Longnor

LONGNOR, MANIFOLD VALLEY, BRUND, SHEEN, THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS AT HARTINGTON, BANK TOP FARM, DOVE VALLEY, PILBURY CASTLE AND THE HORSESHOE AT LONGNOR.

Distance: 10-11 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry with early cloud giving way to afternoon sunshine.

Walkers: Nigel Crank, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, and Jock Rooney with Tips.

B walkers: Tony Job, Peter Morrall and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (hols), Peter Beal (narrow-boating), Tom Cunliffe (w*^king), Colin Davison (boating), George Dearsley (w*^king), Malc Halley (long-distance cycling), Julian Ross (w*^king), Ken Sparrow (entertaining), George Whaites (Cornish hols).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Main square in Longnor, Staffs.

Starting time: 10.06am. Finishing time: 2.50pm.

After a record turnout of ten A-teamers last week, we replaced quantity with quality for this walk through meadows full of wild flowers. Some of the fields were occupied by grazing cows, and for the second time in a month Tips showed her courage under attack.

It seems that cattle are genetically programmed to regard any relative of the wolf family as a potential predator and therefore form a stampeding herd to drive away the interloper. Tips was more than a match for the lumbering beasts as she showed her agility darting between their thundering hooves and demonstrating her bark, if not her bite.

Each time she escaped their attentions and skipped over a stile to exit their field, Tips turned to face her tormentors, barking enthusiastically while wagging her tail. It was the canine equivalent of George Formby’s mocking : “Never touched me.”

From the cobbled main square in Longnor we walked out of the village with the Crewe and Harpur pub on our right and the sadly-closed Grapes on our left. We walked along River View past Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on our left and entered High Street before turning right at a public footpath sign (3mins).

This brought us into a farmyard, where we turned left, climbed over a stone step stile and turned right (7mins). A gate took us to a bridge over a stream with the Manifold River on our right (15mins). We were now heading south through a series of fields entered by a variety of gates and stiles. As we did so, Tips was able to demonstrate her gallantry under fire.

The unoccupied fields showed England’s green and pleasant land at its best, with splashes of alternative colour provided by an abundance of bright yellow buttercups, interspersed with purple clover, white Queen Ann’s lace, pink ragged Robin, pale blue forget-me-nots and the stalks of daffodils whose blossom had been replaced with ghostly seed balls.

Our route along the beaten path was clear as we reached a wooden footpath sign for Brond, which later became Brund (39mins). Ahead of us was the distinctive hill called Whetton Hall and to our right was Swallow Moss. At a fallen tree in the shade we stopped for pie and port time (54mins) at 11am sharp.

Continuing, we passed a wooden public footpath sign for Brund and Sheen, crossed a road and followed a footpath sign for Hulme End and Longnor. 

We ignored a concessionary path on our right and walked on for 80 yards to reach a wooden public footpath sign, where we turned right then left to reach a road (71mins).

We turned right along the road and then crossed a stone step stile marked with a blue arrow (74mins). Another stone step stile brought us to a road (82mins), where we turned right then left across a stile to the right of a private drive. This took us to a field which we exited at the far left corner and crossed a footbridge over the River Dove (99mins).

A gate led us into woods (106mins) from where a path brought us to a road (108mins) with a former cheese factory on our right. We turned left along Stonewell Lane and reached the centre of Hartington, from where we could see The Devonshire Arms (111mins). Pints of Cumberland Ale cask bitter at £2-70 were in good form.

Resuming, we left the pub and made for the village duckpond and its surrounding benches where we immediately stopped for lunch (112mins). We left the village by passing the pool and Edensor Cottage on our left. We swung uphill (116mins) and followed a lane, passing Bank Top Farm on our left (126mins).

We reached the River Dove on our left (132mins), where Lawrie remembered his angling exploits some 40 years earlier with the Sheffield Fly Fishing Club. He recalled their neighbouring fisherman was the Manchester City and England soccer star, Mike Summerbee.

A gate brought us into the hamlet of Pilsbury (152mins) and we turned left to enter a public bridleway. This brought us to a mound on a limestone outcrop on our left, which a placard informed us was Pilsbury Castle.

Pilsbury Castle from the air

This had probably once been an Iron Age fortification but was believed to have been updated into a motte and bailey construction shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. One theory is that it was built by Henry de Ferrers on land given to him by William the Conqueror. It was one of a trio of castles built by Henry at Tutbury and Duffield as well. From such bases, the Normans carried out “the harrying of the North.”

An alternative suggestion is that it was built by Robert de Ferrers during a period known as The Anarchy, when the de Ferrers supported Stephen of England and the neighbouring Earl of Chester backed Empress Matilda. The castle may have been abandoned when the land on which it stood was passed to the Duchy of Lancaster after the 6^th earl was dispossessed.

What exciting times our ancestors enjoyed !

Continuing along the picturesque Dove Valley, with a kestrel hovering in hunting mode above us, we reached a road (191mins), where we ignored The Pack Horse pub on our right and turned left. A bridge across the Dove took us out of Derbyshire and back into Staffordshire, where we passed the sign for Longnor (201mins).

This took us past Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which was just closing and back to our cars to de-boot (211mins). Nigel used his diplomatic skills to persuade Andy, the genial landlord of The Horseshoe, to remain open long enough to sell us pints of Deuchars cask bitter.

Next week’s walk will start from Hartington at 10am and will be led by Jock. He intends to take us on a figure eight route with a stop at The George in Alstonefield around 12.15pm before returning to The Devonshire Arms, Hartington, about 2.30pm.