Newsut one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Newsut here.

The first review of this route by Lynn is very comprehensive and there isn't much to add other than my own experiences of the problematic sections.
The marshy detour in Carlton-on-Trent is only a short one and as such isn't a huge problem. However, it doesn't add much benefit to the route other than leaving a quiet road for a bit. It is also slightly tricky finding the exact route. The suggested route in Newsut two is fair enough.
The road section on the way from South Muskham to Kelham is more of a problem. I didn't find there to be much traffic but it was quite fast. The lack of a verge in places does make it a bit dangerous.
The road crossings between Kelham and Newark I have found to be manageable although you may have to wait a minute or two. Walkers who aren't able to move relatively quickly may find these crossings more worrying. I would definitely avoid them near rush hour as at that time they are very busy.
I would have to agree that the suggested Newsut two is a safer route. Unfortunately with no feasible alternative the last section of the walk into Newark isn't very inspiring.

NOTE: ADD PHOTO LAYER ON MAP TO SEE LOCATIONS ALONG THE ROUTE.
We walked from Sutton-on-Trent to Newark on a fine, sunny Spring day. This begins as a 5 star route but rapidly drops to 1 star after the half way point. Newsut 2 avoids the dangerous small road into Kelham and the horrendously busy crossing of the A617 & A46.
We started the route from the church in Sutton-on-Trent, through the village and onto Carlton Lane. Carlton Lane doesn’t have a pavement, but we didn’t see any traffic on the walk along it – only residents and Royal Mail use the road (photo 1).

From Carlton Lane we came to the footpath to take us into a field (photo 2). There were 2 gates at either end of the field (photo 3 – first gate), this then led us to the outskirts of Carlton-on-Trent. A zig-zag on the route map took us onto a marshy field for a short and completely pointless detour around the village – you are better off following the road through Carlton to meet up at the stile to continue the walk (this zig-zag has been removed from Newsut 2).

The walk out of Carlton took us along a short stretch of the Great North Road, immediately to the side of the A1. The GNR has a wide verge and again there was little traffic to trouble us (photo 4).

A short walk later, we found the footpath off the road and onwards alongside the Trent (photo 5). Along this section there is a farm track that could be used as a short-cut to the river, but the map doesn’t show it as public right of way and so the Slow Ways route doesn’t follow it.

Following the Trent took us to the impressive Cromwell Lock (photo 6). This is the furthest inland tidal reach in England, with a very large weir and it is here that there is a well-tended and sad memorial to 10 men who died there in 1975 (photo 7).

We continued along the riverside path and came to North Muskham (photo 8). There are benches along this part of the route and so we stopped for lunch (Note: you don’t pass any shops on this route and so a small detour into North Muskham might be a good idea).

Walking out of North Muskham you turn west, away from the River Trent. Here you meet roads again but the verge by the road into South Muskham is wide and again safe to walk on (photo 9).

The problems begin once you leave South Muskham. You need to cross the A616 to get to a small but quite busy road to Kelham. This road begins with a verge (photo 10), but this rapidly disappears and so we had to squeeze into hedges to avoid the large SUV’s that were reluctant to slow down on the narrow road (no photo – it was too dangerous to dawdle!).

Once out of Kelham we had a large field that had been muck-sprayed (thankfully now dried – photo 11). Then we had to cross the A617, scramble down a steep decline (photo 12) before crossing the dreaded A46 (at a run) – (photo 13). Another set of steps and a scramble up and over an earth embankment (photo 14) and we were in the outskirts of Newark.

The last kilometre was a pleasant walk, taking us past Newark Castle (photo 15) and into the centre.

But because of safety issues on this route I will not recommend Newsut 1. Although Newsut 2 uses the A616, there is a separate cycleway that is the safer and shorter option.

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