The path from the bridge that carries the B6309 over the River Derwent climbs through a wood, the blush of fresh spring green on the branches, and a scattering of bluebells below, amidst the first flowers of wild garlic and the unfurling saplings of bracken. As each day passes, new growth thrusts skyward. The Mill Burn runs twenty feet below in shadow. Birdsong fills the air and, soon, the noise of traffic fades. The path wanders through an open, grassy area across which flits a peacock butterfly.

The main path is wide and clear, but many narrower ones run down to the stream, as if people are constantly called back to the sight and sound of running water. Soon the path is hemmed in by a barbed wire fence. The sound of trucks signifies something urban. It turns out that you are near a landfill site that uses the nearby disused quarries. Across Lead Lane, the path continues towards Spring House Woods. Horses’ hooves have churned up the muddy ground and much of the path consists of wide puddles that are hard to avoid. It climbs away from the burn beneath spruce trees. A barn owl sweeps across the path.

There is a confusing network of paths here, all running through the forest with no visible landmarks to guide you. You wander in error onto the line of the dismantled railway, which was built to Whittonstall in 1908 as part of The Garesfield and Chopwell Railway, which served mainly coal mines, coke and brick works.

Two orange tip butterflies zigzag past. The path is littered with well-nibbled pine cones, the conifers giving off a pleasantly acrid aroma. A Great Tit sings excessively and a curlew can be heard far off. The wide track rolls gently up and down through the forest, the burn hardly visible in the valley bottom.

Dead trees litter the walk towards Westriding Wood. A grey squirrel scampers skyward. White bird feathers lie scattered across the path, beside a broken eggshell.