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