Ilkeston - At Bennerley Woodland
w/e 02 August 2020
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
At less than half a mile in length this hardly qualifies
as a "walk" but as the thermometer rose on the hottest
day for some time, it was a pleasant amble through Bennerley
Woodland at Cotmanhay.
We began our stroll at the sad sight of the former Bridge Inn
which has closed and is now boarded up.
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The bridge in question adjacent to the former pub is over the
Erewash Canal.
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From the bridge the canal can be see continuing northwards past
the Cotmanhay Estate in the distance and will eventually reach
the Great Northern Basin at Eastwood.
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After crossing the bridge we turned the opposite way and almost
immediately left the towpath to follow the path into Bennerley
Woodland.
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Believe or not, the path through the wood is shown on maps of
the area as a cycle path.
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The path soon leads to what is a fairly new bridge replacing
the old rickety one over the railway line.
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Although a recent construction it has already become the subject
of graffiti messages but it offers a view of a much older construction
that bridges the Erewash Valley, the Bennerley Viaduct. The viaduct
is currently undergoing restoration work with the aim of making
it into a pedestrian and cycle path across the valley.
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Looking the other way from the bridge the railway line stretches
northwards and the turbine at Newthorpe is clearly visible but
that's nothing new as it can be seen from miles away!
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Returning back to the foot of the railway bridge we followed
a shorter path directly to the towpath on the Erewash Canal.
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Turning right we walked along the Erewash Canal towpath and were
soon back at the Bridge Inn. Such a pity it's not open any more,
a cool drink or a morning coffee would have been ideal - but
we had to return to the town centre for that.
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