Duffield, Amber Valley Derbyshire . Sunday, 27th September, 2026

Notes

Duffield is a village situated in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, 5 miles from Derby. It is within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Area and the southern foothills of the Pennines.

All three walks will start at different locations, but will all finish near to the Bridge Inn at Duffield.

Drop-off arrangements are as follows:-

The 'B' group will be first off at Milford, followed by the 'A' group who will start their walk at Duffield.
The 'C' group will be last off at Allestree Park.

'A' Walk - Leader - Alan Taylor. Distance 11 miles. Ascent 1140 feet. Grade - Moderate +

We last did this walk in March 2020 and it turned out to be our last walk for a while as the Covid 19 Lockdown period was just about to start. So, 6 ½ years later…. here we are again!!!

Starting from The Bridge Inn - at Duffield Bank which is situated on the banks of the River Derwent – we will first head south towards Little Eaton but will then scoot away to the left before getting there to gently climb to Eaton Hill and onwards to cross the Midshires Way/Centenary Way path . . . a much better proposition than taking the direct route over ‘The Bank’ and following the ‘Ways’ (see the map). It soon becomes apparent that we are walking in a special place as the views and the gently rolling countryside are something to behold.

We wend our way towards Holbrook, where we’ll get a great view of Belper ahead of us but down in the valley…. we will be less than 3km away from the center of Belper at this point. Towards the center of Belper we pass a very convenient little park with benches – a good lunch spot before getting to a very convenient place (The Green House) for a bit more rest and refreshments.

After our lunch breaks we head towards and cross, Belper Bridge – what a lovely place! The river below, on one side, is bounded by amazing weirs – normally, it would be noisy, busy and picturesque with the back drop of a magnificent looking, old, sewing mill that was built in 1912 by the English Sewing Company, but with the advent of a ‘very’ dry period of time at the time of this recce (August) the weirs were much quieter but who knows, it could be back to its normal self by the end of September???

We continue our walk along the serene and calm, downstream part of the river until we veer away towards our greatest climb of the day (see the track profile). We climb directly to Chevin Mount before picking up the Midshires Way track; this continues to climb until we are just below the top of Firestone Hill. Don’t worry, I am making this sound like a mountain but in reality, our highest point is only 600ft above sea level and our lowest point (after crossing Belper Bridge) is at 200ft above sea level - but, the climb feels a lot more than it is, probably because it is straight after our lunch break.

Weir at Belper

'B' Walk - Leader - Peter Gravestock. Distance - 8 miles. Ascent - 900 feet. Grade - Moderate.+

We start our walk in Milford and have time for a little look around before making a long, steep ascent (390ft) alongside Chevin golf club. This is the strenuous part (the rest of the walk is moderate) and we will have our morning break once we've completed the climb.

There then follows a very pleasant level stretch through trees before we drop down to Belper and our lunch stop in the River Gardens, where there are toilets, picnic tables, a café and possibly an ice cream van. After lunch we walk through Belper, taking in Long Row and the Memorial Gardens, before picking up the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. There are a few more climbs along the way, but nothing like the morning climb, before descending to Makeney. From here it's a level walk to the pub in Duffield, albeit alongside a road for a large part of it.

The Derwent Valley Heritage Way follows the River Derwent from Ladybower Reservoir to its mouth near Shardlow where it joins the River Trent. Passing through the whole length of the World Heritage Site, the 55 mile long route follows paths, tracks, and some sections of road through the valley’s beautiful and heritage rich landscapes.

Our walk today will follow part of this long distance path, starting in Milford and finishing in Duffield. Spectacular views along the way.

The route is clearly way-marked, so look out for the distinctive yellow arrows on purple discs.

Chevin golf course Milford

'C' Walk - Leader - Jane Taylor. Distance - 6.4 miles. Ascent - 425 feet. Grade - Moderate.

Today’s walk begins just South of Duffield at Allestree Park where the coach will drop us off close to The Little Shed Café for our morning refreshments.

The walk is mostly along good paths and open countryside but there are a few stiles to negotiate along the way and a bit of road walking along quiet country roads.

From the café we head into the park and wander round the edge of it through woodland, heading towards the village of Quarndon, leaving the woods near a water tower. The footpaths through the woods are quite good but depending upon the weather and probably fallen leaves around extra care might be necessary.

When we leave the woods, at the outskirts of Quarndon, we go along the road then between the houses out into the open countryside with lovely views as we skirt around the village, calling in at The Joiners Arms for a break as there are no obvious spots to stop along our route apart from the field edges. We will be almost at the half way point.

Back in the countryside there is a gentle uphill across Quarndon Common then the rest of the walk is flat before we descend across fields of sheep toward Duffield. After Quarndon Common, on our recce, we did have to walk around a field of maize where the farmer hadn’t reinstated the footpath. It may be gone by the time we do our walk but this was quite overgrown and it added a little distance to the walk.

As we make our way into Duffield we will cross the River Ecclesbourne at a spot where an old concrete weir built in the 1970s has been removed and replaced by a Fish Pass in order to allow Salmon, trout and other fish to migrate up and down from river Derwent, including smaller fish that provide food for kingfishers etc.

After walking through the village we will cross over the railway bridge and head towards our meeting point at The Bridge Inn on the edge of the River Derwent where the coach will be parked up. There should be ample time for a drink here and possibly time to look at the nearby St Alkmund’s Church and war memorial.

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