Stoke-on-Trent to Derby

Why would you cycle from Stoke to Derby, and why would you go to Stoke anyway?

Well the two cities are only 30 miles apart as the crow flies. Ask any passing crow.
Also the cost of a train ticket is a bargain at £6.65 with a railcard.  As well to buy a return ticket (which costs only 5p more than a single) so that you can do part of the journey home by train, from Blythe Bridge, Uttoxeter or Hatton should that become necessary.
And whilst Stoke may not be the most attractive of places to visit, it is a good springboard for cyclists to better places, particularly along the Trent and Mersey Canal and especially the Caldon Canal. See index for details of these rides.
 
For motorists the A50 trunk road is a good fast route, but not for cyclists. The best option for cycling is to use the towpath of the Trent and Mersey Canal southwards to Stone and then follow the B5027 road to Uttoxeter, with a final run to Derby on NCN 549 and NCN 54.

                               Click on map to enlarge.
Mileage breakdown:
                                Stoke to Stone 8 miles
                                Stone to Uttoxeter 15 miles
                                Uttoxeter to Derby 21 miles
                                Total 44 miles

 Alighting from the train at Stoke we leave the station via Car Park 3 and turn left at the junction ahead.  The Trent and Mersey Canal lies down below the fence on the left here.

 Down the long ramp to the water level and the towpath heading South.

 The worst thing about Stoke is the appalling graffiti on the walls,
 but do not be too depressed as there are fewer walls as we get out into the countryside.

Several bridges cross the canal, being numbered from the T & M Canal end where it joins the River Trent on the Derbyshire/ Leicestershire border at Derwentmouth near Shardlow.

 The towpath is hard surfaced all the way to Stone, a distance of some 8 miles, but varies much in quality due to cobblestones and tree roots.

 We are still in the City so lots of industrial buildings alongside.

                             Soon we approach Meaford Power Station.

                And the tunnel which appears to run beneath it.

                        The scenery improves as we leave Stoke behind.

   Innovative waterside seat here mounted on some old wagon wheels

    The locks here are at Stone so we leave the towpath to cross the          bridge ahead.

               Take the path on the right to leave the canal.

                 This road leads into Stone town centre,

The pedestrianised main street has lots of good places to buy food and drink and leads us eastwards towards Uttoxeter.

                                 This is Lichfield Road.

 At the first set of traffic lights we turn left following the B5027 signed "Uttoxeter".

 Climb up the hill, pass over the level crossing and keep on the B5027 all the way to Uttoxeter.

 The road is undulating, passes through pleasant, if not spectacular scenery, and should not be carrying heavy traffic.

                               Another level crossing.

                          A nice downhill run here towards Uttoxeter.

                And here we are at entry to Uttoxeter.

                      Follow the signs pointing to Derby.

                                         Left at junction here.

 At the A50 roundabout we find the NCN 549 path to Derby via                                           Sudbury and Hatton.

  This runs alongside the busy A50 trunk road taking us back into Derbyshire over the River Dove which marks the County Boundary. From here on we follow NCN route 549 which joins Route 54/68 all the way to Derby. This is documented elsewhere on this Blog.
                              Refer to Index.

The National Forest

The creation of the National Forest in North West Leicestershire has been the most amazing transformation of an unattractive industrial area into an area of great beauty now covered with millions of trees.  This was previously a coal mining area with slag heaps and remnants of industrial detritus defacing the landscape. The collieries were closed many years ago and the open cast coal mines have become lakes.  The railway routes used to transport coal have been closed and turned into countryside paths for walking and cycling.
Here we look at the salient features of the area for cycling. Route 63 of the National Cycle Network passes through the area.
We cannot cover all the routes here but take a look at a few of them together with suggested access points.
The nearest railway station is at Burton-on-Trent, so access by car is preferable and there are two good car parks, one at Conkers the main visitor centre, where parking is free and the other is at Hicks Lodge, a purpose built cycling centre, where there is a charge.

This is the main entrance to the Visitor Centre.

And here some of the things which are inside.

Outside a large free car park. Note that the gates are locked at 5.15pm.

Inside an excellent cafe and toilets.

A short stretch of the Ashby Canal is alongside but this is not joined to the main canal network so few boats to be seen.

This is the end of the Ashby Canal next to Conkers Waterside, where there is another free car park.

This bridge leads onto other cycle paths.

The well surfaced path leads on towards Moira.

Most of the paths have good surfaces.  This is typical.

Here is Hicks Lodge where there is a good cafe, a bike shop and toilets.  Across the road are the mountain bike trails.  No actual mountains around here but some excellent narrow winding tracks which are graded for difficulty.

There once were several coal mines in the area, now commerated by these cast iron displays which give details of the local features.

NCN Route 63 passes through the site of Donisthorpe Pit.







Generally signing of the paths is very good. 

S

Many of the overgrown trees have been removed by Leicestershire County council and this will improve views from the paths and let in more sunlight to encourage the growth of wild flowers.

When the collieries and
railways were working this is how it looked here.
See how it looks now below.

This is Albert Lake, once a great hole in the ground where clay was extracted for the local pottery industry.  The path runs around the perimeter of the water and there is gorse blossom in profusion at this time of the year (early April).

Here another cast iron display telling the story of the local area of Albert village.

The path leads us back to Conkers.

Verdict
A superb area for off-road cycling with good facilities for car parking and refreshments.  Well surfaced paths everywhere - mostly flat but a few gradients in places.  Excellent signing and pleasant scenery on all sides.
Certainly worthy of future  visits.