Boots On, Bitter Waiting: Seven Stapleford Walks Worth the Mud

A good walk needs a full stop. Something to walk towards that isn't just the car park you left it in. In Stapleford we're spoiled on that front — canal towpaths going one way, hill and heath the other, and a pub roughly every quarter of a mile in most directions.

Below are seven loops and there-and-backs, all starting within a short walk of the town centre. Six end at a bar. One deliberately doesn't, for anyone driving, teetotal, under eighteen or simply of the opinion that a walk should end in cake.

A word on conditions before we start. It is November, which in these parts means mud in the field sections, standing water on the towpath after rain, and dusk arriving somewhere around half four. Take a torch even for the short ones. Gritted pavements stop where the estates stop, so the residential loops are kinder underfoot than the green ones at the moment. And check opening hours before you set off — several kitchens go weekend-only or shut early through the winter, and there's nothing sadder than a walk that ends at a locked door.

1. The Canal Out-and-Back — 2.2 miles, flat

Start: the canal bridge at the bottom of town. Surface: towpath, gravel and tarmac. Pushchair and wheelchair: yes, with a caveat.

Head along the Erewash and let the town fall away behind you. This is the easiest leg-stretcher on the list and, for a lot of people, the one they'll come back to. Kingfishers if you're lucky and quiet; a great deal of moored narrowboat opinion if you're not.

The caveat: after heavy rain, the low sections hold water and the puddles get ambitious. Wellies beat trainers in November. In 2026 the canal authorities have been doing bank work in patches, so expect the odd short diversion and a bit of temporary fencing.

Finish: back into town, straight to the Chequers for something dark and warming.

2. Hill and Stone — 1.6 miles, steep in places

Start: the car park below Stapleford Hill. Surface: mixed, with roots and a couple of properly steep pulls. Wheels: not really.

Short, sharp, and with the best view in the parish on a clear day. Up past the Hemlock Stone — that strange great lump of sandstone that has outlasted everybody's opinion about it — and out onto the top. Fifteen minutes of effort, and you're looking across the Erewash valley with the town spread out underneath like a dropped map.

Winter note: the descent on the north side gets greasy. Poles help. So does not doing it in the dark.

Finish: down into town for the Bulls Head, and a seat as close to the fire as you can reasonably engineer.

3. Bramcote Hills Loop — 2.8 miles, moderate

Start: the top of Ilkeston Road, then cut across. Surface: park paths, some mud, a few steps. Buggies: hard going but not impossible on the main circuit.

A proper half-afternoon walk this one, taking in the park, the woods and enough up-and-down to feel earned. Bare trees in November mean you can suddenly see houses you never knew were there, which is its own small pleasure.

Expect the car parks to fill by half ten on a Sunday and the paths to be busy with dog walkers by eleven. Go early or go late.

Finish: the White Lion, or whichever of the Bramcote Road pubs has its signs out.

4. The Residential Ramble — 1.3 miles, step-free

Start: the town centre. Surface: pavement, all of it. Accessibility: the best on this list — no stiles, no mud, no gradients worth mentioning.

There's a school of thought that says a walk isn't a walk unless it involves a hill and a gate. This route disagrees. Cut through the quiet streets, hook round by the recreation ground, thread through the pocket park and back in. It's the one to do when it's been raining for three days, when you've got a knee that complains, or when you've got a small person on a scooter who will not be deterred.

It's also, quietly, the best route for noticing things — the corner shop that's changed hands again, the front garden that goes mad with lights from the first week of December.

Finish: the Victoria, where the walkers and the football crowd meet and nobody minds either.

5. Along the Nottingham Canal — 3.5 miles one way, flat

Start: the towpath where the canal heads east. Surface: good towpath throughout. Return: walk it back, or hop the bus.

A linear one, this, and the best of the lot for a proper natter. Flat, wide, and interesting enough that you forget you're exercising. Herons, gardens backing onto water, the occasional train in the distance.

Because it's linear you can cut it short at any bridge and still feel like you've done something. In winter the path can be slick in the shaded stretches where the sun never quite gets to it — take care on the corners.

Finish: a well-earned pint at the far end before the ride home. Or the walk back, if you're feeling righteous.

6. Fields and Church Path — 3 miles, muddy

Start: out towards Trowell. Surface: field paths, stiles, a stretch of lane. Footwear: boots, honestly.

Country walking without leaving the parish, more or less. This one has everything that makes a November walk feel like a proper November walk: hedge gaps, a squelchy bit where you have to commit, a churchyard, and the pleasing sensation of arriving somewhere older than you.

The stiles rule out wheels, and the field sections will be heavy going until the frosts come and firm things up.

Finish: back towards town and a table at the Gate.

7. And the one without a pub — the Cake Loop, 1.4 miles

Start: the town centre, any Saturday. Surface: pavement and park path, step-free. Suitable for: everybody, including the driver, the teetotaller, the under-twelves and the dog.

Here it is: the route for anyone who'd rather finish with a pot of tea. Out through the streets, a slow circuit of the pocket park, along a stretch of the canal and back in — with a stop at a bakery on the way home, because a walk that ends in a warm cheese straw is still a walk that ends well.

The beauty of this one is that it works in any weather and at any hour. Short enough for a lunchtime, gentle enough for a grandparent and a toddler to do together, and close enough to the shops that nobody has to get the car out.

Before you set off

A few practical things, cheerfully repeated: boots rather than trainers on routes 2, 3 and 6. A torch for anything started after three in the afternoon. Water for the dog and a lead in the field sections, particularly around livestock. And a quick phone call or a look online for the pub — winter hours in this town are a movable feast, and it's a long walk home with a thirst on.

One last thing worth saying: these are loops you can do alone, but they're much better with company. If you're new to the area, or you've lived here for years and somehow never done the hill, this is your nudge. Take a neighbour. Argue about the shortcut. End up somewhere warm.