Shipley Park - Miller-Mundy
Memories
w/e 04 November 2007
All
this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490
Part 11 - Way Back
  In this part of our walk around Shipley Country
Park, not only do we go way back in history - well about 100
years anyway - but also make our way back to the car park and
the Visitor Centre where we began the series. There will however
be another part in the form of an appendix but we resume this
time near the Home Farm entrance (left) and continue down Shipley
Lane (right) to Derby Lodge.
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  Wooden gates now hang from the
impressive gate posts at Derby Lodge but the higher more ornate
wrought iron gates that originally hung here were moved to the
Heanor Memorial Park (right) a few miles away. A hole through
one of the posts (left) and other markings clearly indicate the
position of the bell that had to be rung by visitors to the Estate
in order to gain access.
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  As we
learned earlier in the series, Derby Lodge is one of a duplicate
pair of buildings at opposite ends of Lodge Walk dating from
1911, the other being Nottingham Lodge. Formerly called Mapperley
Lodge, Derby Lodge is in a better state of repair than its twin
and is now opened occasionally as tea rooms. Also like its partner
Nottingham (formerly Ilkeston) Lodge and many other buildings
on the Estate, the Spotted Wolf emblem of the Miller-Mundy family
is prominently displayed (right).
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  Leaving the garden of Derby Lodge by a small
rear gate, we once again become reacquainted with Lodge Walk
(left) but turning left leads us back to Shipley Lane at its
junction with Bell Lane (right). Bell Lane, of course is another
reference to coal mining, the name being derived from the mediaeval
bell pits. Just beyond Bell Lane, our route now is along this
footpath (above) towards the trees on the horizon.
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From the high point on the path, there are some good views all
around the park including this zoomed shot down the hill to Osborne's
Pond, the Nutbrook Trail and Marlpool beyond. This is always
a good view but trees in their autumn colours give it an added
dimension.
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Our route though is onwards to the trees that we saw on the horizon.
They stand on the area known as Cinderhill Coppice and a path
through the coppice splits into two to form a circular route
called the Cinderhill Trail. The trees were planted in 1976 on
the former spoil-tip of Coppice Colliery and I believe in order
to give a good basis for growth, copious amounts of sewage were
deposited. Public access was obviously not granted but when the
trees had become established, the Cinderhill Trail was created
as an "access for all" facility and is suitable for
disabled visitors to the Shipley Park.
 Wood
from the felled beech trees on Shipley Hill was used to create
several sculptures around the trail but the ravages of time,
nature and possibly a little vandalism too has now transformed
most of them in useful habitats for insects. Some have disappeared
altogether but the tree growth has continued unabated. For comparison
there is another page on this site following the Cinderhill Trail
shortly after it opened in 2002 - click here to view. From the exit to the
Trail, a path now leads directly to the car park and the winding
wheel memorial (right) near where we started our Miller-Mundy
Memories walk.
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 But the
series would not be complete without a look in the Visitor Centre.
The Centre acts as a base for the Park Rangers and there is usually
a helpful member of staff available to answer any queries the
visitor may have. Inside too there is a gift shop, a cafe that
is very popular with visitors to the Park, a number of meeting
rooms, toilets and last but not least, an exhibition area (right)
with photos, paintings and even a model of Shipley Hall. We'll
take a closer look at that in the next and final part of the
series and fill in some of the gaps that only had a brief mention
during the walk.
Part 12 - The Appendix will also allow me the opportunity to
share some of the additional information that has accumulated
from various correspondents and other sources during the course
of the series.
Back to Part 10 - Home From Home
------ Forward to Part 12 - The
Appendix
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