Ashover and Ogston Reservoir Walk

Got kitted up and headed off - Paul Chandler, Gill, Graham, Phil, his mate Chris, us and Brenda, the older lady, a PDMHS member who did the Matlock walk.  Paul C pointed out a small field opposite the car park entrance, where Dumblehole Swallet is apparently – sounds pretty tight!  We walked down through the village, crossed the fields past a sough and climbed steeply up an old path, heading generally south.  We stopped above Overton and Overton Hall where there was a lot of mining activity.  From there we contoured up along the side of the edge through the trees, a very pretty path, to an open mined section, with a chimney below us.  We could see Hardwick Hall in the far distance.  Continuing up through the trees, we passed below Cocking Tor and turned off to the left near Ravensnest, still near the top of the hill along the edge of the wood until we climbed out into the fields.  We stopped for ‘elevenses’ at a ready-made picnic site of rock table and tree trunk seats with fantastic views.  A couple of fields further on we dropped down through Butterley Top Farm (wrongly!) to a lane.  We turned right onto it and after a couple of hundred yards, left into Coldharbour Lane, on the corner of which there used to be a quarry or reservoir (depending on whether you believe Paul C or Chris!!) - it's gone now anyway.  Part way along we crossed into a parking area with stunning views to the northeast.  This was where we stopped for butties.
After re-fuelling we continued along Coldharbour Lane, turning left at the far end to drop down through the woods to the remains of Trinity Chapel, which we explored for a while.  The path continued east, dropping steadily down the fields into Brackenfield and so to the lane running along the western shore of Ogston Reservoir.  There were a few wildfowl about, but nothing that out of the ordinary until we spotted two large white gooselike birds, which I think were juvenile Whooper Swans as they had grubby brown plumage on the back of their necks.  As usual, the pounding along a flat path made my legs start to ache and by the time we Woolley (which Paul said was where sheep live!), I was beginning to wonder if perhaps 9 miles was a bit over ambitious considering my general lack of exercise recently.  I was very disappointed to find the Public Conveniences were closed too as by this time it was becoming an issue.  Back in the fields we followed a pretty footpath, paralleling one of the feeders for the reservoir.  Paul C pointed out a strange half circle shaped object across the valley at one point, which he said was one of the adit entrances to Woolley Moor Colliery.  It’s strange to think that the big coal mines are so close.  In the end I waited until we were back on a country lane before I found a suitable place to disappear into the undergrowth.  Luckily Paul had waited for me because the others had got quite a distance ahead as we arrived in Milltown.  We traversed around the top of Fallgate Quarry and then further along past Hockley Quarry until we found ourselves back in the outskirts of Ashover.  A very nice walk and apart from a bit of damp at the very beginning and very end, it had stayed dry, always a bonus!