The Three Parishes Walk - Part 02
w/e 02 February 2014
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

This second mile of the walk picks up the route on Shipley Lane at the northern end of Mapperley Reservoir and continues heading north into Shipley Country Park.

North of Reservoir

A footpath that I passed at the southern side of the reservoir can be followed right around the water and returns to Shipley Lane where the second mile starts. For those less inclined to walking, there is a car park and picnic area at this northern side of the reservoir and the building in the trees, which is under the jurisdiction of Derbyshire County Council workers in the park and has toilet facilities for visitors, stands between the reservoir and the car park.
Up Shipley Lane

Turing right at the car park I entered the park proper and passed through the gate to continue up the hill along Shipley Lane.
Wooden Fences

The lane is lined with solid looking wooden fences but grassy ares on each side provide alternative areas for the passage of horse riders and even dog walkers. The gated lane prevents ordinary traffic using this route as a rat-run but as I neared the top of the hill, a fire engine approached (slowly) heading for Mapperley.
Horsepool Hill Woodland

I've always called the hill Shipley Hill but a sign at one of the entrances to the woodland at the top now proclaims the name "Horsepool Hill Woodland".
Gardens House

I could have entered the woodland and walked around the site of Shipley Hall but I decided against that and continued along Shipley Lane past the reputedly haunted Gardens House which is now home to the Green Health Enterprise for people recovering their mental health.
Down The Hill

Having also passed the former Home Farm which has been converted into some very desirable residences, I continued down the hill towards Osbourne's Pond.
Lodge Garden

On reaching Derby Lodge however, I made a short detour through the garden and part way up the hill again towards the Hall site, the sun streaming through the trees highlighting the mist that was still hanging about in the late morning.
Snowdrop Bank

The reason for the detour was to view the bank near the Beggars Walk which is a favourite place to see snowdrops but although there were plenty of green shoots it was too early in the year to see the white flowers.
Cricket Ground View

Turning away from the snowdrop bank the view across to the cricket ground showed that the sun's rays still hadn't got through the trees to the frosty ground below.
Derby Lodge

So I went back down the hill and this time passed to the right of Derby Lodge instead of going through the garden to resume my walk along Shipley Lane. The original plan was to walk from West Hallam to Osbourne's Pond in Shipley Park but it didn't quite turn out like that as we shall see in Part 03.
Back to Part 01
Forward to Part 03

See the conclusion of the walk in Part 03 but to see an aerial view of the whole route click here.

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