The Portway in paint

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:04:52 +0000

Following Lindsey Hambleton’s recent exhibition of her Portway paintings, a catalogue of the entire collection is now available online at: http://www.lindseyhambleton.co.uk/portwaycatalogue.htm This allows you to follow the entire route from the Hemlock Stone to Mam Tor in paintings, which reflect the various seasons in which she worked, from high summer to the snows of winter 08-09.

Lawrence & the Hemlock Stone

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:40:54 +0000

Eastwood author D. H. Lawrence, in his semi-autobiographical novel Sons and Lovers, describes a visit to the Hemlock Stone on a Good Friday early in the 20th century. The site was then very much a local attraction:

They came to the Hemlock Stone at dinner-time. Its field was crowded with folk from Nottingham and Ilkeston. They had expected a venerable and dignified monument. They found a little, gnarled, twisted stump of rock, something like a decayed mushroom, standing out pathetically on the side of the field. Leonard and Dick immediately proceeded to carve their initials, ‘L.W.’ and ‘R.P.’ in the old red sandstone; but Paul desisted because he had read in the newspaper satirical remarks about initial-carvers, who could find no other road to immortality. Then all the lads climbed to the top of the rock to look around. Everywhere in the field below, factory girls and lads were eating lunch or sporting about. Beyond was the garden of an old manor. It had yew-hedges and thick clumps and borders of yellow crocuses round the lawn.

The Portway Walk: How long does it take?

admin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:45:05 +0000

A group of five fairly experienced (i.e. elderly) walkers set off from the Hemlock Stone on Friday 26th September. We made a leisurely start but soon realised that more determined progress was needed. The sun broke through the mist by lunchtime and we reached the Holly Bush pub at Makeney by 4.30, where we decided we’d had enough for the day. That was about 13 miles.

On Saturday we felt more energetic and started from Milford and went over the Chevin as the mist cleared. The weather was fantastic and we made better time, managing about 17 miles via the Black Boy in Wirksworth to reach the excellent Bowling Green in Winster (slightly off course) about 5 p.m.

Perhaps we overdid it, because on Sunday the morning was drizzly and we all felt rather stiff. Progress was less enthusiastic and by the time we reached the Monsal Head Inn (mid-afternoon) our determination was flagging and we got no further. Still 40 miles in 3 days isn’t too bad when you’re somewhat out of training, and we’d had a tremendous walk.

Comment on this or describe your own experiences of the walk.

Portway writing competition

admin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:30:29 +0000

Write a story or article linked to the Derbyshire Portway and win a copy of the book.

The winning monthly entry will be published in the Portway Stories section of the website.

Read the first story, Derwent Crossing, there now. Entries should be no more than 1500 words and must be sent as an email attachment to: stephen.bailey@w3z.co.uk.

Please include your name and postal address.

A Roman road to Wirksworth?

admin — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:17:56 +0000

Evidence for a possible Roman road between Little Chester (Derby) and Wirksworth is presented at this website: http://www.conferencesdirect.co.uk/clacton/The%20Ridge-way.pdf

Parts of the route eg between the Chevin and Alport Height are similar to the Portway, but as the research is based on the quest for an engineered (Roman) road surface it is clearly different from a prehistoric routeway, which would have spread over a wider area. An interesting and detailed report, it’s well worth reading for those studying this part of the county.

Happenings at the Hemlock Stone

admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:33:51 +0000

For many years the Hemlock Stone, an impressive sandstone column on the fringes of Nottingham, has been virtually ignored by historians, although a subject of much interest and speculation to Victorians, who developed some fanciful speculation of links with Druids.

In The Derbyshire Portway it is seen as a possible routemark on the south-eastern section of the route, and conceivably an indication that the traveller was entering the territory of a different tribe.

In the last few years the local council has begun to celebrate the Stone by making it the focus of an annual festival – Hemlock Happening, which this year took place in June:

What is the Hemlock Happening?

The Hemlock Happening is a day of fun for all the family. In all started in 2001 when a group of people who live in Bramcote and Stapleford got together to talk about the possibility of organising an event to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. This led to the Bramcote and Stapleford Golden Jubilee Group being formed which put together an event called “The Hemlock Happening” – a day-long programme of performances (singing, music and drama) by local schools and other groups culminating in a fantastic firework display. The performances took place in the walled garden area of Bramcote Hills Park which commands a superb view of the Hemlock Stone, a local natural outcrop of sandstone, hence the name of the event. An estimated 2000 people enjoyed this first Hemlock Happening. Buoyed on by this success the Bramcote and Stapleford Golden Jubilee Group went on to plan further Hemlock Happenings and each year they get bigger and better. The events always take place on a Saturday in June.