The GPX line through Wingfield station is a little lazy - it is easiest to follow the main track out down to the main road, and having done this I made a slight navigational error by starting along the path that was visible from that junction. Here I got a little confused, as the Crich path is not signposted, but having established that there was no easy way down the wall below the road, the line became pretty obvious - a series of very waterlogged muddy field edges leading to a stream crossing with no bridge, after which there are a few stiles to help identify the route past the old quarry to reach the familiar path back up to Crich....

Hugh Hudson

A winter walk in long trousers may discover the faint short path that leads to the path following the stream on the west side of the hedge....

Ken

The path to Dethick is again well walked with stone step stiles so even a dog may struggle. The path continues across pasture to Lea where we pass over an attractive stone bridge to reach the main street. So admire the stone bridge as you safely pass under the line because it's nearly two hundred years old. The inn marked on older maps had now closed but a walk to the church would provide refreshment and buses if needed. The final pavement walk is brief passing a few useful shops, there are more close by. Buses to many locations but if you want to continue by train it's a walk or bus ride to the station....

Ken

It is easier to follow the quiet lane to Wheatcroft, and then a footpath link towards Lea, which intersects the lane leading to Lee Moor Road. Here we join the route of Matcri2 on a footpath which begins in Lea and takes us uphill to meet Hearthstone Lane (a bridleway) That can be followed over Bilberry Knoll - good views - to Hearthstone....

StephenWalker

This route is poorly plotted and fails to follow a recognised public path west of Lea....

Ken

I tried to walk this route but it is badly plotted and a section west of Lea does not use rights of way. I have replaced it with a suggested Matalf3....

StephenWalker

Some good views in this area that fringes the National Park....

StephenWalker

It appears that at Hollybush Farm most users of this path stay in the field and use the farm track - the old route/right of way line up from the other path by the stream (which I think is the one Ken mentions missing) is not marked on the ground and appears to be blocked by impenetrable undergrowth - I gave up on it and walked down Pit Lane instead. The other slightly problematic path is the one from Dethick Lane to High Lane - the entrance to the field from Dethick Lane would have been invisible had it not been for the footpath sign and required some determination. We turn left up Cunnery Lane, and once the wood is reached it is easier to use the unofficial path along the right hand wall of the wood than to find the old right of way line (I did the latter and it is rougher and steeper). A stone step stile takes us out of the wood onto a field path with fine views, which becomes Green Lane. This is where I think I missed a trick, as the path we need to take is more often accessed using the farm track through the field before the stream rather than the old right of way line which followed the path to Pit Lane through the trees. This path is fine for those heading for Pig Lane, but at the point where the right of way turns up to the left past Hollybush Farm I found nothing but apparently impenetrable undergrowth (see photo 12!) and no sign to show the correct line. We turn right along High Road and use the shortcut path to descend to Church Lane, where as Ken says the walls are imposing....

Hugh Hudson

From the meeting point on Bridge Street in Clay Cross, we go left onto Market Street, cross it and turn right down Broadleys and follow it down to Thanet Street, which we cross and go half left down Flaxpiece Road, then left again onto Penncroft Lane, which we follow for some distance as it twists and turns through a large housing estate to reach Cemetery Road, where we turn right, then left into Beech Way and right onto Lime Tree Grove, which becomes a track. We cross the surprisingly busy Morton Road and head straight on, leaving the wood to cross fields (plenty of stiles) an a well used path that crosses Higham Lane and continues into Stirland. We need to cross somewhere, then turn left opposite the church and the Red Lion, across Hallfieldgate Lane and straight on down Pit Lane, which we soon leave on the path across the field to the right to reach the golf course....

Hugh Hudson

Starting at the bus station in Alfreton, we follow the eastbound buses out along Hall Street and left up Cressy Street, then turn right along High Street and straight on along Nottingham Road. Beyond the bridge we follow the path right and left between industrial buildings to Cotes Park Lane, which we cross and go right to the next junction where we turn left. Beyond the pool we turn left across the railway then take the little path right, turning right again to the right of a gated building, then cross the railway again (stiles here)....

Hugh Hudson

We pass the station approach, a good place to cross back to the south side of the road and continue along Mansfield Road, turning right onto High Street and left down Cressy Road and right along Hall Street to the meeting point at the bus station (some may prefer the pedestrianised routes down from High Street past the library to the bus station starting on Central Road or Chapel Street)....

Hugh Hudson

We cross the bridge over the heritage railway by Butterley station, then take the path right over stiles and along the field boundaries (note that the trodden line is less direct than the right of way). We follow the lane half left up the hill to Cray's Hill, where we cross and turn right. The bridleway follows the edge of a wood to an industrial road (Wimsey Way), where we turn right - there is a choice of following the wide road or the little path left parallel to it....

Hugh Hudson

These paths offer a very pleasant walk to Wheatcroft but there is one spot where the path invisibly crosses a cropped field, the plot is good so stick with it. It's a climb along a green lane into the hamlet of Wheatcroft and the ascent continues on the road of departure. If you don't need a break at Tansley then the view from Riber is well worth including so I suggest heading west along the road then a direct footpath off Carr Lane. On the Slow Way the path becomes well walked dropping into Tansley where it passes the inn but this takes us on a narrow pavement alongside a busy road. The path from the road climbs to Riber across pasture and while views of the turreted castle had been inviting since Wheatcroft it's now hiding behind trees. Sit on the grass or a little further down a bench and pick out landmarks known or perhaps new before making the steep descent and a walk through the old town, Matlock Green and across the park missing the final yards of this Slow Way unless you have a train to catch....

Ken

I walked this route from Alfreton northwards in June. I found it very enjoyable and no particular problems....

StephenWalker

The route leaves on quiet pavements before taking to the footpath around the school field. The footpath from the A610 underpass up to Wood Street was muddy and steeply uphill (in places), but there was firm ground available alongside....

StephenWalker

After crossing the railway approaching Pinxton it uses a path that is on the ground and is well used but not on the map....

Ken

The path parallel to the road climbing from the station to South Normanton was pretty muddy on the day I walked it. The Alfsou1 route is longer and very wet in places....

StephenWalker

The first section through Cotes Park is well defined but not very uplifting (except for the Cotes Ponds and wood)....

StephenWalker

Work continues on the restoration of Wingfield station claimed to be the oldest surviving railway station building in the world, trains no longer stop here. The path passes under the line by a bridge just wide enough for those on foot showing there was a footpath here when the railway was built in 1840. A new development expanding Crich comes into view and the stream crossing here is not on the correct line so cross the bridge and head for the track then left you may not even notice you are off the plot....

Ken

(Use the footway on the south side of the road at the 50 MPH sign take the track that runs just south of the road only divided from the traffic by a hedge. Seats suggest this is an official path)....

Ken

Much the same as route one because there is little choice but to use the path through the wooded area to head south. A section of wider track then back to narrow path through woodland planted on former open cast coal mining, long gone. Potential for cattle and stiles that are really low fences but it's great to be in open fields....

Ken

Leaving Ripley the route takes an off road route through a park but it can be wet and the path muddy, so Butterley Hill might be worth considering after rain. After crossing the heritage railway the route is back into fields again these can be muddy and the walked path may not be on the plotted line....

Ken

This was a good route that we took as the third leg of a long circular walk that started in Alfreton onto Matlock then into Crich. The directions were clear and easy to follow, the usual care needed as sometimes the paths are not always clear....

Dave Nash

This a good route that we took as the first leg of a longer circular walk: Alfreton - Matlock, Matlock - Crich, Crich - Alfreton. Our start was from the Travelodge in Alfreton so was just slightly longer than the 10 miles....

Dave Nash

A section of wider track then back to narrow path through woodland planted on former open cast coal mining, long gone. I looked for an alternative route out but the path used here is really the only option to head south. Potential for cattle and stiles that are really low fences but it's great to be in open fields....

Ken

Definitive paths are obstructed across Smotherfly open cast site which was not reinstated....

Ken

I've tried to find inviting pictures but generally this was a walk in some open countryside but along fenced paths....

Ken

It's not because stiles, uneven surface and long section of enclosed unfriendly paths make section unpleasant....

Ken