Mapperley - Castle and Brook
w/e 11 May 2008
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Last September we joined a group of people on a short heritage walk in Amber Valley and Erewash Walking Festival's "Autumn Footprints" programme. It took us along Mapperley Lane from the West Hallam crossroads to Mapperley Church and at the lowest point of the lane we passed under this former railway bridge. Our guide pointed out the substantial amount of iron work that has been added to strengthen the bridge and also showed us where the brickwork is in need of repair. Since the demise of the railway the only transport to pass over the bridge are farm vehicles that use it for easy access to the fields. With this in mind, should the bridge deteriorate further, it seems unlikely that it will ever be repaired.

As we returned from Mapperley, our guide had asked if any of us would like to see Mapperley Castle. Now the fact that there had been a castle built at Mapperley came as a surprise to most of us but we followed a path on the Mapperley side of the bridge into a wooded area at the foot of the railway embankment. A little way into the wood we came to a stile emblazoned with the words "Mapperley Castle" but if we were expecting a turreted stone building we were in for a disappointment. When the railway was first constructed the embankment had been built right through the site of the moated castle and all that remains to be seen is a muddy patch where the moat had been. I believe it had been a motte and bailey construction and the only other remains are on private farmland on the West Hallam side of the embankment.

On this occasion we returned to Mapperley Lane, passed under the bridge again and headed up the hill towards West Hallam (left). The lowest part of the valley between West Hallam and Mapperley is also where Mapperley Brook flows and a bridleway and footpath runs parallel with, but a little away from, the brook towards Ilkeston. Just inside the bridleway is Brook Farm and although the area now displays a rural countenance, in the 1850s it was a much different industrial outlook as several small collieries operated along Mapperley Brook eastwards towards the Nutbrook Canal and Ilkeston.

That rural appearance is greatly enhanced by these three views just a few steps onto the bridleway. There are geese in the farmyard (left), a large wood pile following felling work in the wood (right) and the farm cat lying in the shade from the sun on the back of a farm trailer (above). Although not to be seen or heard here, there was also a cockerel crowing in one of the nearby chicken sheds.

After passing the farm buildings the bridleway continues towards Ilkeston through alternate shady and clear patches. Although in close proximity to built up areas it's easy to think you are deep in the countryside. We saw a hare, horses in the fields, magpies on the path, a rabbit, and with forget-me-nots growing wild among the trees there were, no doubt, numerous other creatures all around.

Eventually the bridleway is crossed by a lane leading down to a number of properties collectively known as The Brook sitting alongside as they do, Mapperley Brook. We could have followed this lane and continued into Mapperley Village or turned right and followed the lane uphill to the High Lane adjacent to the Newdigate Inn. But on this occasion with the sun shine beating down on us (not that we were complaining) we opted to retrace our steps back to Mapperley Lane along the shady bridleway.

Site Navigation Home "Pick A Picture" Weekly Favourites Latest Images Holidays & Days Out Special Features The Guest Page Archives Site search Web search powered by FreeFind Jigsaw Puzzles Recommended Links Terms & Conditions of Use This website is copyright but licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence. Please credit the photographer Garth Newton, or add a link to these pages.