Ilkeston - Snow, Snow, Snow
w/e 05 December 2010
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Recreation Ground

It may be a bit of an understatement but we've had snow this week. Although not as badly hit as other parts of the country it was enough to close the schools and cause the markets to be cancelled or curtailed. On Thursday it snowed all morning from leaden skies but by lunch time, the snow had stopped and it had brightened up. Just right for an afternoon walk we thought and set off from the Market Place to West End Drive where we passed the Recreation Ground and saw a few youngsters enjoying the conditions.
Sledge Run

There were a lot more students making the most of their time off school on the Pewit Golf Course turning at least two of the fairways into sledge runs.
Golf Course

Other parts of the golf course were clear of people but the tracks and footprints in the snow told of a good amount of traffic all over.
Pewit Carr

We left the path by the golf course to access the Nutbrook Trail which we followed in a northerly direction passing the bridge over the Nut Brook and the entrance to Pewit Carr. The post on the right indicated that we were on the National Cycle Network although the prospect of seeing any bikes here in this weather was pretty remote.
Manner Floods

Seeing anyone making use of the seat a little further on at the edge of the partially frozen Manner Floods was also unlikely. All the waterfowl had congregated at the far end where the ice had not formed.
Nutbrook Trail

The Nut BrookOld Railway BridgeWe continued by the Nut Brook (left) along the Trail, under an old railway bridge (right) and on towards Shipley Country Park. The footprints and tracks were fewer here and the snow was deeper but it was still obvious that we were not the first to walk this route by a long way. We did meet people on three occasions walking in the opposite direction exercising their dogs.
Solitary Tree

All these images were captured between 2pm and 3pm but the earlier brightness in the sky soon disappeared and the further north we got, the darker it became. This solitary tree though stood out against the darkening sky.
Shipley View

Heanor RoadBy the time we had reached the Shipley View estate heralded by the sound of more children having fun on a snowy slope, the snow had begun to fall again and the hill in Shipley Park was only just visible through the swirling flakes. So we turned off for a brisk walk through the estate to Heanor Road (right) where we found we had at least a twenty minute wait for a bus. Rather than stand about in the cold we continued to Bath Street just in time to catch one back home for a warming mug of coffee enhanced with a drop of Tia Maria and topped with whipped cream - a fitting end to our walk in the snow and all before tea!

We repeated this walk in January 2015 in much different conditions - see This Looks Familiar.

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