West Hallam - One of Four
w/e 03 May 2026
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Nikon D3300 camera..
There are four Local Nature
Reserves (LNR) in close proximity that straddle the Nutbrook
Trail on the Ilkeston West Hallam boundary. These images are
from one of the four - Straw's Bridge LNR - and the number of
swans on the largest of three ponds on the site make it obvious
why it is more commonly referred to as Swan Lake.
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We walked around the largest pond in an anticlockwise direction
and under the former railway bridge to reach the quieter area
of the site and the smallest of the three ponds. On the way we
passed a Walking Group that we would meet again later going in
the opposite direction.
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There are several rubbish bins on the site and titbits left on
the top of the wooden structures that contain them have turned
them into squirrels' dining tables.
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Although we could hear birdsong emanating from the trees, the
still waters of the middle pond was devoid of waterfowl. It's
obvious that the birds know they are more likely to be fed on
the more popular part of the site near the car park.
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Despite the fine weather the anglers had stayed at
home and all the fishing platforms were empty too.
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About half way round the middle lake a path leads off to the
Nutbrook Trail and access to the Nutbrook Trail and the other
three LNRs - Manor Floods, Pewit Carr and Pewit Coronation Meadows.
The Walking Group we had passed earlier had also reached this
point and walked along the path whilst we continued around the
pond.
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This side of the pond feels more enclosed with bushes, and
trees by the water's edge and rushes and reeds in the pond with
only a few places where you can actually see across the pond.
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On the right is a bank that nature has reclaimed which also adds
to the enclosed feeling. The bank is actually a former railway
embankment.
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The bank runs at the side of the pond and leads to the bridge
back to the main pond where all of the birds where still congregating.
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As we completed the circuit around a the
main pond, swans and ducks were basking in the sunshine at the
side of the path whilst others were swimming or flying across
the pond. A rat scooted across the path from the edge of the
water to the Wetland Area of the site - which despite its name
was dry at the moment - but it was another creature that caught
our attention. Hanging from a branch was a crocheted creature
with an attached label that read "I'm not lost just alone.
If I make you smile please take me home" with a link to
a Facebook page, random Acts of Crochet Kindness". We smiled
but left it for someone else who might need cheering up.
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