Melbourne to Kings Newton Circular

Three lovely villages set among pleasant rolling countryside in South Derbyshire, parkland and a stroll along a former railway line make up this fascinating walk. This route is roughly 4.5 miles and mostly follows flat terrain. There are some sections of the walk across farmland that can get quite muddy, but otherwise this should be a relatively easy walk!

The key points of interest along this walk are:

• Castle Square
  • Once the site of a medieval marketplace with the remains of an Early Modern castle and a restored Early Modern cottage.
• Kings Newton
  • An prime example of an old English village, with many old houses still well-maintained.
• Cloud Trail
  • Formerly the site of the former Derby to Ashby Railway, which ran from 1867 to the 1980s, which has now been converted into a 13 mile cycle trail by Sustrans.
• Wilson
  • An ancient agricultural village, although many farms are no longer active and are instead private homes with the decline of traditional agriculture in the 20th century. Formerly part of Derbyshire until boundary changes in the 20th Century.
• The Bull’s Head
  • An inn dating back as far as the 18th century, that at one time brewed its own beer on site.
• Melbourne
  • A medieval market town with a wealth of historical buildings standing and still maintained, with the prime examples being a famous country house with formal gardens and a Norman Church

Visit Discover Derby – who put the walk together – for the route directions and more information on the key landmarks.