There are good views around the Dorket Head / Woodborough Parish section, and the Fox Wood has the humps and hollows of an iron age fort....

StephenWalker

We leave Rainworth along the south side of Southwell Road East, and beyond the houses take the signposted path then the fisermen's road out to the lake. There is a rough path immediately opposite which goes left to join the rerouted path which now goes through the fields above the trees. There is a liitle path in the verge of Coxmoor Road, and a narrow pavement on the north side of Kirkby Road, but the disadvantage of staying on the north side is that the crossing where the Robin Hood Way path heads right is a little awkward due to raised verges....

Hugh Hudson

An alleyway takes us to Welbeck Road, which we cross and head half left up through a park, then half right across the Millennium Green. We cross another main road and continue on another path right of the cemetery, that leads us out through houses and down a flight of steps into the Maun valley, where we turn sharp right and cross the bridge, then take the track right and bear left steeply up the hill....

Hugh Hudson

Unlike other routes out of Rainworth this one quickly takes us into a very pleasant waterside area with a good path shared for access by anglers. The public path leaves the area via a kissing gate onto a farm track then crosses a minor road where the signed path is a little to the right. As the traffic noise increases a well defined path turns right then left to allow a direct crossing of the road without other close contact....

Ken

I agree with Stephen that this route is basicly good but has a serious fault at Papplewick so I must fail it and offer Hucrai-4...

Ken

Building work still closes the path at Blidworth and use of this would involve two more stiles that can't be avoided....

Ken

We cross the bridge and go right around the pond on another good track then join the path along an old railway. The plot suggests going straight up to the top of the second bridge - the bank on the north side was too steep for me to attempt but just beyond the bridge an easier one works (picture 12 - or a little further on there is a proper cycle path - it is also possible to follow the old railway cycle paths all the way into Sherwood Pines, and this would be a slightly shorter route). Our track crosses another old colliery railway and heads into Sherwood Pines, where we take the NCN 6 track south before it zigzags to reach the Blidworth colliery railway path, which we cross and use more forest tracks to exit the SW corner of the wood, where we follow a good track under an old railway bridge to join yet another old colliery railway path towards Rainworth....

Hugh Hudson

I only walked the section from Kirkby to the end of Cauldwell Road today, but the rest of the route is almost identical to the Sutton-Rainworth route I walked last week, which is more enjoyable than this one. Cross the main road with care and continue down Southwell Road East to reach the Rainworth meeting point. It is a great shame that there is no pavement on Blidworth Road east of the A611, which blocks any safe pleasant route from Kirkby to Thieves Wood, as there is a good green route from Thieves Wood to Rainworth. For pictures of the route from Cauldwell Road to Rainworth, see my review of SUTRAI 2....

Hugh Hudson

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. 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. 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)....

Hugh Hudson

The path that runs south south east from Sherwood Pines to the old railway is not continuous - there is a short gap near Eakring Road where a little ingenuity is needed to see the way forward, which involves stepping over a low but solid wooden fence, and. As noted before, there is no path forward where we hit the cycle trail, but I found a rough path a few meters right which crosses a low wooden fence to reach Eakring Road. Beyond we turn left and follow the railway to the edge of Rainworth, then take the signposted cycletrack which starts off heading east then doubles back alongside the main road to reach the road, which leads us easily into the centre of Rainworth.....

Hugh Hudson

The next road crossing has no lights but a certral refuge. From here care is needed because it's so easy to follow the excellent path that leads into the housing. Crossing the A60 is not so easy so care is needed or a detour south of a hundred yards to a light controlled crossing....

Ken

The exit main road has a pavement before moving to quiet estate roads via an unrecorded and unsigned path. On the south side I found the route a little confusing with so many tracks and old rail routes which had served the colliery. The orange dots on the map aren't helpful as there is no convenient link from the rail cuttings to the crossing paths. Perhaps there are plans to make the northern section of the rail route into Route 6 which should improve things. The approach to the next bit of old rail route is interesting. From here we follow the route which soon enters a cutting through hard sandstone. After the bridge under the A617 the plot is not correct - the path first heads east then doubles back over the bridge alongside but fenced from the busy road....

Ken

The area could offer a route shorter by two miles if services at Go Ape were not required and an additional stretch of roadside pavement was acceptable. There are discrepancies between the recorded path route and the available route north of Rainworth. The route here is well plotted even after we leave the definitive path which is a dead end, I wonder why? The plotted straight line to the main gate on the A614 is not available but the path on the ground should take us through the extensive refreshment area and then through the courtyard where the loos are located. Turning right at the exit from the buildings will take us back to the plotted route and avoid conflict with the car park. Back on the main route we pass a camp site after which, on the day of my visit, I had the track to myself. The rail line that served Bilsthorpe Colliery is now a cycle route so there are a number of alternative east west routes here but they all must lead to the disused north south rail route. The plot here offers one available route, the other is through the woodland neither appear to follow the definitive line as marked on OS maps....

Ken

The northern section of this walk is mostly on excellent surfaced tracks so easy walking and navigation with no fields of cattle or stiles to contend with. Approaching Calverton there is a section of road walking with no pavement and in places only a narrow verge....

Ken

The crossing of the bypass road fails to offer any lights to stop the traffic so extra care is needed. 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? 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...

Ken

Road walking is fair with pavements or quiet lanes but crossings need care as there is little if any help from lights. This main road route does offer a buffer space by using the service road where the houses are set back. The narrow track suddenly becomes an incredibly wide road, further along the route another wide road stops abruptly all suggesting an unfulfilled plan. 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....

Ken

I walked this route from Rainworth to New Ollerton. I set out to walk Rainew 1 but there is an access issue at Rufford and I got lost trying to follow the Rainew1 route into Ollerton. The field paths could be muddy - they were when I walked the route. Watch out for the turn down the field to cross the Wellow - Rufford road before another muddy path to approach Ollerton....

StephenWalker

This route has a problem of access at Rufford Country Park. The section entering Ollerton is not clearly defined. I have uploaded an edited version - Rainew2...

StephenWalker

We cross Lower Kirklington Road and follow Station Road past the Final Whistle pub, then turn left along the Southwell Trail, the old Newark-Southwell-Mansfield railway. Where the road turns right we go straight on along a smaller lane, which leads to a bench, beyond which the path crosses large open fields (well marked at first, but the path disappears in the last field which had been ploughed recently) to the A614, where we meet the only stile on the whole route. We soon leave the track to join a smaller but well used path that follows a clearing near the edge of the wood around to rejoin the main track which leads down and around to join the old colliery railway which takes us easily to the edge of Rainworth, where the way down from the railway path doubles back from beyond the road....

Hugh Hudson

Leaving the meeting point in Arnold, we follow Worrall Avenue to its end and continue through a surfaced alleyway to Coppice Road, where we cross and turn right (if it is busy there is a pelican crossing a little further left). We take the next surfaced alleyway left to Killisick Road, where we turn right and follow it around a long bend and up the hill. Just before the path emerges on Mapperley Plains we turn left on an unsurfaced path which follows the road around the northern edge of the claypit (at one point there is a gap from which the full extent of the quarrying can be seen). Once we reach valley level we follow a farm track down along the stream, and then over the bridge to the left past Woodborough Park, then leaving the road to follow the waymarked field path up through Fox Wood (which has an iron age hill fort) then right a short distance along the bridleway. There are shops just off route to the right, but we turn left along Main Street, passing the Admiral Rodney pub. Where the right of way heads into the wood we follow it a short distance, then take the little path left that follows the power lines through a narrow fire break. This leads to an obvious forest track, which we follow half right, then down over the old colliery railway to Longdale Lane, which we cross and continue on a path just left of the junction....

Hugh Hudson

The walk along Moor Road south of Papplewick while part of the Robin Hood Way is in my view unsafe for walking with little if any verge and fast moving traffic. It may have been acceptable when the RHW was devised but recent development has no doubt increased vehicle use of the road....

Ken

Much of the route uses the well walked Robin Hood Way and apart from some short missing bits the road walking has pavements. At Top Farm, by the Hall, we meet the Robin Hood Way which may explain the creation of the footpath that avoids walking the narrow road. OpenStreetMap offers a good choice of paths across the green open space leading to Preston Road but they are not definitive and an earth mound suggests this is another site awaiting more housing....

Ken

We walked the section of this route from Arnold to Papplewick Lane as part of a test walk for a possible alternative route from Arnold to Rainworth that would have combined that with the new HUCRAI 3. In our view the road section south of Papplewick on the B683 (between Goosdale Lane and the first houses on the east side), which has no pavement and only a very narrow uneven verge, cannot be recommended to walkers concerned about road safety (see Photo 1, but this is not the narrowest section). This is a shame, as having walked most of it in the past I know that the route from Papplewick to Rainworth is a good one, though it is rather short on facilities....

Hugh Hudson

Starting at Hucknall station, we go up the steps and turn right, turning right again onto Wigwam Lane which we cross using a pelican crossing, then turn left into Kenbrook Road. We go right a short distance to find the new trail left through Moor Ponds Wood to Linby Lane, where we go left a short distance and cross into a small car park to pick up the path through another wood. The field path goes through a couple of gates to reach the narrow lane that leads to Papplewick church. Eventually it leads past a pig farm to Main Road (B6020), where we go straight on past the junction on the right, then turn right into a well marked field path that crosses fields and allotments to emerge on Field Lane. Beyond the Miners Welfare, we turn right along a signposted path that is surfaced but partly covered in mud, and descends a few steps before taking a straight line along the edge of the wood....

Hugh Hudson

A very easy walk along the Southwell Trail to Farnsfield then flat open fields and some commercial woodland around Blidworth on the light sandy soils. Good services half way along the main road at Farnsfield. We overshoot our road route into Rainworth over the high imposing bridge then double back along a zig-zag path under the bridge to join the pavement alongside the busy road which offers evidence that Raisou-2 is not be a good walk without the safety of a pavement....

Ken

On reflection I think it would be better to take in the services along the main road at Farnsfield rather than walk the quiet estate roads. I started the day from Farnsfield and headed east, the route out needed navigational care with twists and turns around estate roads which had little of interest but avoided the busy main road. We don't get to see much of Halam and no services on our brief encounter before another steep climb, don't be tempted to stay on the inviting low ground, it's not the path. Meeting a road there is a pavement alongside but High Town offers our footpath route although not the most inviting as the path is shunned by the surrounding homes rather than it having been integrated into the estate layout. We overshoot our road route into Rainworth over the high imposing bridge then double back along a zig-zag path under the bridge to join the pavement alongside the busy road which offers evidence that Raisou-2 would not be a good route without the safety of the pavement....

Ken

The route leaves Rainworth on the road and then follows the course of the old railway onto the landscaped site of Blidworth Colliery spoil workings [called Boundary Wood]. From here it is up steep wet fields onto the ridge at New Hall Farm before a descent to regain the Robin Hood Way, which is followed to Halam (Pub here, but not on the route)....

StephenWalker

From here the bridleway heads up through the houses to the main road (shops), and then on residential pavements through the houses to reach Clipstone Drive, an unsurfaced lane along the hill crest. After 500m we turn northwards down the edge of the forest on the bridleway and after crossing the river Maun turn again alongside the river and some fishing ponds. After the final pond we turn northwards again to follow the bridleway up hill between two hedges....

StephenWalker

I agree that the long roadside to White Post farm makes Raisou1 a far superior route, even though it is further....

StephenWalker

We use the pelican crossings to cross to Linby Road, which we follow past the leisure centre, turning left into Blatherwick Close and following the path past a few more houses to Linby Walk, where we turn right. We follow the main road until it turns right, where an unsurfaced but easy field path takes us straight on to the lane that serves the church at Papplewick. Where the second path rejoins the road it is possible to stay on the verge as far as the path right, which skirts the edge of the field then turns left along the edge of the wood, then taking a diagonal line right through the wood. We cross Mansfield Road on a bridge and about 100 yards further on follow another surfaced track on the right which takes a rather indirect line back to the road (a more accurate GPX file would help here). We follow Mansfield Road a short distance and turn right up Westbrook Drive, taking a surfaced footpath straight on where it turns left....

Hugh Hudson

Leaving Rainworth, we follow Southwell Road East west up the hill, turning right into First Avenue, then left at the end and right again on a path that leads onto the old railway. The surfaced track descends into a railway cutting and crosses Big Barn Lane to emerge on Little Barn Lane, where we go right a short distance to find the track continuing on the left, down past an area of parkland onto Selwyn Street, where we go left a short distance, crossing the main road using the central refuge and taking the path that goes up opposite. We leave the old railway at Windsor Road, which we cross and go right a short distance to find a surfaced track following the edge of the park down to the left....

Hugh Hudson

Turn right along this track which meets a quiet road which you follow straight on. The official route now stays on quiet roads and tracks into Linby but you can cut a mile off this by turning right along the Papplewick Trail just after leaving the B683. The official route follows the road out of Linby before bearing left onto a path across fields and into Papplewick. Turn left along the road for 400m where you bear left onto the wide track into the grounds of Newstead Abbey....

Rob23Notts

The official Rainew route shown then goes along private roads in Rufford village with no direct access to Rufford Park as far as I know. Instead once you cross the A614 you should turn left to follow the pavement up to the main Rufford Park entrance where you turn right along the main driveway. This soon rejoins the official Rainew route which you follow past the main buildings and cafe area....

Rob23Notts

This is mostly an easy walk to follow using pavements and tarmac cycle tracks for all of the route from Mansfield to the crossing of the Rainworth bypass and then a disused railway line with good surface....

Rob23Notts

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....

StephenWalker

At the road junction the route is on the wide pavement of a busy road. 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....

StephenWalker

From here you must either head further north to Oxclose Lane or turn right (south) parrallel to the station platforms to reach Debdale Lane. From Debdale Lane it is an easy detour to regain the 'official' route at Station Street....

StephenWalker

Where the trail ends, after crossing Fisher Lane park, the route is on quiet roads with pavements....

StephenWalker

The section through Blidworth has been made trickier by building work, but there is a signed diversion. The approach to Rainworth centre is through a housing estate....

StephenWalker

Turn right at the B6011 and walk down through Linby (pub and tea-room) before heading left across the fields to reach Papplewick (pub and tea-room), approaching the village along Church Lane. Opposite the gate to Newstead Grange Farm turn right and follow the public footpath alongside the hedge and through the wood to meet the A60 near Ravenshead. Eventually you emerge on New lane and turn right to meet the B6020 (Mansfield Road - shops). Turn left up Mansfield road and take Belle Vue Lane on the right....

StephenWalker

The section through Newstead Abbey grounds is on firm sandy paths (and a short section of tarmac drive). The section from Nomanshill car-park to the A60 is a firm forestry track, but after the A60 the tracks were very muddy (in January)....

StephenWalker

This is easy to follow but a little care should be taken to find your way to the path through the woods just to the east of Blidworth. From this path be careful to take the correct path into the centre of Southwell....

Rob23Notts

The other route is longer but traffic free between Rainworth and the White Post....

Rob23Notts