Loncli one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 75.00% of reviewers

I walked from Clifton starting alongside the road with buses and trams. A few more shops at the end of the road if you have forgotten anything. The imprecise plotting can be ignored as it’s easy to stay on the tarmac cycle track which soon crosses then follows the Fairham Brook. It’s okay in day light but a walk along the estate roads close by would be better in the dark. Plotting here is a bit vague but not impossible. Beecli also needs to use Clifton Bridge so take a look for other options.

I don’t wish to recall how many times I’ve driven along the roads that link to and cross Clifton bridges but walking was a totally different experience and I made a few errors which located bus shelters on slip roads. Had I followed the local active traveller it would have been straight forward. There is also the option to avoid the there and back to the bridge using steps.

The walk over the original bridge is shared with bikes and is rather narrow. The traffic thunders past with a flimsy looking barrier offering the only protection should a driver loose control. Our path descends as the city flyover climbs alongside.

Thane Road has a pavement on both sides but the one on the left is wider and has a more open feel since the demolition of the Player's Horizon factory which didn’t impose on the road as the new sheds do. As traffic turns right we drop to the tranquillity of the canal side path. The water is clear with lots of plants perhaps thriving with few boat movements. The only craft seen are firmly anchored to the bank, resident.

At Beeston Rylands I continued on the flood bank but this precludes a view of more moored boats should that be your interest, it being mine I would next time cross to walk along the appropriately named Canal Side.

We pass the old lock that linked to the river below the weir then the Beeston Canal lock where paddles are left raised to ensure the canal has a good feed of water. A cafe by the lock and another at the marina offer refreshments if required.

The route now follows the river and is busy with bikes and walkers. Trees and bushes often prevent a view of the river which is a shame especially when a cry from birds or throb of an engine prompt curiosity of the hidden activity. I captured a soon to vanish view of Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station, the last coal fired station still occasionally in operation but not for much longer after the last delivery of coal was recently made.

Through the Nature Reserve there are path options and I do wonder if taking these might offer diversity of scenery and cut out a meander in the river’s course. As it happened I was forced to divert because the onward path used by the Slow Way (FP7) was closed until August while a new pipeline was being laid. I turned from the plotted route along Barton Lane (BR70) passing the visitor centre then turned left alongside the railway line, shown as a cycle route. This brought me back onto FP7 at a pedestrian crossing of the railway which I took instead of following the promoted diversion route back to the Slow Way.

The final walk is along roadside pavements but again I would prefer to take the pedestrianised High Street rather than the main traffic drag passing Tesco. The meeting place is handy for buses to Derby, Nottingham and East Midlands Airport should your onward travel be by air.

I walked most one from Clifton to Long Eaton. It is mostly good, but is let down by some slightly wayward GPX plotting and the avoidable dull road walk on Thane Road - as Stephen says the river path is much nicer. The direct path from Clifton to Fairham Brook is overgrown and hard to follow - it is much easier to stay on the cycle track. The route from Fairham Brook to Clifton Bridge is not the best either - there is an underpass available that is much better than walking round the busy roundabout. I have created LONCLI 2, which is what I actually walked.

I walked this route on a very hot day in July. The sections along the river and through Attenborough Nature Reserve had some very welcome shade, but most of the walk was very exposed. The paths throughout the walk are easy surfaces to walk on, and there is a nice variety of road, fields and waterside walking. There are opportunities to stop for breaks or snacks at Beeston Marina and along the canal (especially if you manage to catch the cafe boat).

If you start at Long Eaton and are arriving by public transport, bear in mind that the train station is not in the town centre, and to start the route from the beginning you would need to go in and out of town. You could avoid this by walking along Fields Farm Road and joining the route at the top of Meadow Lane, or following the Erewash Canal to start on the river path earlier (although this does lengthen the walk).

I walked this route in early March, starting in Long Eaton. The walk follows roadside pavements until south of the railway level crossing on Meadow Lane, where it enters the nature reserves. The section from here to Beeston marina was on well surfaced tracks - easy going. If I was to walk this again I would continue along the riverside from Beeston Weir to Clifton Bridge (more interesting surfaced path (See Beecli2)). As it was I followed the suggested route parallel to the canal - soft and muddy for the most part. After Clifton bridge I followed the roadside path to get the signed footpath through an underpass. Reaching the surfaced footpath up the side of Fairham Brook meant going down a flight of concrete steps (with no obvious alternatives). Once in Clifton the path was on wider pavements along the roadside.

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