Sawley Marina

Just the 3 of us again this week and Geoff wanted to go to Sawley Marina and the junction of the rivers Derwent & Trent. We set off around 07:30 and i was in the passenger seat with Geoff driving. I could see there was going to be a good sunrise, the clouds were just starting to get a lovely warm glow. As we went along the A52 i took a couple of shots through the windscreen towards the wind turbines.  As we approached Sawley the sun was just peeping over the horizon and i couldn't resist a pic against the power station. We parked in the public area of the marina and set off up the footpath west towards the M1 motorway, the noise underneath the flyover was deafening from the constant flow of traffic.  We passed a pipe bridge then the went over the new pedestrian bridge over the river Trent. From there it was a quick walk to the junction of the 2 rivers and the Trent and Mersey Canal.

The route  along the canal

The wind turbines in Spondon

Sunrise behind Ratcliffe Power Station

                                

Moody sky over Sawley Marina

Massive lorry park

Just missed the swan taking off

Ike & Geoff with the M1 flyover in the background.

M1 flyover

Ike got his hat caught on a branch

Pipe bridge 

New bridge over the Trent

Lots of wildlife in the area.

Geoff & Ike

This is the point where all the water courses link together. 

Geoff chatting to a lady walker.

Trent river pedestrian bridge 

Pipe bridge

Just thought this made a good image

Just follow the sign lads

Sawley Church

Getting festive on the barges

Ike & Geoff

 This was a nice gentle walk along the canal, a bit cold but somewhere where none of us had been and we will visiting the area again.
See you next week.

A wander around Matlock Bath

Just three of us this week and it was raining when we met up at Geoff's so we decided a short walk around Matlock Bath. It was my turn to drive and we parked up on the main road just past the entrance to the cable car car park. We walked across the river footbridge under the tunnel to the cable car station.  We walked along the footpath to the railway station then down to the main road. Back over the Jubilee bridge and along Lovers Walk to the gate which is the entrance to the Willersley Castle grounds. From there it was a slow wander back along the river and main road to the car.

Booting up

The lower cable car station

Ike holding up Geoff

Back of the railway station

Looking up to the Tower

The war memorial in the park

Ike photographing the plaque below

Jubilee Bridge over the Derwent
Jubilee Bridge, in Matlock Bath built by local company Butterley of Ripley, which opened for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, has been blast cleaned and repainted in its original colours.

A grand looking residence overlooking Matlock Bath

The rear of the Grand Pavilion with a secret tunnel to the left next to the river.
The Grand Pavilion Matlock Bath was built in 1910 to entertain and shelter tourists; up to 17 excursion trains a day came to Matlock Bath, which has one of the longest station platforms in the region as a result.

Fountain in the park

Ike trying to touch the water to see if it was warm and it was.

Warm spring in the park

A view down the A6

The mining museum

Interesting objects in some of the windows

Jubilee bridge

A great name for a shop.

A great little walk and we met a couple of interesting folks, there's a lot more to Matlock Bath  than the obvious tourist side.
See you next week