Hopton Hall snowdrops

Saturday 22nd February 2025

In the depths of winter, when it is cold and grey and the landscape looks bleak spring seems far away, but then up comes the white flowers of snowdrops to provide some hope and the promise that spring will come soon. Therefore, I have snowdrops in my garden and I like to visit places where there is an abundant display with the most common place for me to go being Dimminsdale Nature Reserve on the Leicestershire and Derbyshire border. After weeks of cold, overcast weather it was a joy to find a Saturday with warm temperatures and sunshine so I wasted no time in nipping up to Staunton Harold Reservoir and walking around the adjacent nature reserve. Although the sun was not yet out the snowdrops were looking superb, at their peak though already showing signs of starting to go to seed. However, I did not spend long there before I had returned to my car and was heading north, passing Derby to reach Hopton Hall where I had previously seen their snowdrops five years ago which had lingered long in my memory because it was my last proper walk before Covid. I have been keen to return ever since and now I finally took that opportunity to once again experience the deservedly popular Hopton Hall Snowdrop Walk. Since the sun was now out the displays were fabulous with extensive coverings of the delicate white flowers throughout the woodland walk and the delights continued past beds of crocuses beside the drive and was followed by a relaxing walk around the Rose Gardens and a lake.

Five years ago, after doing the snowdrop walk, I had walked around the nearby reservoir of Carsington Water, but this time, rather than doing the same thing again, I took my inspiration from a walk on the O.S. Maps app called Hopton Hall snowdrops, which heads in the other direction. I came out through the gates of Hopton Hall and followed the road into the village of Carsington. A track beyond the village gradually climbed around the southern slopes of Carsington Pasture and provided me with views into the low sun across the reservoir while I passed outcrops that decorated the hillside before finally descending into the village of Brassington. The weather was now feeling unseasonably warm, so I was soon stripping off layers as I climbed back out of the village, enjoying the sunshine, although a cold wind encouraged me to keep my cagoule on. I found this upward ascent very satisfying, especially as the rest of my walking this year, since coming back from the Lake District, has been on pretty flat terrain. I was invigorated by the exertion and the sunshine as I strode on up the road, across a field and along Manystones Lane past an industrial site and up to the High Peak Trail. Ahead of me was Harboro’ Rocks and despite my route keeping to the High Peak Trail I couldn’t resist climbing steeply through the crags to reach the trig point that sits at the windswept top.

Clouds now covered the sky and with many people around I felt a little disappointed after all my effort. Soon, I made my way back down the hill and onto the High Peak Trail, which follows the course of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway. I followed this for several miles while overhead the dark skies tried to rain, though ultimately they hardly dropped anything. Before reaching Middleton Top I came off the trail and tried to follow a right-of-way heading south, but the route marked on my Ordnance Survey Map was not possible on the ground. Occasionally I came across gates or stiles, but since these were not on the route of the right-of-way it was quite a challenge for me to find my way, though the path did become clearer as I descended and eventually brought me to the road just outside the village of Hopton. Snowdrops decorated the roadside as I made my way through the village and back to Hopton Hall. This was a good little walk and I enjoyed the climb to the top of Harboro’ Rocks even though this is a relatively small hill and the conditions at the top were not so appealing. I enjoyed returning to see the snowdrops at Hopton Hall for the first time in five years and it was great to have a bit of warmth for the first time this year. It is so much more enjoyable to have sunshine and blue skies overhead than to walk under cold, overcast skies. I was looking forward to better weather this year.