Beeston Rylands Circular - Part 02
w/e 30 June 2013
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

This second part of the walk took us from the Beeston Canal to the bank of the River Trent which we followed back to the canal at Beeston Lock and then along Canal Side. The whole route can be seen in this aerial view.

Rapeseed Field

We turned our backs on the Beeston Canal where the former steps had crossed the wall and followed the footpath through the fields where the rapeseed was flowering brightly. The trees in the distance mark the extent of the path and also the position of the River Trent.
Riverbank Path

On reaching the Trent we turned right to follow the path by the river which has recently been resurfaced, fields of rapeseed now on the right.
Another Heron?

As we walked along the riverside the growth of bushes, trees and other vegetation between the path and the river increased and permitted only sporadic views across the water but through one gap we spotted another heron - or it could have been the same one that had flown over from the canal that we had seen earlier.
Sports Field

The route we followed is described in a booklet and it says that the path can be quite muddy and although it was dry on this occasion, there were parts of it where the newly laid surface had been washed away. The description also says to continue along the path through a sports field with a pavilion - which can be seen here in the distance on the far side of the field close to the canal.
Clifton Hall

As we continued along the path from the sports field the river is only seen intermittently through gaps in the flora but through one of them the imposing sight of Clifton Hall on the far side also came into view. At the time of publication of the booklet Clifton Hall was part of Nottingham Trent University but it was sold into private hands in the early 2000s and has changed hands again since then.
Weir Fields Rec

From the view of the Hall, the river's meandering turned it towards the canal and we lost sight of it altogether due to the dense growth between the path and the river until we reached the Weir Fields Recreation Ground. Although we couldn't see it along this stretch we could however hear a muffled roar that gradually increased in volume as we walked.
Beeston Weir

At the recreation ground the cause of the sound appeared - the Beeston Weir. The orange barricade across the river guides vessels approaching the weir into the canal which takes them through Beeston and Nottingham to rejoin the Trent beyond the weir and the shallows on this part of the river.
Two Bridges

Since the start of the walk the sky had clouded over and the temperature risen and it had really become quite humid but passing through the recreation ground we crossed two bridges over the canal, both of which can be seen here, to reach Beeston Lock.
Lock Keeper's Cottage

The Lock Keeper's Cottage at Beeston Lock is well cared for but other adjacent cottages are in need of renovation. All is not lost though as I understand that funding has been secured by the Canalside Heritage Centre project from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help prepare plans for a full grant application by March 2014. A successful bid would enable the cottages to be restored where it is hoped to create a Canal Museum.
Beeston Canal

From Beeston Lock there is a connecting path by the Trent to link up with another walk in the booklet around Attenborough Nature Reserve, a place we have visited several times previously but to complete this Beeston Rylands Circular we turned the opposite way to walk along Canal Side back to where we had parked.
Back to Part 01

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