Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today’s walk was an enjoyable 7-mile circular amble from Skellingthorpe to Doddington.

Angela and I parked the car in the large community car park in Skellingthorpe. On the way, driving on the A46, we had a great view of the new sculpture, ‘On Freedom’s Wings’, on the adjacent hillside by Norton Disney- the subject of another recent blog.

Will we see the new ‘On Freedom’s Wing’s’ Sculpture on this walk?

The initial part of the walk was along the Sustrans cycle route that was formed from the track bed of the former Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which transported coal from Derbyshire to the East Coast. It closed in 1979. The community centre is close to the former railway station in Skellingthorpe.

We passed an old railway bridge now being reclaimed by nature.

Along our way we saw horse riders, cyclists, runners and dog walkers all enjoying a dry morning (we have had many wet days recently) and the track.

Soon we left the path and followed a route into Old Wood. A handy bench enabled Angela to remove an irritating piece of grit from her boot without having to hop around on one leg. The birds were chirping away.

We followed the paths through the peaceful wood eventually leaving through a nice archway before passing through a gate into the estate of Doddington Hall.

Following a tarmac track we arrived into Doddington Village where we saw St Peters Church and glimpsed the grand Elizabethan Hall itself.

We were disappointed to find that the café was not open yet so continued on our way. – well, we were rather early on a Sunday morning, it open’s at 10:00 apparently. We will be back to visit the house and its grounds and explore more of the ‘Wilder Doddington’ walks.

Our return route took us across fields till we eventually picked up the Sustrans route once more.

We were delighted to find a pop-up coffee vendor near the Skate Park, at the end of the community car park, and so got our morning caffeine hit. It was very nice coffee and a nice way to complete our walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶