We parked in the lay-by opposite Bradley Wood on the A517. There was just enough room for most, as there were a couple of commercial vehicles, parked, having their break time, so some of us had to use nearby parking, eventually they moved off. There was too much traffic noise to stay in the lay-by for the usual briefing, so we moved over the road, just into Bradley Wood. We gathered quite near a bronze plaque, which stated that Bradley Wood had been given, in perpetuity, to the people of Ashbourne for their enjoyment by Henry Fitzherbert Wright in 1935. Wonderful woodland, which we were thankful for, being able to walk and enjoy this lovely setting, we could see from the paths that it is a well-used space, thank you Henry.

We set off up through the woods, about a quarter of a mile uphill, until reaching the former airfield at the top. We crossed over the remains of one of the runways, of the former RAF Ashbourne, constructed in 1941, it had three runways, the longest being sixty yards short of a mile. Some the field has been used for housing, another large chunk, an industrial park, also a large area for goods vehicle storage, there must have been over a hundred, presumably, redundant trucks there, still with their trading names emblazoned on the sides of them. We passed by them as we made our way through the estate to cross over the busy A52, for the first time today. We then made our way, through Hilltop, a pleasure and recreational area, before turning away from Ashbourne onto the Bonny Prince Charlie Way, following this over pleasant arable land and into Osmaston, where we stopped for our morning break, at the west end of St. Martin’s church, a grand well-built and kept building.

With the break over, we took the road, along the south side of the church, turning down a lane to pass through Lintwood, on a narrow path with nettles and brambles, lying in wait for the unwary on either side of the path. We exited Lintwood and made our way through a heavily cropped Wheat field, following a line used by others before. The real right of way having, gone under the plough. The exit from this field was directly onto the A52, lots of speeding traffic here and as prearranged in our safety talk, I crossed and then directed each person to cross when I indicated it was safe to do so, it took some time, but a hero arrived in the shape of a Co-op delivery truck, the driver generously held up traffic from the north and a motorist from the south, did likewise, allowing the rest of the group to cross en masse. Many thumbs up and hearty waves were given to those two drivers. From the A52, our way was now over unmown hay fields, to War Farm and Firs Farm, long grass, quite difficult to walk through, plus two or three difficult stiles, delayed our good progress somewhat. At Firs Farm, we entered a field containing a running herd, meaning cows and calves and in-betweens altogether. We diverted slightly, but they decided to run away from us, through the small hamlet surrounding the farm into another field, which later we would enter. On seeing us again they did the reverse and ran back to their original grazing. You will see from the picture that a road connects the fields, farm and dwellings, the cattle having the freedom to roam. We now made our way to the Bradley Moor, Solar farm. Here facing another challenge, over a stile which drops down to a sleeper foot bridge, quite a drop, but all managed it very well and didn’t need any of the aid offered, well done all. Now with just a mile to go, we made our way on good surfaces to Bradley Wood, eastern end. We followed a wonderful woodland path, for the next half mile, arriving at the western end and our cars by five minutes after one. Well done to all and thank you all for your kind remarks, very encouraging for a leader to hear.