Ilkeston - Avenues And Alleyways
w/e 15 October 2006
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

With only a passing nod to Tony Christie for his hit song, I thought I would take a look at some of Ilkeston's avenues and alleyways at the southern end of the town around Larklands and Little Hallam. An avenue in its British usage is defined as a broad road or street, often with trees along the sides although in Ilkeston I would suggest that there are more 'avenues' without trees than with. That's not to say there aren't any tree-lined streets in Ilkeston. There are many but it's just that they are not all called 'Avenue'. Greenwood Avenue (above) is probably a reasonable example of the definition being wide and tree-lined but Birch Avenue (off to the right in the centre of this image) and St James Avenue and Smedley Avenue further along on the left are not only treeless but are not what you would call 'wide' either. The road entrance on the right is the main access into Erewash Square but this can also be gained via an alleyway (right). Whichever 'Avenue' you look at in Ilkeston there is usually an alleyway in fairly close proximity.

Towards Hallam Fields off Corporation Road there are Cromwell Avenue and Trowell Avenue and on the other side of Corporation Road on the Middleton Estate, you'll find three more - Eleanor, Benner and Frederick. Frederick Avenue at its junction with Queens Avenue can be seen in the top right hand corner of the triptych above but none of the avenues mentioned here are tree-lined. It is an interesting fact that of the three almost parallel roads that link Little Hallam Lane and Longfield Lane, namely Queens Avenue, Kingsway and Garden Avenue, it is only the one not called 'Avenue' that is lined with trees. There is another link between Longfield Lane and Little Hallam Lane though and that is by the alleyway that leads to Birdcroft Lane (above left) and near the bottom of Queens Avenue, another alley (bottom right) leads off Little Hallam Lane to Inglefield Road.

Also off Little Hallam Lane and cutting through to Cavendish Road is another alleyway (left and right above) and this passes across the end of Catherine Avenue (centre) - not what you would call a broad road but it is an avenue lined with trees. Across Cavendish Road the path continues up past the South East Derbyshire College to Field Road and Nottingham Road.

Another alleyway (above right) also links Cavendish Road with Nottingham Road and interconnects Whitworth Road with Lower Whitworth Road whilst on the opposite side of Cavendish Road heading back toward Little Hallam Lane, we find another avenue that IS lined with trees - Kirkby Avenue (left).

This alleyway leads off Park Drive to Kensington Gardens and Park Drive of course leads directly to Park Avenue and Park Cemetery.

From the gates of the cemetery and looking back along Park Avenue, we can see once again that this is one of the tree-lined avenues but it does seem that the people responsible for naming the roads over the years did not deem this a necessity when deciding whether to call a particular road 'Avenue' or not. From the cemetery, an alleyway (right) off Millfield Road (tree-lined) leads towards Heathfield Avenue and guess what - no trees there either! Contrary or what? But that's Ilkeston for you!

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