As last month’s walk was cancelled, we were looking forward to our trip to Teversal and a walk around Brierley Forest Park, near Sutton-in-Ashfield.
This walk was to be an easy stroll along well-defined paths with no stiles to negotiate and no inclines to face and so it proved, although when we finished it, we were told that it had been 7 miles in total which we hadn’t expected; five miles is our target.
We began the walk by moving between two big red wheels, turning left over a little, plank bridge, noticing the swath of bluebells beneath the trees and following the sign “Tibshelf 3 ml”.
Within minutes we arrived at what is left of the ‘Teversal Manor’ railway station which comprised a short platform, an iron lampstand and a bench with a sign ‘In Memory of Louis Zelickman, Station Master 1946-63’. The unveiling of the bench in July 2009, was held during celebrations to mark the completion of improvement works to develop the Ashfield to Bolsover Trails, which surround the former station. Louis Zelickman, the final station master, had died the previous year and had had a keen interest in the plans to expand the trails.
After a long stretch of seemingly endless pathway, we turned left at a sign “Brierley Branch” and at this point I must confess that the leader, namely yours truly, was lost. However, a quick phone call to a friend put us in the correct direction and we were soon back on track. After passing horses grazing in a field, we came to a bench were we rested before continuing to a further seat and a stone memorial. We lingered at an
area of stone sculptures and a brown, egg-shaped stone which looked very much like an Easter egg. We couldn’t see an inscription but a later investigation on the website revealed a title “Rebirth” presumably meaning that the egg had been moulded from the stone casts standing near to it (as mentioned by one of our party).
Further into our walk we came to a big lake where many fishermen were gazing into the water and plenty of benches were available for families to sit. We continued along the wide path and across ‘Shooter Bridge’ to walk up to the Brierley Park Visitors’ Centre. A group of five sculptures of miners stand at the side of a children’s playground and at the other side is a black, iron archway depicting butterflies, flowers, an owl and various other creatures. Throughout this walk we saw a variety of wildflowers (red campion, forget-me-nots and the white flowers of wild garlic). There were also many different types of dogs, including a pair of Dalmatians and a Labrador whose owner was teaching it tricks.
Towards the end of the walk, we climbed a few steps to Hardwick View where we sat to enjoy the panorama before us and a great mass of yellow cowslips beneath our feet.
We will meet at 4pm at the church gates for the next walk, on Sunday 5th June in order to be able to park easily at our destination, which is yet to be confirmed. The walks for July and August will also start at 4pm. We welcome new members, so do join us if you wish.
Evelyn Lowe