Mapperley - Around The Reservoir
w/e 02 May 2010
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
It's bluebell time and having visited most of the surrounding
woods and copses in previous years, we decided to see what John
Wood at the western end of Mapperley Reservoir had to offer.
Having parked on the reservoir car park we set off along the
path passing many fishing stations that have been constructed
and jut out into the water.
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As it is only just over a mile to completely circumnavigate the
reservoir we soon reached John Wood where, as expected, the bluebells
were blooming.
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We have seen more profuse and plentiful displays in the past
at other locations but the flowers always look so much better
when in natural woodland surroundings irrespective of their numbers.
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We would have liked to have gone further into the wood but since
our last walk in this area a fence has been erected and the path
we intended to follow is no longer accessible. This is because
opencast Mining operations are now taking place at Smalley that
we caught sight of later as can be seen in the zoomed shot above.
This was taken from the far end of the reservoir at the same
position as the image at the top of this page.
So doubling back we opted for the path that winds along the southern
side of the reservoir.
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Between the path and the reservoir there is an area designated
as a Wildlife Reserve where access and fishing is prohibited
but what impact the nearby mining which was the object of long
and arduous protests and enquiries has had on the wildlife, only
time will tell.
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All the way along this path there are tantalising glimpses of
the reservoir but the better views across the water are closer
to the road that marks its boundary.
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On reaching the end of the path we turned to walk along the road
across the dam wall where there was quite a bit of activity among
the water birds taking off and landing in their search for food.
This Canada goose however was almost motionless as she sat on
her nest that had been built between the dam wall and the water.
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We concluded our circuit of the reservoir by heading along the
wall towards Shipley Country Park and turning left again into
the car park.
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