelier Close. Turn right after thebungalows. Go through the Holly arch andalong Coach Drive. Turn left into TheCommon and walk towards Quarndon Church.Quarndon Church dates from 1874. Only afew stones remain of an earlier churchlocated further along Church Road at the footof the hill, just before point 7.At the junction, turn right. Just past theJoiners Arms Public House, you will see thesite of a famous spa.Daniel Defoe visited this ‘Chalybeate’,mineral water, well in 1727.Continue on, until you reach Old VicarageLane on your left.Walk up the lane and along the grassed path.After the small field, turn left and head for thebrow of the hill. Once there turn right, keepingthe hedgerow on your left. There are views onyour right towards Allestree and beyond.Continue on, going up the hill and out on toWoodlands Road. Turn right and back into thecar park.Enjoy the countryside and respect its life and work.Guard against all risk of fire.Fasten all gates.Keep your dogs under close control.Keep to public paths across farmland.Use gates and stiles to cross fences, hedges andwalls.Leave livestock, crops and machinery alone.Take your litter home.Help to keep all water clean.Protect wildlife, plants and trees.Take special care on country roads.Make no unnecessary noise.Further InformationEnvironment Projects OfficerDerby City CouncilDevelopment and Cultural ServicesRoman HouseFriar GateDERBY DE1 1XBTelephone 01332 255021Many thanks to Roy Christian for the historical information andto Derbyshire Wildlife Trust for the natural history information.This leaflet is one in a series published by Derby City Council.Please tell us if you need this document in largeprint, on audio tape, computer disc or in Braille. Youcan contact us on 01332 255093 or on minicom01332 256666 or fax 01332 255989. Or use theequipment at Central Library, Wardwick to convertthis into voice and large print. Please contact us ifyou need help reading this document or any part of ittranslating.HindiPunjabiUrdu01332 256088Plain English byDERBY CITY COUNCIL01332 25608801332 256088AllestreeCircularWalkDERBY CITY COUNCILRECYCLED