WINGERWORTH AND GREAT STUBBING POND WALK
THE WALK
Wingerworth and Great Stubbing Pond Walk takes you through lovely, peaceful countryside along well-defined tracks and quiet lanes, only two miles to the south of the centre of Chesterfield. There are good views of Derbyshire lowland agricultural scenery to the south and west.
The walk starts from Nethermoor Road, and soon leaves Wingerworth to meander through attractive countryside before continuing along the side of, and then through, Hardwick Wood. You pass the site of Bole Hill Quarry as you walk along Bolehill Lane.
A short walk across fields brings you to Salem Chapel, on the edge of Stubbing Great Pond, from where you start your return journey, passing Smithy Pond as you near the end of your walk.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 4 – From 1998, Realstone UK Ltd operated from Bolehill Quarry, cutting, shaping and finishing ornamental stone, before the dissolution of the company in 2017 and the closure of the site. Quarrying first started on the site in 1940.
Point 5 – Salem Methodist Chapel, founded in 1849 by Joseph Fletcher, who was a colliery steward at the local ironworks, had the chapel built against the wishes of the catholic Hunloke family of Wingerworth Hall. Opposition was so strong that permission was withheld to use stone from the local quarries, and money had to be borrowed to bring stone in from outside the area.
Point 6 – The Great Pond of Stubbing dates to the 17th century, when it was designed as an ornamental and fishing pond by the Hunlokes. The pond was not used just for recreation, but also played a significant role in the local economy, as it was fed by natural springs and powered the Wingerworth Saw Mills in the mid-1800s.
Point 7 – Smithy Pond, also known as the Lido, dates back to the days when ironworking was active in the area that supported the development of Wingerworth as a settlement. The pond is in a picturesque spot and attracts visitors to the area, particularly since the opening of the Smithy Pond Public House in the early 1990s, which overlooks the waterside. The pond is also a favourite with local fishermen.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 4.5miles.
Start: Deerlands Road off Nethermoor Road, on the right, when approached from the A61, just past a small area of woodland near Smithy Pond.
Location: Turn off A61 at the roundabout signed for Wingerworth, south of Chesterfield, along Nethermoor Road for a short distance.
Terrain: Mainly clear paths and quiet lanes. Some steady ascents and one long steep descent. Beware of mud in wet weather.
Refreshments: The Smithy Pond is a modern public house that overlooks the pond at Wingerworth. There are several pubs, cafes and restaurants in Wingerworth and Chesterfield to suit all tastes.
THE ROUTE
1. From Deerlands Road, walk back to Nethermoor Road and turn left towards the A61. Just around a sharp bend, turn right by a bus stop into the farm drive to Nethermoor Farm. Continue past the farm and buildings on your right, along a farm track that gradually descends to a concrete footbridge over the Tricket Brook.
2. After about half a mile at a crossroad of paths, turn right towards Hardwick Wood and in about 150 yards, enter the wood by a stone stile.
Take the track on the left – throughout the walk through the wood, and a small area of grassland, keep to the track closest to the wall and the edge of the wood.
3. On reaching the western extremity of the wood, where you will have fine views of open fields, turn right and keep within the wood and follow the track, keeping close to the wall on your left as it bends around and eventually reaches a country lane.
4. Walk straight ahead up Bole Hill Lane, before descending steeply past Bole Hill Quarry and continue along the lane to a ‘T’ junction, where the lane joins Birkin Lane.
5. Cross Birkin Lane and ascend a series of steps to a stile into a field. Angle to the left across a hilly field, soon dropping down to a stile by a metal gate. Continue across the next field, keeping close to the hedge on the right to reach a minor road, close to Salem Chapel.
6. Turn right past the chapel and then right again along the side of the Great Pond of Stubbing. At the far side of the pond, turn right along Pearce Lane, keeping straight on at the next road intersection and then bear left when the road forks into Birkin Lane.
7. Keep to the right at a fork in the road where Birkin Lane ends and continue ahead down Nethermoor Road past Smithy Pond, which is on your left and then after a short distance, turn left into Deerlands Road and the starting point of the walk.
CHESTERFIELD
