WALK DATE: 18th December 2021
▲Some of the RR members on the route |
▲The walk route from the bus stop (dotted line) to the GNR trackbed and then West through Breadsall and into Derby crossing the Derwent on the on to Handyside Bridge (credit Mapbox) |
Fifteen Railway Ramblers attended the walk on a gloomy, misty morning starting out at Derby. After a short bus ride we walked to the Breadsall Railway cutting and followed the GNR trackbed. The walk was largely on a downhill gradient and passed through the site of the old Breadsall station.
We then progressed to the site of where Breadsall Viaduct once stood prior to its demolition. This is where our imagination really had to kick in as the whole route has disappeared under the vast Meteor Retail Park. Nonetheless we carried on to Handyside Bridge, the GNR’s crossing of the River Derwent in the city.
It was then time for the Christmas Lunch at the excellent Exeter Arms in the city centre.
▲Handyside Bridge (Chris Parker) |
▲Remains of Breadsall stn, closed 1953 (Chris Parker) |
▲Further along the route |
▲The old Breadsall station – taken from the eastern end |
Some further images of the day from John Masters