Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, Mick and I enjoyed a 9-mile linear walk. We began in Bingham, Nottinghamshire and walked to Shelford. Then, following the River Trent, we continued on to Radcliffe-on-Trent. Finally, we caught a bus back to Bingham – the Nottingham buses are every 10 mins, which is great.

It was a beautiful blue- sky morning as we set off walking through Bingham. Mind you, it was still on the chilly side. Unfortunately, we started the walk at 08:00 so there was a lot of traffic on the roads because of rush hour. You forget just how noisy traffic can be. I was glad to reach the outskirts of Bingham.

We crossed the A46 using the pedestrian footbridge.

Soon, we were away from the traffic noise and heading into fields. We crossed a railway track using the level crossing. The stiles here were metal, with the steps arranged at angles, unlike traditional wooden stiles – I thought they were a good innovation and made crossing easier.

Continuing onwards we reached the former RAF base Newton, and its still remaining, iconic control tower.

The airfield was opened in 1940 and the runway was grass. As I walked past I could sense the history and imagined the Wellington bombers taking off and landing. Shortly after leaving the airfield we spotted a bench with a view and took a break.

From here we followed paths into the village of Shelford where we bumped into a walking group (Gedling Ramblers) outside the church. They were gathering for a 4.8-mile walk. We had a friendly chat with the leader and wished them a good walk.

We headed for the River Trent to where the old ferry crossing to Stoke Bardolph was located. The crossing ceased in the late 1960’s. Back in the 1300’s, the River Trent at this point could be crossed by foot, horse or carriage and a boat was only used during the winter months. Nowadays the river is too deep and fast flowing to cross without a boat. All that remains today are a few steps down to the river.

We stopped for a chat with a couple of women who were looking at the river. They smiled when we asked them ‘what time is the ferry due?’

The next leg of our walk was following the River Trent to Radcliffe, initially along the wide grassed bank then uphill to the cliffs.

The day was getting quite hot now and we were glad to get some shade walking through the wooded path ascending the cliffs.

Having reached the top we had a nice walk along a long shaded pathway.

We were on the ‘Trent Valley Way’ path. I spotted a tree stump to have a rest.

Soon we were descending into Radcliffe and caught our last view of the River Trent.

We headed for a bus stop and didn’t have to wait long before the bus arrived. We had certainly enjoyed the weather and the walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶