Bennerley Loop - Part 01
w/e 11 May 2014
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
It was on the morning of Saturday September 14th
that I met up with a group of walkers at Ilkeston Junction to
follow a route led by the Local History Society on the opening
day of the 2013 Autumn Footprints Walking Festival. The walk
was titled "Top Cut, Bennerley, Bottom Cut Loop" and
promised to take in some of Ilkeston’s industrial past by
heading to the Erewash Canal, Bennerley Viaduct and site of the
Bennerley Foundry. The route of the walk that day can be viewed
by clicking here (opens a new window).
I have often thought when taking part in the Autumn Footprints
walks that it would be a good idea to repeat them during a different
season so this walk, although not exactly the same as the original,
is based on that route of last September. The total route length
of the walk is only about 3.5 miles but for the purposes of this
series I'm splitting it into "bite sized chunks" to
view a little of the route in each part. The route follows paths
and streets that have been covered previously for Ilkeston Cam
in various walks and series and it's also an interesting exercise
to compare the images here with other similar ones to note the
changes that have occurred. I'll include links to other pages
where applicable as we progress. This first part of the Bennerley
Loop is in fact a repeat of a section of the Lock to Lock series
elsewhere on this site. (link)
Unlike the Autumn Footprints route which began on Station Street
at Ilkeston Junction, I'm starting this portion of the walk where
Station Road crosses the Erewash Canal. (link)
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We went down the steps to the canal towpath and were immediately
made aware that we were in a different season to the Autumn Footprints
walk by the new life that came swimming past.
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The weather has obviously suited the grass on Johnny's Playing
Field (also called Wash Meadow) on the other side of the canal
as it is looking particularly green and well cared for at the
moment. I can never walk near Johnny's without remembering the
circus with the caged animals that visited in the 1960s and drew
crowds of people to see them.
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Access to Johnny's and the path through to Rutland Street is
gained via this footbridge at the rear of the Waterside Retail
Park on Station Road.
From the bridge to Awsworth Road the route is the one followed
in Stages 29 and 30 of the Ilkeston Town Walk but in the opposite
direction. (link)
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An old railway bridge just after the footbridge once crossed
the canal carrying the line from Ilkeston Junction to Ilkeston
Town Station but now in a similar position the canal is crossed
by a new bridge carrying Millership Way. (link)
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The towpath soon leads through a squeeze style to a tarmaced
section and a row of canal side cottages that go by the name
of Fairview and on a fine day like this one it is indeed a fair
view of the canal from the cottages.
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  Nearing Awsworth Road the surface is much better
than the pot-holed track photographed in 2004's Town Walk but
a much more obvious difference is the development on the former
site of the Bridge Inn opposite. In September the development
was in the course of construction but now the Canal Vue Care
Home is open although I don't know why the usual and correct
spelling of "view" wasn't used!
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The Footprints walking group carried straight on under the Awsworth
Road bridge but this is as far as we go in this part of the Bennerley
Loop as we left the towpath here to cross the bridge for another
look at the feature known as the Blue Pig.
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The second part of this Bennerley Loop walk will commence at
Barker's Lock and we'll continue along the towpath towards the
Bennerley Viaduct. The lock is seen here as we crossed the Awsworth
Road bridge.
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And as we left the bridge two seats still stand at the back of
the footpath. I was informed a little while ago that the low
one without a back support (i.e. the Blue Pig) had been removed
and some time after that it had been returned. It seems reasonable
to assume that the purpose of its removal was to enable some
refurbishment as the wooden seat has been replaced and is in
much better condition than when I photographed it in 2002. (link)
Change in this modern world is inevitable and although the Bridge
Inn has disappeared and been replaced by a Care Home, it is encouraging
to see this little bit of Ilkeston's history and heritage surviving
- at least for a little while longer.
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