Smalley - Bell Lane
w/e 9 October 2005
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Smalley Dam

The sun doesn't always shine on Ilkeston Cam and there have been several misty October days recently. Such was the case when we followed the bridle path from Smalley Village towards Shipley Country Park. Near the start of the walk the path crosses Smalley Dam. This was constructed near the end of the eighteenth century but became silted up after years of neglect until the Smalley Community Project restored it removing much of the silt. It is now in a conservation area.
Smalley Lodge

A little further on is the grade 2 listed Smalley Lodge. A stone built into the wall has the date 1861 inscribed on it and when the lodge was built, it was a gatehouse to the Shipley Hall estate.
Farmland

To the north of the bridle path at Smalley Lodge, a gap in the hedge afforded a view across the farmland where it was obvious that the farmer had followed the old saying of "Make hay while the sun shines" before the damp misty conditions had set in.
Manchester Wood

The path continues through Manchester Wood and at a low point in the road the overnight rain had settled to present us with a muddy and flooded area. Fortunately it was possible to pass on the left hand side without getting into too much of a mess.
Hedgerow

Beyond the wood the hedgerows were absolutely full of berries at varying stages of ripeness for about two hundred yards. I wondered about another old wives' tale that says when there are a lot of berries we can expect a hard winter. Whether this is true or whether it just means that we have already had a good summer I don't suppose we'll know for certain until next spring arrives. The moisture in the atmosphere congregating on spiders' webs made some interesting patterns in among the berries.
Bell Lane

The further we walked along the bridle path, the closer we seemed to come to autumn as the greens of Smalley Dam and Manchester Wood started to be replaced by the browns and yellows near Prospect Farm. The bridle path is known as Bell Lane, the name being derived from the bell pits dug for coal in mediaeval times for the Abbot of Chester. Coal mining continued until the latter part of the twentieth century but now apart from the leisure facilities in Shipley Country Park, farming seems to be the main activity. From here the path continues into the park but that will have to wait for another day unless of course you care to delve into the archives. (1 - 2 - 3 - 4)

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