Shipley Wood.

It has been slightly better weather today - well at least it hasn't been raining. So Malcolm and I did a circular walk from home, past the Ilkeston Hospital and into the Shipley estate at what used to be the main entrance to the Miller-Mundy's estate. The area has seen much activity over the years and has gone from stately home and park to mines and heavy industry. For a brief period the area saw a Theme Park on the site of the old 'Woodside' colliery but even this has now closed and the site lies derelict awaiting decisions about it's future.
There is not much to remind you of the mining past of this area except for the old winding gear left at what was the entrance to the Theme Park.The whole site is still fenced off with warnings about how dangerous and deep the water is and reminding you that Police dogs patrol the site both day and night (no mention is made of dog handlers! Maybe the dogs do it themselves these days - who knows!) Anyway the site is now left to the wildlife. It must be said that the ducks and geese seem to be managing the site better than the humans have done in recent times!Carrying on from the old colliery site, we climbed Shipley Hill up to the site of the old Hall itself. I will post some pictures of what's left of the hall another day but if you are interested, you can do no better than to click on THIS LINK where there is plenty of historical information about the rise and fall of the Miller-Mundy family and their estate.Nottingham Lodge here (originally called Ilkeston Lodge) and it's neighbour Derby (previously Mapperley) Lodge were built around 1911 and are among the few visible signs of the once fine estate. Even these buildings seem sadly run-down and neglected now.Just time to indulge in a little more autumn colour. Although the leaves are becoming rather scarce in places, there are still some beautiful sights to greet you. Most of the leaves are now golden brown and yellow, the reds seem to have all but gone.....Although there still a few tucked away among the gold.