Tim Wilmshurst

With a new guidebook edition imminent, and days rapidly shortening into winter, my good friend Clon Ulrick and I took the chance to spend three days on a complete walk of “the Way”. Clon and I had met in Botswana years ago, when both living there. We used to camp together with our families in the remote Kalahari, but this was to be a new sort of adventure!

Our 3-day plan implied approximately 18 miles per day to cover the total of 55 miles, or 88 kilometres. Almost as important, in this distance the river falls from around 200 metres (660 feet) above sea level, to near 30 m (100 ft) – a drop three times the height of the Niagara Falls! From one point of view, this suggests a nice and steady downhill walk. Yet it was the energy to be gained from this continuously falling water which caused those early industrialists to come and build mill after mill down the valley, giving us the wonderful industrial heritage we enjoy today.

We set off in late October 2023, as it happens just ahead of Storm Babet! We were determined to be the first users of the new edition of the guidebook. This is an account of our walk.

Day 1: Ladybower to Rowsley (27 km)

Day 2 Rowsley to Belper (29 km)

Day 3: Belper to Shardlow (31 km)

The Paddle Peak team were out in force again cleaning the River Derwent between Matlock Bath and Cromford this week. They were joined by Severn Trent’s newly created River Ranger team. The group started the huge task of tidying the River Derwent’s banks of massive quantities of waste that had been deposited in the February winter floods.

The team collected a quite incredible load of waste in their canoes and kayaks. This included six shopping trolleys from Sainsburys and M&S, several car tyres, the usual fast food based litter from Matlock Bath, black plastic hay bale wrap and literally thousands of wet wipes and sanitary products. People flush these down the toilet, even though they don’t decompose. Then in times of heavy rain and flooding the sewage system overflows and they’re deposited in the river.

Paddle Peak’s founder Pete Astles commented: “We had a great team out today in wonderful weather, tackling the waste left by the recent floods. So many shopping trolleys this time! What’s going on? There was also a terrible amount of sanitary waste from the flooded sewer system. It was great to be joined by the Severn Trent River Ranger team. It was the perfect opportunity for us to highlight this problem to them. Our message to any one reading this is: Please please please only flush the PaddlePeak three P’s down the loo…. Poo, paper and pee… don’t flush wet wipes and other sanitary items down there! When they are mixed with kitchen fat they block the system and end up in the river, heading out to sea… Also, please lobby your local MPs and water companies asking them to separate our rainwater and sewage systems to stop this happening. Thanks”

Paddle Peak is a local charity and community group who’s goals are to improve access to our wonderful blue spaces, inspire local youngsters to take up paddle sports and to clean and care for the River Derwent and protect its wildlife. For more information checkout their website at www.paddlepeak.org

Huge thanks to all the local volunteers that help out tirelessly with this never-ending rubbish cleaning task. Thanks to Cromford Mills, Manor Adventure Willersley, Matlock Bath Rowing Boats and The Pavilion for access and support. More thanks to Hou Canoes for our boats,  Peak UK Darley Dale for our gear and Derbyshire Dales District Council for collecting the rubbish.

The Trust has been working with Lubrizol, based in Hazelwood, to recruit volunteer rangers to manage and maintain the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, our already-existing walking route. Each pair of rangers will look after a section of the way, checking for wear and tear, and that signage remains in place. They will clear litter, undergrowth and overhanging branches, and act as Trust Ambassadors to the public using the way. We have been delighted with the response and are now oversubscribed. 

On Saturday 5^th March the new rangers attended a training induction day. This went very well, with good weather and a high level of enthusiasm. Rangers selected the sections they would prefer to manage so that there is now a pair of rangers for each section of the way. Most also volunteered for the Wyver Lane working party on the morning of Saturday 26th March.

Led by our walks trustee Howard Arthur, and newly-recruited rangers co-ordinator David Moreton, the group of around 25  were briefed over breakfast at Cromford Wharf Café. They then walked down to Aqueduct Cottage and concluded at the High Peak Junction Wharf Shed. The picture shows the group on the bridge at High Peak Junction.