Wirrip two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Wirrip here.

I walked this route from Ripley. It starts on the pavements of residential streets, once we reach open country the next half mile was a quag-fest after the recent rail. Boots and gaiters very useful. Thereafter most of the route is better under foot, but many squeezes and stiles. The section though Shining Cliff woods was muddy, and the 1:25000 map was a great help with route finding. The plotting is accurate, but the OS map is invaluable. Overall I enjoyed this route, but be prepared for a hilly walk.

Walked from Ripley to Wirksworth. A good direct route, but a little muddy and slippery in places. It is about 90% the same as Wirrip one, which is probably why nobody has walked both. Quite a lot of ascent and descent and some road walking, but nothing dangerous. One short steep slippery descent through a wood was unnerving and I did slip once, but fortunately landed safely.

From Ripley, we follow pavements to the end of Sandham Lane and continue on the field path, which starts between fences and continues through trees before emerging onto open fields. Parts of this path are muddy and there is one point where you have to leave the best trodden path on a smaller one to the left. There are stiles. At Upper Street Lane we turn left briefly then follow the track under the A38 and out through the farm (fortunately we don't pass the clay pigeon shoot too closely though the gunfire noises are a little disconcerting). More lanes take us into Heage, which we cross using a mixture of pavements and little alleys before heading down School Lane.

We take the field path right between houses (some narrow squeeze stiles here and a little stone bridge) then turn right along more field edges to Hall Lane. At Slack Lane we take a shortcut path up to the quiet Gun Lane, which we follow up to the junction with Crich Lane, then continue across fields over the top of the hill and down to Newbridge Lane (just before the lane you have to go left slightly down a drive. We go right down the lane which is quite busy and does not have a continuous pavement, but I saw no evidence of dangerous driving and it is well used by local walkers. Eventually we reach a bridge under the Matlock railway, cross the A6 with care and go straight on down Holly Lane.

Beyond the Derwent bridge we take the lane right and follow it up past the houses into Shining Cliff woods. We take the right branch which is a little rough and slippery, then cross a footbridge follow the pool round to the path (quite steep, rough and slippery in places) that leads up to a better track higher up. From here the rest of the walk through the wood is easy and relaxing. Neither Higg Lane nor Wirksworth Road have pavements, but neither felt unsafe to me as the traffic is not fast.

Beyond the pub the road has an S bend, then we take a little path left through a wood and across a horse pasture and more fields to Bent Lane, where we turn right. Beyond the houses a path takes us left along field edges to a lane that leads down to Hay Lane, where we go right again. We take the lane down into the yard of Hardhurst Farm, then right past piles of logs and along field edges, before descending steeply through a wood (this is the section I found tricky and mentioned in the introduction - see picture 13 - the top part is steeper than it looks). Further down we cross Pratthall Lane and take the field shortcut back to it, then follow Gorsey Bank down the hill.

It is possible to go wrong on Water Lane, as what appears to be a pavement above a wall on the right takes you away from the road, so stay on the lower one or use the one on the left side through the industrial buildings. When we reach the main road the Wirksworth meeting point is a short distance right.

A pleasant country walk, but not always an easy one - plenty of stiles, squeeze stiles, rough and muddy sections (though having walked it on a drizziy morning it probably seems much easier in dry conditions).

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