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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3071 |
21st June 2017 Mt. Biking: Kiveton Colliery to Clumber Park via Worksop Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods and hot with showers later! Max Speed: 19.53 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 30.54 mile (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Wednesday 21st June – Bike ***** Kiveton Colliery to Clumber Park via Worksop mainly on the Cuckoo Way on the Chesterfield Canal Towpath – sunny periods and hot with showers later! 30.54 miles, out 6 hrs. 30 mins., max speed 19.53 kts. Lovely safe night locked in the Kiveton Community Woodland carpark near the fishing lakes and woke to a warmer day with sunny periods. Mag was up at 7 doing her exercises in the sun with only the occasional dog walker passing, after a bit of a read, I am liking the ‘Vera’ books, I also did my exercises before breakfast. Mag packed a picnic while I took the bikes off and we set off just before eleven heading out of the carpark to a sign for the ‘Cuckoo Way’ path leading across a field of horses to the Chesterfield canal. We couldn’t believe our luck as we came onto the canal right at the entrance to the 3000m Norwood tunnel which we tried to find by road yesterday. Sadly, it has been bricked up since the 1930’s so this is the end of the canal navigation and the perfect place to start our towpath ride:) The narrow tree lined canal is cool and very beautiful, we soon pass the turning place and weir before reaching Kiveton station where we drove to yesterday. Here we had to cross over the canal and pass one of many ‘Kissing Gates’ which we had to manoeuvre our bikes through! We had also already spotted some large fish, mainly carp, bream and chub, but went on to see a large terrapin with loads of swan and ducks with young. To start there was a long flat section with several lovely arched bridges to go under and we had a nice chat with a couple of local cyclists who recommended that at Worksop we follow the National Bike Route 6 all the way to Clumber Park a National Trust place where the big house has gone but the grounds and lake are perfect for cycling. Then we stopped again to spoke to another couple whose dogs were having great fun jumping in the water. Then the narrow locks came thick and fast! Loads and loads of them (we counted 30 in 6 miles!) as the land dropped away towards Worksop. We were lucky enough to see a couple of very narrow, narrow boats going through the locks, which came in ones, twos and threes! making it slow progress for the boats. The canals main claim to fame being that it was used to carry stone to rebuild the Houses of Parliament in the 1800’s as the stone could be taken from the quarry to London all the way on the water. We had great fun watching a mother swan teach her babies the ‘arse up’ technique for collecting weed off the bottom, watching them waggle their feet in desperation was hilarious! As we neared Worksop we passed a large narrow boat marina where people lived on their boats, past a nice tearoom and saw loads of chub swimming in the faster water from the overflow channels. It became built up and we found the Route 6 sign directing us over the canal, past a large lake. Biking close to the town centre we re-joined the canal past some large old warehouses before turning right and away from the canal. It was slightly uphill through a large council house estate following the well signed route, we were only a little lost for a short while when a sign was missing but Mag asked a young local carrying a chain saw ‘is this the way to Clumber Park’ and he replied with a ‘yes sweetheart’ in a wonderful northern accent making Mags day! No politically correct stuff up North just friendly banter :) Then out into the countryside again past a large golf course and swanky private school before turning into beautiful pine forest. It was still about three miles to the park but a top path and quiet roads. We came out of the woods onto a main road seeing a sign for Clumber Park which apparently cost £3.85 to get in but lucky for us we didn’t see anywhere to pay on our bikes and enjoyed it all for free:) We think it must be a pay to park and get the rest free kind of place. Coming to an old stone bridge the swan filled lake stretched both ways but there was a church steeple to the left and a path along the lake so we headed that way. Sadly, the lake surface was virtually covered with green weed :( We found a super spot for a picnic right in front of the large church and were soon joined by a pair of Robins, then a family of swans which came a little too close for comfort, also a nest of Coots with the parents busy feeding the odd little red headed babies. Grebes and geese also prolific and making up the numbers! We had sat with our feet in the water to cool off as it was now very hot so had to clean and dry them before setting off. We continued right around the lake past the church and outbuilding where the large house once stood before finding Route 6 back to Worksop and the canal. This meant we only had another six miles to the van, we were already knackered and it was slightly uphill going back! We stopped for a sweetie break and even had a few rain showers before making it back to the van after 6hrs. 30 mins away, covering over 30 miles! I hadn’t finished and while Mag returned to the van for a cooling wash and to get the kettle on, I biked up the slag heap to the Pit Pony sculpture and down the bendy path! We relaxed with a cuppa in and out of the van as the showers past over, it is just so hot, like being by the Med. Finished off the lasagne and discovered we have been locked in again by the fishermen, he didn’t even worry about asking us this time :) So feeling safe and sound for the second night in a row:) Photo Gallery here |
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