Bridge Inn & Canal Loop - Part 01
w/e 23 March 2025
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Nikon D3300
This is another route that
we followed several times when we regularly walked with the Monday
Strollers' Walking For Health Group. It is similar to the Cotmanhay Loop
and also has elements of a number of other routes which I'll
mention as we go along and also add links at the appropriate
points.
As with many of the other Strollers' walks, this one begins at
the Victoria Leisure Centre and we used to meet every Monday
morning on the car park at the rear of the centre.
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This route, like many others, exits the car park onto Manor Road
and turns left to continue up the hill.
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At the top of Manor Road at its junction with Manners Avenue,
the Manners Link footpath towards the Rutland Sports Park can
be seen to the right of the house in front. It's at this junction
that we turn right (as per the aforementioned Cotmanhay Loop).
Other WFH walks such as the Ilkeston Circular,
the Shipley Common Loop, the Swan
Lake Loop, and the Shipley Linear (all linked from the WFH Index page) also
follow this route from the Leisure Centre before going their
separate ways.
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After turning right onto Manners Avenue towards the Industrial
Estate, it's only a few steps before we see the other section
of the Manners Link footpath going in the opposite direction
to the one previously mentioned. Although not another WFH route,
it is a path we have walked before during Part 25 of the Ilkeston
Town Walk.
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The Manners Link footpath is along the route of the old Great
Northern Railway and at the far end near to where Ilkeston North
Station stood there is a fork in the footpath. The building ahead
is the aptly named Old Station Surgery. It's to the right we
go.
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The path continues to end in Back Lane but a left turn leads
by the side of the Surgery to the access road to the said Surgery
and also Ilkeston's Police Station.
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The access road is from Heanor Road opposite Factory Lane. The
official WFH route from here, because of the traffic, is to turn
right, down to the pedestrian crossing at the bottom of Heanor
Road, along Granby Street and left into Cotmanhay Road.
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More often than not though when walking with the group, a short
cut was taken by carefully crossing Heanor Road and following
Factory Lane to meet Cotmanhay Road at the side of the Holy Trinity
Church.
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Turning left the route now follows Cotmanhay Road.
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In the days of our walks with the Monday Strollers there was
a factory on the left of Cotmanhay Road but now that has gone
to be replaced by a housing estate. Directly ahead is Granby
Park but we'll cross to the other side of Cotmanhay Road before
reaching there and turn off along Cotmanhay Linear Park.
Forward to Part 02
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