Ilkeston - Autumn's Here
w/e 15 October 2017
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
There is still a lot of green about on the trees
but as autumn takes hold there's also a lot of seasonal colour
to be seen too. This selection of images takes us across the
town centre from Old Park to Victoria Park.
About the turn of the twentieth century Park Avenue led directly
to the cemetery gates in Old Park Ward where the road branched
either side to form Park Crescent. The road seen here where the
white car is still bears that name but the trees that would only
have been saplings then are now fully mature.
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By 1915 Park Crescent on the other side of the cemetery gates
had been extended to become Cantelupe Road around the boundary
of the cemetery and the land on the left was known as Old Park
Recreation Ground. The hills and holes left by former mineral
mining on the site resulted in locals calling it Hilly Holeys
and local dialect soon dropped the "H"s . Even today
it's still 'Illy 'Oleys.
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The hills and holes are still apparent but it's the colours of
the trees that draw the eye at this time of year.
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During the summer months the trees lining the path up to the
town centre form a virtual dark tunnel but as the path gets covered
with fallen leaves it becomes much brighter.
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The Council in their wisdom renamed Old Park Recreation Ground
and called it Chaucer Old Park but although 'Illy 'Oleys remains
as such to people of my generation, Chaucer Old Park extends
beyond there to include a much wider area down to the boundary
of Chaucer Junior School which can be seen here in the middle
of the image.
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Crossing to the other side of the town centre, a carpet of leaves
is already covering much of Victoria Park whilst the trees are
displaying a lovely variety of colours.
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The pergola for quite a while was surrounded by fencing as refurbishment
took place but now, fully restored, has already become an attractive
feature and looks splendid in its autumn setting.
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The Tree Trail through the park identifies several notable trees,
one of which is the Raywood Ash. This species was introduced
from Australia and its fine feathery leaves turn dark red in
the autumn. This one in Victoria Park is well on the way at the
moment.
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Most of the trees in the park are mature but there are some young
ones too but whether old or new they all add to the hues of the
season.
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It's not just in the town's parks that we can appreciate the
colours. Whilst waiting for a bus on Wharncliffe Road, I was
struck by the leaves on a tree by the Town Hall which encapsulate
the change from summer to autumn - a change we can all enjoy
if we care to look.
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