Melbor one

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I walked Borrowash to Melbourne to bag the snail. It should be an easy walk as there is a pavement alongside all the roads, that's the good news. Unfortunately some of the pavement is badly overgrown forcing me to walk on the road at times. Much as I hate to say this but the section of field path at Thulston spoilt the walk so I'd recommend staying on the road which has a pavement. I'd also suggest staying on the road to reach the church at Weston. Those changes would make it potentially an easy if boring walk. There are good services at Aston on Trent, including a tap at the cemetery. Weston only has the Coopers Arms just off route. Melbourne meeting place is very good where I sat to eat my packed lunch. There is also a well kept loo close by plus lots of shops etc.

Walked from Borrowash to Melbourne. There are [normally] no major issues, but overall, and particularly when starting at the Borrowash end, the pavement walking gets very monotonous. [I was also held up by a temporary closure of the canal towpath literally a few meters before the point where the route leaves it, which meant backtracking the whole canal section and adding over a mile to the route. I am not going to question the route, as this closure should be short term]. Once this obstruction is cleared, I might be very tempted to submit an alternative that uses more of the canal and goes through the grounds of Elvaston Castle, which would offer some relief from the pavement pounding.

From the Borrowash meeting point, we cross Nottingham Road and follow Station Road (the better pavement is on the right/west) down the hill. We follow the road a long way, over the railway, canal and Derwent, past several entrances to the Elvaston Castle grounds and through Elvaston village and into Thulston. Where the road turns right just beyond the second road to Ambaston, we go straight on up a narrow alleyway and across a field path with stiles to emerge back on the B5010. We go left a very short distance and cross to the left side of Derby Road, where another long pavement walk takes us over the A50 and into Aston-on-Trent, where there are pubs and shops. Eventually we turn right onto Weston Road, where the better pavement is on the left. We follow this road out of Aston and through Weston, leaving it just beyond the railway to turn left down Park Lane, taking the right branch where it splits, then following the path to the church.

We follow the bridletrack down to the Trent and Mersey Canal, passing the Ukrainian Social Club. Beyond the canal bridge we go west along the canal. [In theory] The route goes past the two bridges (a lane and the old railway cycletrack) and goes left up to the railway.

[In practice, I was prevented from doing this by a towpath closure and a substantial fence - the signs indicated that the closure was a short term one to improve the towpath surface, but unfortunately there was no warning at the point where I joined the canal and no suggestion for an alternative route. I had no choice but to retreat as back along the canal and the bridleway to the Social Club, where a gate leads onto Bridge Lane, the access road for the Chalet Park. I was misled by Google maps into believing that the farm track just before the railway might offer a shortcut, but this didn't work either and I ended up following Bridge Lane over the railway to Swarkestone Road, which I followed left as far as the bridge under the railway. Just beyond the bridge it is possible to access the Cloud Trail Greenway, which I followed, reaching the canal bridge almost an hour later than I should have done - fortunately I still had just enough daylight to reach Melbourne before it was properly dark].

The route along the old railway is easy and wide enough to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians comfortably. We cross the Trent and fork right up to Trent Lane, then follow an obvious field path right that takes us onto Main Street, Here we cross and go slightly left to find the footpath opposite which leads to the cemetery and onto Packhorse Road, where we turn left and half right into Chapel Street for the Market Place meeting point.

I walked from Melbourne to Borrowash on a cold, clear day. Pavement walking made this route 3 stars, but there are definitely enough 4 star patches to keep you amused on a sunny day.

The route started well on the walk out of Melbourne, though a relatively new housing development, into a graveyard though fields and across roads. I then came onto the old Derby to Ashby railway line (now the National Cycleway 6). A short walk and then off and onto the Pocklington Canal – one of the last canals to be built (1818). I crossed the canal on one of its many bridges and walked onwards to Weston-on-Trent. The footpath at St. Mary’s Church took me a short way into the village. I continued on the pavement until Aston-on-Trent.

On the other side of Aston, I crossed the road and walked the final field (to avoid a non-paved railway bridge). This lead through a small alleyway and onto the roadside pavement through Elvaston and Borrowash.

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