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Walks and trails

Set amongst attractive countryside, the district is served by a network of accessible trails and walks.
These walks meander through towns and villages incorporating disused railway tracks and public rights of way. Each trail has its own information leaflet detailing each walk and highlighting the interesting features en-route. 
 
For a comprehensive trails listing in the area and throughout Derbyshire please see our PDF icon Walking Festival 2013 leaflet or visit the Peak District and Derbyshire website. We manage and develop a network of trails around the county for you to enjoy. Our trails allow you to explore the countryside by foot, bicycle or horse.

Many of them follow disused railway lines, so provide easy walking and riding, and offer access for all ages and abilities. The following locations offer trails for horseriding and walking:

Five Pits Trail

The Five Pits Trail provides an off-road surfaced route for walkers cyclists and horse riders. It is a 5 and a half mile linear route linking Grassmoor Country Park to Tibshelf Ponds, passing mainly through agricultural and woodland landscapes. 

The trail can be extended to 7 and a half miles, by following the route through to Williamthorpe Ponds and Holmewood Woodlands.

The Five Pits Trail was completed by us in 1989. It was based upon a Great Central Railway route which served the five main collieries of Grassmoor, Williamthorpe, Holmewood, Pilsley and Tibshelf.

The closure of many other smaller pits along the railway has dramatically changed the landscape. Most of the original railway line was removed and parts of the land were opencast. 

Today the Five Pits Trail follows the approximate route of the original railway. The landscape is now undulating throughout with a number of long steep slopes. 

Trail entrances are considered to be accessible for disabled people but surface conditions and some steep slopes may limit people's access to some sections.

Glapwell Countryside Site

Reclaimed in the 1980s, this site now boasts a range of facilities. These include: Stockley ponds, angling with disabled pegs, access to the Doe Lea Local Nature Reserve and the southern end of the Stockley Trail, and woodlands.

Newton Link

Located on the edge of the village of Newton, the Newton Link is an area of open grassland.  There is a surfaced path from the road for part of the route, the remainder is a mown grass path. 

This is a popular local route and is a short distance from Tibshelf Ponds at the south end of the Five Pits Trail.

Peter Fidler Reserve

The Peter Fidler Reserve is situated alongside the Stockley Trail at Carr Vale, on the former Bolsover Colliery South Tip. The site contains a variety of wildlife habitats which can be visited and offers good views of the adjacent Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Carr Vale Nature Reserve. 

The site has been dedicated to the memory of Peter Fidler who was born in 1769 at Mill Farm, next to the former colliery site. 

Peter Fidler was a famous North American explorer and chief surveyor of the Hudson Bay Company in Canada. A commemorative stone cairn on the reserve is similar to his memorial at Dauphin in Canada.

Rowthorne an Pleasley Trails

These trails run through both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and are relics of the area's industrial past, being remnants of railway lines that served the coal mining activities of the region.

Now reclaimed by human activity and natural regeneration, the trails offer opportunities for walking, cycling and horse riding.

The trails pass through Local Nature Reserve (LNR) habitats of great wildlife value, such as mature Oak and Ash woodlands, wildflower meadows, limestone grassland terraces and pools and wetlands.

Rowthorne Trail LNR
The LNR can be accessed via Rowthorne Lane at the northern end of the trail. At the southern end the trail links into the Pleasley/Teversal Trails network at Batley Lane, where there are steps and a steep ramp down to the road.

The trails are pedestrian access only, unsurfaced in places, with some steep slopes and steps. The steep embankments of this disused railway provide excellent habitats for a wide range of limestone loving plants, whilst some areas are developing as Oak woodland.

Wetter areas at the foot of the embankment and a small streamside meadow provide valuable habitats for plants, grass snakes, butterflies and moths.

At the Batley Lane end the LNR includes part of the Teversal to Pleasley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the majority of which is in Nottinghamshire.

A leaflet of circular walks, starting at Rowthorne car park and including areas of the Hardwick estate, has been produced in partnership with the National Trust

Stockley Trail

The Stockley Trail is a two mile multi-user trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The trail runs parallel to the River Doe Lea from Carr Vale, near Bolsover to Glapwell.

A car park is situated off the A632 at the bottom of Bolsover Hill. At Stockley Ponds, off the A617 by Ma Hubbards public house, there is fishing (Glapwell Angling Club) and countryside walks on the former Glapwell colliery site.

Tibshelf Ponds

Tibshelf Ponds provide several opportunities for short walks around the ponds, through the extensive wildflower rich meadows and woodlands.

A number of access routes have been created to allow you to explore the woods. 

The predominately Oak and Silver Birch woodlands throughout the site have matured well and now provide good habitat for a variety of birds including several members of the finch and tit families. 

These woodlands are now undergoing woodland management which includes thinning and coppicing. 

A new trail, opened in 2007 on part of the old Silverhill railway line, provides a link into Nottinghamshire giving access to Brierley Forest Park and the Teversal Trail.

Last Updated on Friday, 15 February 2013 16:31

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