Somersall to Lineacre Reservoirs (Circular) – Chesterfield - (Derbyshire) – 19/05/12 – 8.75 Miles – Helen (Molly)

So it’s Summer next week then is it ? Because for mid-May this barely counts as Spring. All of which left me making a quick change of jacket at the start of this walk, when it looked like a cloudburst was imminent. In the event it was a damp dull atmosphere of a day, but never actually chucked it down.

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Anyway we have been round Lineacre reservoirs many times before, as a short drive-in dog walking circuit, but this time we were setting out from much further afield. Our target point being Brampton church, where we came across some very old and abandoned gates just before crossing the graveyard.

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So presently we found ourselves in Lineacre where we stopped for Coffee and biscuits, which Helen had the presence of mind to bring with us. After various encounters for Molly with the other canine patrons who do this circuit, and with us admiring the combination of bluebells and totem poles around us, we gradually left Lineacre behind.

Having eventually found a brook to cross, we began a climb but ended taking the wrong path option, requiring a bit of step retracing. Eventually we got back on track but not before being perplexed by our footpath sign on a wooden garden gateway, with three small yappy dogs on the other side. This footpath then took us briefly through a field with some skittish horses, and thankfully not through a field where two bulls seemed anxious to make our acquaintance. With the map being consulted at this point once too often for my liking, given that we were still nearly half way from home, I pointed out to Helen that it was now 5.00pm and the Champions League final (coverage) was starting at 7.00pm. This was well received as you might expect, but I put all of this pontificating down to her still being sluggish having spent most of the morning in bed. From here however the pace soon quickened up with some nice wide, even and downhill bridleways for us to get a quick March on, save for the occasional riders coming in the other direction. Thus before one knew it we were coming back down the familiar Chander Hill, reaching our start point just after 6.15pm (panic over).