SHIPLEY COUNTRY PARK WALK
THE WALK
Do not be put off by the approach to Shipley Country Park through Heanor Gate Industrial Estate: the park offers 600 acres of attractive and varied parkland and 18 miles of footpaths and bridleways. The park can also be accessed at Mapperley off the A609 Ilkeston to West Hallam Road.
Developed during the 18th century as a country estate and coal mining area, it has been sympathetically reclaimed by Derbyshire County Council and in 1976, reopened as a country park. Apart from walking, you can hire a cycle to ride around, go fishing, spot wildlife, join a wayfaring course or sit and relax. If you have any energy left after the walk, pop into the Visitor Centre and see what is on offer.
From the Visitor Centre, the walk takes you past Osborne’s Pond. It then follows a former railway embankment for a short distance before passing Shipley Hall Cricket Ground. It isn’t easy to see the cricket ground at this point because of the trees, but if you look behind you near the top of the hill, you will get a good view.
After walking around Mapperley Reservoir and through John Wood, you return along Bell Lane and by Flatmeadow Farm to the Visitor Centre.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 1 – Shipley Country Park Visitor Centre is at the Heanor Gate Industrial Estate end of the park. However, there is another car park on the opposite side of the park, approached through Mapperley village. The shop at the visitor centre sells a range of confectionery, books, and gifts. There is also a café.
Point 4 – Nutbrook Trail is a former part railway line and canal tow path that runs for ten miles along a traffic-free route from Long Eaton, through Shipley Park to Heanor: walkers, cyclists, and horse riders use the Shipley Park section.
Point 5 – In 1896, work started to convert the Haystack yard at Shipley Hall into a cricket field using labour from the Hall where the Miller-Mundy family lived. Most of the work was manual, and a horse and cart transported the soil. It officially opened in 1899 with the first recorded match played between married men and single men, all from the estate. The Singles appear to have won with a score of 60 against the 37 scored by the married men. The ground is still in regular use.
Point 6 – Nottingham Lodge is one of two lodges built for the Miller-Mundy family of Shipley Hall, and at the time of writing, it is up for sale. The other is the Derbyshire Lodge, now operated as Barefeet Lodge Tearooms on behalf of the county council. Nottingham Lodge is Grade II listed and was built in 1910 by architect Walter Tapper.
Point 7 – Shipley Estate was mentioned in the Domesday Book, and from the 14th century was covered in extensive forest, used for hunting, with a purpose-built lodge on Shipley Hill. By the 16th century, coal mining began to provide an income for the owners, and Shipley Hall was built in 1700. The Hall was demolished in 1948, considered too damaged by subsidence for retention.
Point 8 – The former mining village of Mapperley, a short walk from the reservoir of the same name, dates to before Domesday Book. It was awarded a market charter in 1267 to hold a market and fair. In 1966, the church was largely rebuilt, following damage from mining subsidence. The village pub, the Old Black Horse, is a popular calling place for walkers and locals alike.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 4 miles.
Start/finish: Shipley Country Park Visitor Centre Car Park. There is a
Location: Off A608 Derby to Heanor road. Turn right at the sign for Heanor Gate Industrial Estate and Shipley Country Park.
Terrain: Easy walking along well-defined paths. No steep gradients. There are several paths at the top of Shipley Hill, and you are advised to carry an Ordnance Survey Map to avoid any confusion.
THE ROUTE
1. From the car park, head past the Information Board and walk along a surfaced path angling to the left. On reaching an intersection of paths, continue straight on.
2. Where the path forks and Osborne’s Pond comes into view, keep to the right to walk alongside the pond.
3. At the far side of the pond, turn left along the road that leads to a former railway embankment, which you ascend and walk to the right along the tarmac track.
4. After walking past the Lakeside Business Centre, go right by a Nutbrook Trail sign and follow the path around to the left.
5. Ignore the second Nutbrook Trail sign and climb gently up Shipley Hill, as the path bends to the right. Near the top of the hill, if you turn around, you will get a good view of Shipley Hall Cricket Ground.
6. Take the path on the left and follow the wall around, passing Nottingham Lodge, before turning right at the end, signed ‘Beech Walk’.
7. After a short distance, turn to the right through a gap into an area of woodland and take the path on the left. A short distance away, through the trees, are the ruins of Shipley Hall if you wish to make a diversion.
8. Continue keeping to the path on the left-hand side of the wood until it reaches an estate road. Here you turn left and walk down a fenced path alongside the road to Mapperley Reservoir.
9. Follow the path along the embankment to the other side of the reservoir and turn right along its southern side.
10. Keep to the path on the left until it reaches a dead end and starts to bend back to the right.
11. Take the first path you come to on the left and walk through John Wood, before turning right into Bell Lane.
12. After about 250 yards, go over a stile by the entrance to Flatmeadow Farm and walk up the road with the farm on your left. Continue by the farm and follow the winding road back to the Visitor Centre and the start of the walk.
