Matche four

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My first Slow Ways route - I took the reverse to the original walker, from Matlock to Chesterfield. Walked in a fairly damp April, but with a good few days since the last heavy rainfall.

Starting with a slog uphill from the town centre takes you through suburbs to Bentley Brook, and a ford - easily passable on my visit, but I don't know how much the water rises after a downpour. Past this, a wooded area offers many possible routes, and it's not clear which is the "official" way, but heading in a broadly straight line will lead you to the corner of Foxholes lane, for a long (and very straight) tarmacked walk up past a caravan park and fish pond. Left onto Lant Lane (be aware of the single track road here) and then right further up takes you over the fields to another pond - follow the left edge of this and the adjoining farm to reach the hilltop road.

A short zig-zag and hop over one more field takes you to a fairly steep downwards incline before emerging onto Crowchin Edge. The marvellous views offered here make it a great spot to stop for a bite to eat. Continuing down and to the left some of the paths aren't marked too well, but the actual foot tracks are obvious. Various paths branch and converge and there are several routes that end up in Ashover village - another good place to stop if you're looking for food.

The walk up and out of the village is tougher than the previous climb out of Matlock, with a few short lengths of footpath cutting across the country lanes to the top of the hill. From there, exposed fields take you across the top to the fork between Long Lane and Bath Lane, and then across Birkin Lane and down Highashes Lane past the High Ashes Rural Project farm site. Signage here is a little murky and I could only navigate thanks to the GPX route on my phone. Several of the stiles are overgrown and paths vague.

At Haselhurst farm you can take a short detour to see an info board about the Chesterfield Round Walk - and then head directly in front of it to pick up the path down and then right along the edge of woodland down to Stubbing Pond (or the rather more magnificent "Great Pond of Stubbing" as some maps call it). A single lane road along the edge of this and then a path skirting the far side take you around the edge of Wingerworth, through the edge of Widdowson Spring Wood and then past Chesterfield Golf Club before entering the suburban fringes of Chesterfield proper. This final countryside leg of the walk ended up being the muddiest on my journey, especially several areas that passed through horse pastures and around the edge of the golf course.

From here, it is a fairly straightforward route through the streets to Boythorpe Road, in the top entrance to Queen's Park, over the busy Markham Road and past the town's two market squares before ending up at St. Mary & All Saint's Parish Church.

Overall, an enjoyable and varied route, with some cracking views - especially the Crowchin Edge viewpoint and looking back on the way up and out of Ashover. Some very steep inclines, a few muddy spots, and some overgrown gateways/stiles shouldn't deter you if you have a map or GPS.

I walked this route starting at Chesterfield. It was a fine day, but followed a week of wet weather so paths were quite muddy. Use of the 1:25000 map is advised because there are a few places with tricky navigation. From Chesterfield, the route begins through the market place and the delightful Queen's Park. It climbs out of the town centre on the pavements alongside Park Road and Boythorpe Road before cutting through the housing estate on quiet footpaths. Once Harehill Road is reached, the route takes to the right of way that follows the golf course boundary and heads towards Widdowson Spring Wood and then on a fenced route through horse pastures to reach Swathwick Lane.

After crossing the lane the right of way continues on a good line to enter the woods surrounding the 'Great Pond of Stubbing' and fine views towards Stubbing Court. After crossing the dam wall the route climbs past the home farm, skirts Sleigh Wood and climbs to Haslehurst farm. At High Ashes farm there is an unofficial diversion around the northern edge of the buildings onto Highashes Lane. Now the route follows a long leg southwards first on lanes then right of way across the fields to reach Hilltop Road on the edge of Ashover. After a right turn along the road, a steep footpath on the left takes us down to Hill Road and thence into the village centre on quiet streets. Plenty of refreshment opportunities here.

Leaving Ashover, the route crosses the river Amber on a footbridge and then climbs steadily on a bridleway past Overton Cottages and up through the wood. After the open area of mine spoil look out for a signpost which marks the start of a steep and muddy path up through the trees to near the top of the Cocking Tor ridge. After skirting the copse, the path reaches Holestone Gate Road. This is a little busier, but there is a wide verge to escape onto and there is only 50 yards to cover before a footpath on the left takes a well defined line across the valley to meet Lant Lane. The route turns downhill along this quiet lane (Once again a wide verge to avoid cars, if required) to reach Foxholes Lane where it turns south-westward.

After the end of the tarmac on Foxholes Lane (SK 31821 61150) there is a clear path into the wood but the exact route through the trees and to descend to SK 31580 61035 is not always obvious and could be very steep. Much care needed here.

A good path leads to cross Bentley Brook and rises to the new housing at Lumsdale. Here it is not obvious that a diversion leads first southwards then turns off northwest to reach the road. Estate roads and cut-through paths bring us to the A632 and after turning downhill we turn off to follow the well named 'Steep Turnpike' downhill to Matlock town centre and the bridge across the Derwent before reaching the 'hub' at the railway station.

I found most of the route easy to follow on the 1:25000 map. There are a lot of pinch stiles and the path is overgrown by vegetation in several places. It is quite hilly and the going underfoot is rough in places, especially after rain. However, if you are prepared for it this is an excellent route with good views.

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