Local Walk: Around Wingfield Manor

Walk supplied by Angela Clarke of Belper www.peakwalker.net

Start: Roadside parking in Pentrich opposite the church (SK 3900 5258)
 
Route: Pentrich - Wingfield Manor - Coalburn Hill - Wingfield Park - Pentrich

Map: Explorer OS 269: Chesterfield & Alfreton
 
Distance: 5 miles   

Terrain: Good tracks, fields and quiet lanes.

Refreshments: Dog Inn, Pentrich.

Toilets: None

A local walk that offers extensive views and visits two areas that have a historical claim to fame.

Having parked opposite the church, with the church on your left, head uphill, in the opposite direction to the Dog Inn, towards Ripley.

Pentrich is where the last revolution in England began and the brown plaques on the walls in the village relate to this event.

Pass the village hall and Farm Close on the left. As the road bends round to the right cross it and take the signed footpath to the right of Farm Close.

Ignore the stile, on the right, at the back of the house on the right; instead continue straight ahead through the gate to follow a broad track along the ridge. In the distance the noise of the A38 can be heard but press on and it will soon be lost. Away to your left the view extends as far as Crich Stand.

After passing through a second gate the track swings round to the left, towards the farm. Before you reach the farm take the broad track on the left that is signed public footpath. Can you spot the ruins of Wingfield Manor across the valley to your right?

Wingfield Manor

Follow the track downhill until, as it swings left, you see a gate on the right, which you take. Continue straight ahead, downhill, to reach another gate onto the road. This road is quite busy so keep children close by.

Turn left to find a footpath sign on the right. The actual path down to the stile is just beyond the sign. If you have young children with you it is advisable to let an adult tackle the stile first as it is a long step down on the other side and they may need helping down.

Your route is straight ahead, downhill, with the hedge on your left. After crossing another stile continue straight ahead to find a third stile, on your left, onto the lane.

Turn right and follow the lane round to the left, under the railway bridge to the public bridleway sign on the right just after Bull Farm.

Go through the gate and follow the track towards Shrewsbury Cottage. Just before you reach a second gate take the track on the left.

Coalburn Hill

Follow this track passing through, or round, one gate to reach a second gate after which a signpost gives you multiple routes to follow. The path you eventually want is the one on the left, which is heading uphill and back on yourself.

Before you head along the track take the time to divert off the route to get the best view of Wingfield Manor, a temporary prison for Mary Queen of Scots before she was executed in Fotheringhay Castle. To do this ignore both paths and take the gap in the trees straight ahead of you. Then follow the vague path uphill and to the left to not only look at the manor, which isn’t normally open to the public1, but to also admire the view across the valley.

Having returned to the path follow it uphill, passing an entrance to Wingfield Manor, to a gate and a squeeze stile. Continue straight ahead to reach a second gate, which was missing at the time of writing. Continue straight ahead with the wall on your left to another gate (also missing), keep straight ahead, downhill with the wall now on your right.

At the bottom of the field take the gate on the right and continue straight ahead, downhill, to a further gate on the right by a building. The gate takes you onto a lane where you turn left and then, at the junction, right along Lynam Road.

Walk along Lynam Road, which is normally an extremely quiet lane, until, as the lane heads uphill, you see, on the left, a footpath sign for Buckland Hollow.

Take the footpath and follow it straight across the field to a gate and then veer left to find a stone stile onto a broad track. Turn right along the track and follow it uphill and through Lodge Hill Farm.

The track exits the farm via a gate and continues downhill to another gate to the left of a wooded area.

Having gone through this gate, leave the track as the footpath now veers off to the left heading towards the trees and the River Amber.

As the trees end bear left, with the river, to find, straight ahead of you, a bridge across the river onto the road, which can be busy. Turn right along the road and then take the footpath on the right, which is signed for Pentrich.

After going through the gate continue straight ahead, keeping the hedge on your right. When a large gap appears in the hedge veer left to a stile in the top right hand corner of the field.

Continue straight ahead, with the hedge on your right, across another stile, to eventually cross a third stile, in the right corner of the second field, into a third field on the right.

Continue straight ahead, with the hedge now on your left, to find a squeeze stile further along the hedge. Take the squeeze stile and now head diagonally left, towards the houses, following a vague path.

Take the stile into the next field, and then continue straight ahead, uphill, towards the church to a squeeze stile into the church grounds.

Bear left to a stone path, which you follow downhill to the road, where you can either turn right for a drink in the Dog Inn or left to return to your car.

1.Wingfield Manor is only open for pre-arranged visits on the 1st Saturday of the
month. To arrange a visit telephone English Heritage Customer Services on:
0870 333 1183.

We have taken reasonable steps to ensure that this walk is safe and achievable by walkers of a realistic level of fitness. The publisher accepts no responsibility for any injuries caused to readers whilst following the walk. Always wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

Rhia Calvert interviews Dear Superstar's Micky Satiar and Chris Hodgson

Rhia Calvert (17) is a young lady from Holbrook with an extremely bright future ahead of her. She is about to go into her second year at Derby College, where she is studying Media. Rhia has a huge passion for music and spends a lot of her spare time at gigs. She loves photography and writing and hopes to become a professional photographer. Rhia contacted All Things Local as she wants to gain experience in the media and see some of her work in print. We are only too happy to oblige and we wish Rhia all the very best for the future.

Rhia will be interviewing bands and reporting back in forthcoming issues of All Things Local. If you’re a local band and would welcome some exposure within this magazine then email karyn@allthingslocal.co.uk

Five minutes with … Dear Superstar

They're loud, they're wild and they rock. Dear Superstar are ready to tear up the scene and cause a big rock 'n' roll riot. I caught up with front man Micky Satiar and bassist Chris Hodgson backstage at Nottingham's Rock City on the opening night of their UK headline tour.

Dear Superstar front man Micky Satiar
To anyone who hasn't heard Dear Superstar before, how would you describe your sound?
Micky: We just play music as loud as we can and make as much noise as we can; it's just rock 'n' roll. Simple as that really.

Who are your biggest musical influences?
Micky: Kiss, Motley Crue. Everything from the whole 80's sunset strip vibe through to modern bands such as Avenged Sevenfold and bands that we've toured with such as Papa Roach. To be honest anyone who's played rock 'n' roll has inspired us, obviously we listen to a lot of music and we always learn something from that - be it the worst or the greatest song in the world.

Chris: Any music with a bit of soul really.

How would you describe 2010 so far?
Micky: Wicked really, we've been spending a lot of time in the studio. We started off the year touring with Heaven's Basement which was amazing and it's getting to the point now where we released our second album two years ago so we need to get the third one written and recorded, so we've been drilling away at that; writing song after song, throwing it in the bin then re-writing it and just demo-ing as much as we can. And that's brought us up to now really where we're back on the road.

What was touring with Heaven's Basement like?
Micky: Amazing, we've toured together a lot like back with Buckcherry and we've done shows together previously so we've always had that friendship. We're like brothers really, it's got to the point now where you don't know where Dear Superstar starts and Heaven's Basement ends.
Chris: It's two bands that have completely integrated, by the end of the last tour with them it wasn't like two different bands.
Micky: It's so easy to go out on tour with bands that have egos or think they're above others but Heaven's Basement just aren't like that, we've got such similar personalities. Plus they like to drink, that's good for us because we need drinking partners!

Are you excited about this upcoming tour?
Micky: Yeah, massively. For us we haven't done a headline tour properly for two years, we've just supported bigger bands which is great and it's been an amazing ride, but it's something really endearing, exciting and worrying as well when you're going out on a headline tour especially playing venues like this which is so iconic, it's like - are people going to turn up? It's such a high expectation but zero knowledge about what's around the corner.
Chris: It's exciting really, when you play with a bigger band you know they're going to pull a big crowd, but when you're on your own tour it's exciting to see how many people turn up just to see you.

What are the best and worst parts of being on tour?
Micky: There is no worst part, we've worked so hard to get where we are and to then moan about being on the road just seems stupid to me.
Chris: I think once you get your head around the idea of touring it's just about freedom. I don't see any bad points to it at all, it maybe takes a while to get used to things like living out of a suitcase but it's freedom. You don't have to worry about anything.
Micky: On a completely random note, clean socks are the best thing about being on tour, there's just nothing like it.
Chris: So I guess the worst part would be having no clean socks.

What's been the best moment of being in Dear Superstar so far?
Micky: It's a hard one to answer because every time we achieve something great and think it's the best moment of our lives, something else even more epic happens. I guess playing at Download Festival, we'd always been going there to watch other bands and to be able to go there and grace the stage was just a massive personal achievement for all of us.

You've played a lot of festivals and toured with a lot of bands, have you ever felt totally star struck?
Micky: When we were at Download Festival we met Joe Elliot from Def Leppard and they were the band that first got me into rock 'n' roll, so when sharing a beer with them in the back of my head I was like 'oh my god this is the best thing in the world' but I was trying to act really cool. We've also partied with Tommy Lee from Motley Crue a couple of times and you kinda think 'no way, that's Tommy Lee!'

You've recorded two studio albums, would you say your second album 'Heartless' was more personal to you?
Micky: Yeah because to be honest we don't see our first album as an album really because Chris wasn't in the band and we just begged, stole and borrowed a thousand pounds to record an album, and a thousand pounds doesn't go far when you're recording. But with 'Heartless' we had time to go into a studio and write our songs and make it the best we could at that point in our lives. But we recorded 'Heartless' two years ago and in some ways we've grown out of it and we've experienced so much since so we're really eager to go and record our third album.

How would you describe the recording process?
Chris: Amazing!
Micky: Yeah, we partied every night but on the business side of things, I guess there was quite a bit of pressure on us. There were some lows points and it can be frustrating, I did over two hundred takes of vocals which was stressful, but overall it was an amazing experience for us.

Do you think recording brings you closer as a band?
Chris: For us it does, I think some bands maybe get annoyed when they're in each other's company but we all just have a good time together. If one of us has got any problems we all just pick each other up and everybody just looks after each other and that makes you closer.
Micky: Recording and touring really does separate the men from the boys. Since we started all those years ago we've seen so many bands come and go because they can't hack life on the road or being in the studio or being away from home. But we don't want to go home, this is what we genuinely live for. We're not rich and we drive around in a rubbish van but it's not about that, it’s about doing what your heart tells you.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?
Micky: We finish this UK tour then we go to Belgium, through to Switzerland to play Sonisphere Festival with Metallica. Then we've got European shows lined up and then we tour with Papa Roach to play military bases in Germany and Italy; playing to US troops who are serving out there so that will be an amazing experience. Then I guess in autumn we'll be recording the album and maybe we'll get time to tour again in between that.

Rhia

Life with V - the world comes crashing down

Well the world come has come crashing down around our ears yet again.

Now I don’t pretend to know anything at all about football – well not much anyway -but if the country is competing in something it’s nice to get behind them and cheer them along the way. Having said that, if they don’t ban those horrendous things that sound as if my television has been invaded by a massive infestation of extremely angry mosquitoes, I shall never watch another match again.

What I do find quite amusing is all the debating about why we lost. Well it’s my opinion only but we lost because the other team outclassed us, outplayed us and were far superior to our fumbling efforts.

One excuse was that the players were tired. Well I’m fairly confident that the Germans played in other games as well so it’s not really a good enough excuse. If they were that tired why weren’t they put to bed early so they could get a good 10 hours sleep?

Also my opinion, but I understand they were only told two hours before the game who was actually going to play. Well I don’t know about you but if I am doing something major I tend to get myself well psyched up for it beforehand, not convince myself I’m not going to do it and then be told I am.

I also think that to compete at anything at that level, whatever it is you are competing in has to be your passion. It has to ignite a fire in your belly; it has to be something that you eat, drink, sleep and live for. None of our Olympians would win if they didn’t have this attitude.

I personally feel that a good deal of the problem is that, to our footballers, it isn’t their main passion; it isn’t the thing that makes them leap of out of bed in the morning. What is their main passion is being a so-called celebrity and that is their main focus beyond any doubt. There are few sportsmen who successfully juggle being number one in their field with being a celebrity. David Beckham and Wayne Gretzky are two that come to mind but there is no questioning that their first priority was always dedication to their sport.

Wayne Rooney took his shirt off at the end of the game and my immediate thought was he’s been indulging in a few too many pies and pints. He didn’t even look fit. He looked sluggish, out of shape, moody, unmotivated – and this is our star player!! There are a couple of Under 10’s on the Belper football team who could I think give them a run for their money and my dog is pretty good at roaring about with a football, too. I’m sure either of them could have done a better job.

I would have loved England to have won but have to say congratulations to Germany, because at the end of that day the better team definitely won.

V

Just Dance - Jessica's column

At 11am on Saturdays there is an odd sound coming from the back room of Breadsall Village Hall; “tap tap bang bang click clack tap.” Anyone who was to venture closer would find a group of girls honing their tap dancing skills, and having piles of fun doing so; it was not, actually, a herd of wildebeest sporting stilettos!

I’ve been going to Starsteppers Dance School in Breadsall for years now, and although we can’t yet rival Britain’s Got Talent’s ‘Diversity’ I’ve made some really close friends and we’ve put on many a stunning show. Tap, with its crisp steps and shiny heeled shoes with polished metal soles, could well be my favourite style of dance. In French it’s called “les claquettes”, a name very appropriate as it serves as a pretty decent description of the neat noises made – ‘clacket clacket.’

Words used to help remember technical steps in dance form their own language. One muttered under the breath of tappers everywhere, is: “shuffle hop spring brush toe toe stamp”. Or in ballet: “first second and back to bras bas.”

I haven’t been doing ballet for very long, but I like how this type of dance slows everything down so you can concentrate much more on the curve of your hands and feet, and the music. Modern jazz dancing, like tap, is excellent because you can put in loads of cheesy enthusiasm, wide toothy grins and go mad. It’s so versatile that practically any kind of music can be used, from some bizarre classical remix to good old pop to give the dance a different vibe.

For me, dance shows are the best bit of dancing. The nerves from performing on a hot bright stage in front of a crowd means that backstage becomes hours of hyper laughter and messing about with new and old friends. Throw in ridiculous, colourful costumes and the necessary over-the-top stage make-up into the mix (blue eyes and red lips!) and you get some very memorable nights, hopefully for both performers and audience!

I often help out teaching the cute 3 and 4 year olds their routines. It’s always clear they’re having a whale of a time rocking out to Ghostbusters and Abba. No one can beat them for enthusiasm, which just goes to show that any and every age should have a bit of a boogie from time to time.

Recently I’ve been trying some more exercise-based dance classes. Derby Dance has an MTV Moves class on Mondays which I’ve gone to a few times where one intricate routine is taught weekly. All different kinds of people go there, but when we’re all following the music together and conquering the same fiddly sequence of moves, some of the self-consciousness melts away, and through a layer of perspiration you find you’re suddenly rather enjoying yourself!

Zumba is a kind of Latin American fitness dancing with lots of hips and shimmying. Despite its exhausting nature, a class I went to on Fridays with my Mum had an unmistakeable party atmosphere. The rhythmic music is so different to anything you’d hear on the radio. It’s like the lively drums echo your racing heartbeat.

Whether you dance to keep fit, make friends, enjoy the music or just for fun, keep on moving. That way, next time you’re at a wedding and the DJ cranks up the volume you can successfully wow (or embarrass) your relatives and forget your worries on the dance floor. All those spectators will wish that they too could relax their inhibitions, and just dance.
Jessica

Life through the eyes of Scrambles, a Belper-based Cairn Terrier

Firstly we must apologise for missing our column in the last edition – all our doggie friends have given us a good telling off and wondered what had happened to us. We in turn have given our Mum a good telling off and told her we HAVE to get a column done for this edition.

We are at the moment two quite worried little doggies because our Mum is putting all our stuff into boxes and we are sticking like glue to her because we suspect she is going somewhere and we want to make sure she doesn’t forget to pack us. Chaos climbed into one of the boxes last week and went to sleep but Mum said she couldn’t stay there and gave us both a big cuddle.

Our Mum says we are moving and that we are going to love it (we, on the other hand, are not convinced). She says we are going to be moving to a house that is 100 yards from our very favourite park and we will be able to walk for ages and ages without having to drive to it so we are very, very excited about that but can’t help worrying that with all these boxes and things that two small doggies might get overlooked.

We have never lived anywhere else before but so long as our Mum is there we know we will be OK. She has promised to bring my ‘Sluggie’ with us and Chaos’s ball so we will have our favourite toys. She also says there’s something called a conservatory so we will be able to see outside all the time even if it is chucking it down with rain. That will be nice because these humans do have a rather silly habit of putting windows halfway up the wall so we can’t see out – there’s no consideration for us at all!

We did go to have a look at our new house last week (from the outside) and our very best friend Schubert came with us. It was great because our Mum and Schubert’s Mum and Dad took us all for a walk through the park afterwards. We had lots and lots of fun saying hello to everybody and running through as much mud as we could find.

We are fairly sure we are not going to get forgotten but until then we aren’t letting our Mum out of our sight.

We will hopefully be moved and have this all over with by the time we write our next column, so we will give you a further update then and let you know how we are settling in.

Scrambles xx

Leabrooks Gallery & Picture Framing

An oasis of culture and calm amidst urban bustle.

Leabrooks Gallery is situated in a secluded, garden courtyard setting in the bustling area of Somercotes. The gallery offers original art works in oil, watercolour and mixed media together with limited and open edition prints. In addition, it also offers a wide range of hand made greetings cards, jewellery and a range of pottery.

The gallery also provides the facilities and skills of a bespoke framing service of the highest quality with an extensive choice of frame and mount designs at very competitive prices.

Owner, John Carnall comments: “When we moved to Somercotes eleven years ago, we became the owners of two ‘ugly ducklings’; a house and a group of collapsing farm buildings. Both were intrinsically beautiful but required work; both evolved around us, the house became a comfortable living space, and the barns, somehow a Gallery, where our two, very different, sets of interests and experiences found perfect fusion.”

The gallery regularly hosts exhibitions and boasts over 1,000 square feet of exhibition space. The next exhibition will be held from 7 to 28 August and will feature Derbyshire Landscapes in watercolour by local artist June Haywood. On 14 August, Jo Walters will be giving a jewellery making demonstration alongside Helen Meakin who will be demonstrating the art of textile design.

The onsite Coffee Shop, which is wheelchair accessible, offers visitors the opportunity to relax with a choice of beverages whilst considering the exhibitions and their purchases.  It is a pleasant room in which a further selection of prints is available together with a large range of cards.  In warm weather seating is extended into the Courtyard and gardens, where visitors can find peace as well as inspiration

If you’re looking for a meeting/conference room, there is also a conference centre available for hire based in the grounds of Leabrooks Gallery – for further information go to:
www.creative-conferencing.co.uk

More details about the gallery and forthcoming exhibitions can be found online at: www.leabrooksgallery.co.uk
Owners: John Carnall & Carol Barton-Jones
Location: 36 Leabrooks Road, Somercotes, Alfreton. DE55 4HB
Open: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4.30pm
Open Wednesday by appointment only
Contact: leabrooksgallery@tiscali.co.uk
Telephone: 01773 602961