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Wooo Hooo! emergency closure of Dronfield Footpath No.73 & Unstone No.52 from the 13th of September to the 10th of October 2021. This is the Lower Boardwalk, which DCC said they would replace….fingers crossed…. This is the boardwalk from Half Acre Lane, by Metapic Wood, to the industrial estate at the back of the car wash in Unstone.

a walk to celebrate this was planned for last year….cancelled because of you know what, then planned again for last week. It rained so hard, it was postponed until today! 15th August. Graham Gill and Peter Carr had put a lot of work into planning this walk, a walk along the Unstone Line, with lots of stops for descriptions and explanations…mainly about the numerous coal mines and coking ovens. Here is the map of the walk:

This from leader Angela:

What we did on our walk yesterday evening…( 5th August)

Ten people and one dog met outside the community centre at Unstone ready for our evening walk of We nearly lost the dog and it’s walker to the ‘People and Dogs’ training session which was starting inside the community centre at the same time, but they settled for a mini puppy party just outside the door and then came back to the walking group.

We looked at the sky and someone suggested that we just walk around the football pitch and then go home. We are made of sterner stuff and we had waterproof(ish) clothing so we set off just after 7pm.

We crossed Crow Lane, waved to my house, then passed the grounds of Ramshaw Lodge before heading uphill to Hundall past the Miners Arms then into Stubbing wood. It became apparent that we were actually two groups, the front five walking and the back five doing something else – not quite sure what, but it didn’t seem to involve much forward movement. Nonetheless we gathered together every now and again so we didn’t lose anyone.

We left the wood to walk to West Handley, where we gathered at the gate to a field and didn’t really have a coffee break because the rain was getting heavier and visibility was rubbish. We were excited to see a deer running about in the field in front of us, and the back five got to us in time to see it running around in the next field. The deer didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain.

Walking through the next two fields got us very wet, the rain got heavier and the vegetation flapped wetly around our legs. By the time we got into Binkley wood it was fairly dark, which isn’t good for admiring the trees. Visibility was better in Grasscroft Wood because we were on a wide path. We then waded along the side of another field before gathering at the edge of Ramshaw wood, peering into the dark and finding Out how to turn on the torches on our mobile phones.

By the light of these torches we managed to get through the wood without getting lost or falling over, and once we got back to my house I said goodbye to the rest of the group and let them make their own way back to the community centre.

Sorry we didn’t take any photos. It was wet and we were trying to keep our phones dry except for when we needed them as torches.

Karen Brightmore led us on a very pleasant wander, along from Callywhite to Metapic, then along the lower boardwalk (careful here, there are some damaged boards, which DCC knows about) past the back of the Drone Valley Brewery (open Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons) then up to The Unstone Line. A haunted area, because sometimes, when walking along what used to be a busy branch line, you can hear a train going by….scary or what? Along the top boardwalk, then up the fields to Summerley, where we stopped top catch our breath, and chat. Then onwards and upwards, across the fields to The Sledging Field, down through F**th Woods and back. Nice weather, great company…you will see from the map (that looks like a kangaroo!) that I was a bit late switching Map My Walk app on, and again, a bit late turning it off!

On a lovely sunny evening 22 members enjoyed a 4 mile walk in the Moss Valley. The walk went down the valley and then up to the Rotary Bench and onto Hazelbarrow Farm. Everyone was smiling as this was the first DFBS walk for over 15 months. Thanks to Adrian Slome for setting this one up and leading..

Hopefully, we are heading back to ‘normal’, and have now prepared a programme for some walks, but, you will have to wait until July for the programme to start. Paid-up members of DFBS will receive a copy, so we hope all goes well over the coming months.

The DFBS Facebook page has been very active, with quite a few members, and lots of new members there, have send photos and descriptions of the walks they have been doing…

Hope to meet upo again, face to face…or should that be ‘boot to boot’? soon…

Cheers all,

Richard s

right next door to a busy footpath around the Peak Resort…just has to be a baby woodpecker.

Our guidance in light of the latest government advice

It is clear that Coronavirus has not gone away, and we need to continue to help control the virus to save lives. Although there are some changes to government guidance, the lockdown is still in force across the UK and the advice continues to be to stay at home as much as possible. If you or anyone in your household has Coronavirus symptoms, you should continue to self-isolate. If you are clinically vulnerable (i.e. over 70 or with a listed underlying health condition) you are advised to take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household.

There are however some differences in government advice, depending on whether you live in England, Wales or Scotland, outlined below. 

England

In England, from Wednesday 13 May:

• You can exercise outdoors as often as you like alone, with members of your household.
• You can also exercise with one other person from outside your household, while keeping two metres apart.
• You may drive to outdoor open spaces, irrespective of distance, but should follow social distancing guidance whilst you are there.  

In addition, the Ramblers urges all walkers in England to:

• Be sensitive to rural communities if considering travelling further from home to walk. 
• Avoid activities that may result in injury or require emergency services support, especially in remote locations. 
• Be aware that popular locations like National Parks or the coast may be very busy, making social distancing difficult. 
• Plan ahead, as some sites and facilities may be closed or have restrictions. 

In many cases, the best option will be to stay local and explore the local area on foot.

On our Facebook page, we have recently welcomed lots of new members to the site….most of them are also members of the Holmesfield Bridleways page….As soon as we can start our walking programme, which is elsewhere on this website, we hope you will join us on some (or even all!) of them. Our membership fee is a measly fiver a year, which covers you insurance-wise should anything untoward happen. Dogs under control are also welcome along…and you never know, we might even be accompanied by horses with their riders.

Anyway, a Huge Welcome to them all. Browse this site, read the reports, look at the pictures… and we hope to meet you.