Sutrai two

Verified Slow Way

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Walked from Rainworth to Sutton. Direct, and rather better and quieter than it looks on the map. A few road crossings that need a little care and patience but overall a route I am happy to snail.

From Rainworth, we follow Southwell Road East up the first hill then turn right to find the path/cycle track that follows the line of the old Mansfield-Southwell-Newark railway. Crossing the busy Rainworth by-pass is easier than one might imagine because you only have to cross one carriageway at a time, but beyond it is probably better to cross the A6191 (Southwell Road West) at the roundabout where the traffic is slower rather than opposite the old lane that we follow. This lane is surprisingly green and pleasant, though further on it becomes a residential street which though wide lacks a continuous pavement. Just before the A6117 the old road becomes a surfaced cycle track, which continues as a roughly surfaced track beyond, which follows a green strip between housing developments.

The A60 should be crossed with care - the traffic lights help a bit, and Cauldwell Road initially has a pavement on the north side, which switches to the south side beyond the entrance to Trent University's Mansfield site. Beyond the A611 Cauldwell Road is severed by the A617 Mansfield bypass, which makes it a much better walking and cycling route than it was before. The bypass crossing has no lights, but there is a central refuge, which is just as well because the road is busy and the traffic is fast. We continue on the old Cauldwell Road (which has a rough pavement on the north side but is so quiet that it is easier to walk on the road. It leads past a few houses then bends left to reach the B6139. There is no need to cross immediately because there is a central refuge at the junction with Hamilton Road. We continue straight on, then head left a short distance along the pavement of the busy A38, then take the path left along an old railway line, then right under the main road through a park and past a lake (where there are benches overlooking the lake).

We cross the park (Sutton Lawn) to reach Station Road, which leads us to the meeting point in the pedestrianised shopping area.

Easy navigation and easy on the feet, no stiles, no cattle, no serious mud. Road walking is fair with pavements or quiet lanes but crossings need care as there is little if any help from lights. Good attempt at keeping away from busy roads

I walked from Rainworth this route shares the exit with Kirrai but avoids the long stretch of pavement by taking Mansfield Way along the old rail line behind the houses. This is a sandy path with open spaces to the north.

The crossing of the bypass road fails to offer any lights to stop the traffic so extra care is needed. The old road looks to have been out of use for many years, any tarmac surface long gone, but it's a fair surface and away from traffic. It's not real countryside but still a bit green although development is marching towards the path.

The narrow track suddenly becomes an incredibly wide road, further along the route another wide road stops abruptly all suggesting an unfulfilled plan. A forlorn shelter awaits a bus. Or perhaps it's prepared for the rush of passengers from development on the land between us and the bypass which is already fenced off awaiting more housing. On the day I passed it had had vegetation and topsoil removed and looked like the Sahara desert.

I should have known where I was but this byway route was unfamiliar so I was surprised to pass the impressive building of Nottingham Trent University which I now see was Mansfield College when I regularly passed by car years ago. This section of road was busy and the pavement quite narrow.

Crossing the next road be aware, this is not the route to Amazon, clearly the numerous signs suggest some believe it is. It's a quiet cul-de-sac and a cycle route so there is a central refuge to help us across the next road to meet the other side of the truncated Cauldwell Road. Is this stretch of water with canoe slalom poles for fishing or adventure?

There is a pavement but with little traffic it's best on the road to avoid overhanging bushes and trees. The road climbs and offers an excellent view of the vast warehouse that our route fails to serve. The next road junction has traffic lights but they offer no assistance for pedestrians with the refuge on the road without a pavement.

Here we leave Kirrai turning right along the roadside pavement to cross the Robin Hood rail line and what looks like an early crossing keepers house, before meeting a busy A38 road. Careful study of the plotting shows we escape the traffic onto a cycle route then dive under the road and soon enter Sutton Lawn an extensive park with a lake or perhaps a mill pond.
Leaving the park it's just a short pavement walk into the town and today the market place was devoid of stalls seen on earlier visits.

I walked this route from Sutton. Once out of the town centre there is a section across The Lawn park. At the far end a right turn leads you under the main road and then a path on the left onto a surfaced trail on an old railway. At the road junction the route is on the wide pavement of a busy road. At the lights/cross-roads a left turn leads onto Caudwell Road. This was severed by the Mansfield bypass so it is quiet. After crossing the main road the old line continues. The next section (still Caudwell Road) has a pavement leading to the A60. Straight ahead (almost) takes you onto Old Newark Road, which is a pedestrian route along a gravelled track.

After the Main road crossing the route was temporarily blocked by water excavations (March 2022) causing a detour left to the roundabout and then back to the right on Bellamy Road to regain the route. At the main road (A6191) it is easy to walk across with the large centre reservation to reach the cycle/pedestrian lane on the north side. That is followed to the right as far as the other side of the roundabout. From here the extension of the Mansfield Trail (a track along an old railway) provides a quiet route to the middle of Rainworth.

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