2025 - The Annual Review
w/e 28 December 2025
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a a Nikon D3300 camera or a Samsung SM-G781B Mobile
Phone
As we stand on the threshold of a new year it's time
for the annual review. In many respects, as far as taking photos
to update the Ilkeston Cam website is concerned, 2025 has been
a strange year. Some weeks I have struggled to find enough to
add to the Latest Images page and sometimes I've been spoilt
for choice.
  The year was topped and tailed with
walks in Wollaton Park, first for our traditional annual walk
in January (left) in the quiet period after Christmas and then
in December when we followed the Winter Light Trail (right) around
the Hall. December also saw photos of Ilkeston's Christmas Lights
and the disappointing Light Trail in Derby.
Ilkeston's Christmas Lights were actually switched on towards
the end of November and the event drew large crowds to the Market
Place. There were also thousands of people in the Market Place
earlier in the month to pay their respects at the Remembrance
Sunday Service where some military vehicles parked in front of
the Town Hall created a lot of interest too.
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Military Vehicles were also lined up as part of the annual Heritage
Vehicle and Classic Car Show in August and once again the event
drew large crowds. There was also a good turn out for the Glow
Music Festival that month.
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And of course it probably goes without saying that the October
Charter Fair was another huge attraction in the town centre for
a week in October.
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For much of the rest of the year, local beauty spots like Straw's
Bridge Nature Reserve (Swan Lake) in April filled the Latest
Images page.
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Another walk along the Nottingham Canal near Cossall when the
May blossom added a highlight to the green hedges across tormentil
field.
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And in June it was the Attenborough Nature Reserve that
was the focus of our attention.
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 Back
in 2009 I started the First Impressions series following the
nine roads into the town. The intention was to fill in those
weeks when there was nothing else happening of interest. That
series came to an close in February 2025 following the walk  with
views of Benneley Viaduct (left) along Awsworth Road. As a substitute
for that series I started a repeat of the Town Walk in June that
we had first done between 2002 and 2005. The repeat is still
in its early stages and is yet to be completed but it has progressed
from the museum, passed Park Cemetery (above) in July and also
visited Stanton Road Cemetery. An earlier visit to Stanton Road
Cemetery in the year, February, saw the first signs of spring
with crocuses starting to bloom (right)..
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There were no signs of flowers though back in January during
a circuit of Osborne's Pond in a cold and frosty Shipley Country
Park. Surprisingly that was our only walk in the Park during
the year - something we must remedy soon.
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Trent Lock at Sawley was another place we only visited once during
the year. That was in March but that was not so surprising as
it was 2016 when we last called in there for a specific visit
although it had been visited several times briefly over the years
when Autumn Footprints Walking Festival walks briefly passed
the Steamboat Inn.
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The highlight of the year of course was our holiday in North
Wales in July. This was one of those times when I was spoilt
for choice. Photos taken during our five day beak of Dwygylyfli,
Llandudno, Bangor, Llanfair PG, Menai Bridge, Caernarfon , Menai
Bridge & Caernarfon provided enough material to update the
Latest Images page for ten weeks through July, August, the whole
of September and even into October. And that didn't include the
view above taken in Conwy from in front of the smallest house
in Great Britain. As I said it's been a strange year but it's
because of the holiday photos that's made it impossible to include
one from each month in 2025 for this review. I'm sure there are
other places we've been in 2025 that I've overlooked but you
can see them all again by clicking the links on the Favourites
2025 page. What 2026 holds in store, no-one knows but let's
hope it's a Happy New Year for all.
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