Hilly 5 mile route along Longwalls Lane, through Lumb woods and back via the Chevin.
Start point: Belper Mills car park (P&D)
Length: 5 miles
Time: 2.5 hours
Stiles: yes
Livestock: yes
Roads: 2 crossings
Route
Starting at Belper Mills, head over the river and up Ashbourne Road to the top of the hill. After carefully crossing the road, head up Shireoaks to a gate onto fields on the left. Take the path that heads slightly down hill, past a fallen tree and then to a squeeze stile next to some cottages.
Head up track, cross road and over stile then take right diagonal path and over squeeze stile in first field. Head diagonally up hill over two stone stiles and gate, admiring the view behind you whenever you run out of puff!
Take path and stile over wall to reach Longwalls Lane. Turn left and head for 3/4 mile down lane. Take the low wall stile besides the bench after the monkey puzzle trees, and follow the path to a squeeze stile with makeshift gate, then down the livestock field and over a stile to the gate at the end of a fence.
Turn right on road, then quickly left thorough squeeze stile, over footbridge and up the meadow to the busy road. Carefully cross to the step stile, and over field. Follow path to right of farm, and through stile to often very boggy patch and another footbridge. A junction with track, head straight across to path that rises diagonally across a field to woods.
Follow path through woods to stone stile over wall, then to left of field to two stiles and up to road. Turn right to large path on left, just before a field and up track to the ‘leg swinging bench’ and beautiful views over Belper. Head through stile and down steep hill and through another stile to the road.
Turn left for 100m or so and right before houses to gate. Follow path that heads diagonally down left, through stiles to farm gate which is often the centre of a pond! Use stepping stones if needed to get to stile and through gate to river path. Turn left and follow river path back to Bridgefoot, then right to return to the start.