| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Convenor: |
David Johnson
Tel: 07549 132 066
|
| Convenor: |
Sue Fairweather
Tel: 07780 449 894
|
| When: | Monthly on Tuesdays 9:30 am 2nd Tuesday of the month |
We do a ramble of about 5 miles, ending at a pub or tearoom, on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.
For an overview of future walks refer to the Next Walks section below.
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Next Walks
Recent Walks
August 2026: WOLLATON PARK
August was a very hot month and the planned walk in Wollaton Park and Highfields was shortened to just the Park as the start of the walk was delayed by roadworks on the Ring Road, so temperatures were beginning to climb by the time we left the Admiral Rodney.
Whilst there was very little green grass, there were a few areas which were kept watered to help badgers. We glimpsed a few deer sheltering in the cooler wooded areas.
Wollaton Park is a Grade II listed 500-acre park, which includes a deer park. It is centred on Wollaton Hall, a classic Elizabethan house which contains the Nottingham Natural History Museum, with the Nottingham Industrial Museum in the stable block.
Various events including concerts are held in the park. The park has an active volunteering programme to support the upkeep of the park, run by the Friends of Wollaton Park.
Lunch afterwards was at The Admiral Rodney where delicious chips were served.
July 2026: OXTON
This month’s walk from the village of Oxton was around the surrounding fields, some of which had been baked by the extreme heat in June and July. Fortunately, the morning started cool and overcast with the hot sun coming through towards the end.
Oxton is a village of Saxon origin, with the name Oxa-tun deriving from the Old Norse meaning for “a farm or enclosure where oxen are kept”. By the time the village was listed in the Domesday Survey, it was a settlement that was in the ownership of three men of high importance – the Archbishop of York, Roger de Bully and Waltar of Dayncourt. Oxton has been the seat of the Sherbrooke family since the 16th century.
On the edge of the village is One Hundred Acre Field, which was planted with trees to represent a famous battle formation. The blocks of trees that can be clearly seen from the Southwell Road are believed to represent the positioning of the English and French units during the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.
Lunch afterwards was at Woodborough Green Garden Centre where delicious cheese scones were served.
June 2026: FISKERTON
Despite the changeable weather, 24 of us showed up at Fiskerton village for a short walk along the River Trent before veering inwards along dry level paths, running alongside fields of grain and vegetables towards the village of Morton. The weather started fine and sunny, but all too soon, black clouds and heavy rain appeared for about 5 minutes followed by the return of warm sunshine. This pattern continued for most of the walk.
Fiskerton is a village in the civil parish of Fiskerton cum Morton. It is on the west bank of the River Trent about 3 miles southeast of Southwell. The word 'Fiskerton' contains the Old Norse word fiskari (or the Old English equivalent fiscere) meaning a fisherman, together with tun (Old English), a farmstead, resulting in 'Fishermen's farm/settlement'.
The 1086 Domesday entry for Fiskerton mentioned arable land enough for seven ploughs, two mills, a fishery, a ferry and 42 acres of meadow, pasture and woodland. Fishing and agriculture remained important, but with close proximity to the River Trent, Fiskerton developed other industries. By 1842 there were wharfs, coal yards and warehouses along the river front together with a large malthouse. There was a watermill on the River Greet and a windmill on what is now Station Road.
We also visited Pooh Sticks Bridge where, as the name suggests, allowed us to follow in the ‘footsteps’ of Pooh, Piglet, Roo and Rabbit.
A big thank you to Geoff for leading the walk.
May 2026: SHELFORD
Fourteen brave souls and a guide dog braved a chilly breeze from the centre of Shelford to Rockley Memorial Park at Radcliffe on Trent. Fortunately, the morning developed into a sunny walk along dry paths and some gentle to moderate inclines along fields and woodland paths.
Rockley Memorial Park is dedicated to local men who died in the Great War. Mr Lisle Rockley, whose son William was killed at Ypres in 1917, bought the land in the 1920s, created the park and adjacent cliff walk then presented the site to the village in 1927. The glorious park can be ranked among Britain’s outstanding war memorials.
The Memorial Park also offers its visitors a magnificent array of plants and shrubs, including rhododendron, azalea and winter jasmine. Majestic trees tower over the landscaped lawns: cedars, conifers and copper beech, being among them.
An oval path circling the central lawns has two exits leading to the Cliff Walk, which in turn leads to the cliffs beneath and River Trent. The wide paths make it easily accessible for buggies, wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Lunch afterwards was at the Earl of Chesterfield Arms in Shelford, which served delicious chips!
A big thank you to Diane for leading the walk.
April 2026: GEDLING COUNTRY PARK
We had 8 enthusiastic walkers in Gedling Country Park, starting from the car park on Lambley Lane (which was free!). It was a pleasant morning for a walk on good paths with very little mud.
Although many of us have already been to the Park, it is amazing how the views differ with the seasons. This month, we had the Spring Blossoms and it’s helpful that the names of trees are provided, so that we could match the tree with blossom. As usual, the vantage areas where it is claimed that you could see Belvoir Castle and Green’s Windmill proved a challenge for some of us!
Lunch afterwards was at the Gedling Inn, where we were just in time for the small and large breakfasts.
A big thank you to Diane for leading the walk.
March 2026: BRAMCOTE HILLS
As the fields were still wet and muddy after the very wet start to the year, this month’s walk was a 5-mile circular over Bramcote Hills, with lovely views including the site of the old Bramcote Hall, Beeston Fields Drive and Sandy Lane Nature Reserve. 14 of us walked up and down dale in (some) sunshine. There were the ‘usual’ slopes and it was a little muddy in places, but mostly we were on clear tracks and paved surfaces.
We spent some time in the grounds of the demolished Bramcote Hall; there was only a little stonework remaining, including the staircase approach to the front door. Bramcote Hall was built in the 1860s in a park on the crest of the hill behind the original church.
It became the home of Frederic Chatfield Smith who altered and enlarged it until it became a mansion with 21 bedrooms that could comfortably accommodate his 11 surviving children together with the staff he retained. When he died in 1905, the building was left to his widow for her life time but following her death in 1914, the family decided to sell the Hall in 1920. From 1921 it became a prep school but in 1965 the Hall was sold to Nottingham University. The University’s plans for the Hall, however, did not come to realisation and sadly the building was eventually demolished.
Lunch was served at the Nurseryman on the Derby Road and we all enjoyed reasonably priced delicious food.
A big thank you to Chris and Diane for leading the walk.
February 2026: COLWICK COUNTRY PARK
Due to the rain that had fallen during most of January and part of February, this month’s walk was specially chosen to be on tarmac or gravel paths around the lakes at Colwick Country Park. Fortunately, the rain held off during the morning and all 15 of us reached our destination -Tina’s Café – without anyone getting soaked!
However, flooding was very evident in a marooned foot bridge by the Trent. We met some interesting characters along the way, including David the bird feeder, on his bike, and spent some time in the tranquil cemetery by the ruins of St John’s chapel next to Colwick Hall.
Tina’s Café was a real ‘find’, with hand sized bacon / sausage cobs, huge bowls of soup and ‘proper’ size baked potatoes!
A big thank you to Jane and Janice for leading the walk, and making sure that no one got left behind.
January 2026: NETHERFIELD LAGOONS
It was soggy start to 2026, with a local 5 mile walk from Ranmoor Road car park through Gedling Village to Jubilee Park, then down to the very quiet Netherfield Lagoons before returning through the new Rivendell development.
Seven brave (or foolish!!) members of the group braved the rain and some mud, mainly on the flat, without any falls. At the end of the walk, the rain was by now of biblical proportions, leaving just me to sample the delights of the Willowbrook on a Tuesday afternoon (coffee and ham roll, but alas, no cake).
A big thank you to Brian and Diane for leading the walk.
