Sunday 2 February 2014

New Link from Swainspark to Castle Gresley


The new link from Swainspark through Tunnel Woods to Castle Gresley is now rideable and virtually complete, including a link along Mountpleasant Road to the A444 where a new gate has been installed.

This is the first phase of an aspirational link to Rosliston Forestry Centre.  We will continue to monitor progress of this route as it currently ends in Castle Gresley between the A444 subway and the footbridge over the railway line.

This section makes an ideal extension of the Conkers Circuit and is also a good access point for those living in Castle Gresley and Castleton Park.

This new path has already been signed showing the way to NCN63 and is ideal for families - certainly downward!

Here are some pictures.
This is looking back from Tunnel Woods to Swainspark Wood at the highest point.

This is looking from Tunnel Woods towards the Mountpleasant Road section at the highest point.


The downhill stretch with Castleton Park, Church Gresley on the Horizon and the A444 bypass. The Shobnall Maltings tower in Burton can be seen from here too.  Drainage channels have been dug alongside the path to avoid any flooding issues.


Looking back up the hill from near the former Gresley Railway Station site.

Looking towards the current end of the track near the old Gresley Railway Station and new A gate.
The link to cycle-ways on Castleton Park is sadly obstructed by the footbridge.  Options around this are under discussion.



New Year Update

Visitors to our blog may have noticed that there have not been any updates for a while.  I can assure you we have been busy in the meantime.  Since our last update, as well as the day to day issues on the National Cycle Network, we have been doing the following:


  • We have reviewed our re-signing in Burton town centre with the help of West Midlands staff and now completed this task. 
  • Involved in the above was a new ranger recruited in Burton; a most welcome addition.
  • We continue to monitor the effect of the work done on NCN63 in the Moira / Donisthorpe area last year and look to gain funding for those parts not yet repaired.
  • We are glad to note that a new path has been built from Swainspark Wood to Castle Gresley via Tunnel Woods (see separate post).
  • We have attended the Healthier South Derbyshire Event in Swadlincote on 25th January.
  • Some work has been done with a local school to assess the potential to improve cycling to school.
  • A series of cycle rides are being planned for the commemoration of the First World War and we have some input to this.
  • We are looking into the resources we use when running a stall to see if we have a suitable mix of materials.  Any feedback is appreciated.
The Healthier South Derbyshire Event once again provided a useful forum for promoting cycling in the area.  We had some very positive feedback and had some good questions. We are grateful to the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership for sharing their hi-viz equipment with us to distribute.

This year the event was attended by myself and Robert, our group coordinator as unfortunately Shawn was at work.  We missed his repartee but as you can see we still enjoyed ourselves!