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Directions

Start: Wilmot Street Car Park

1. Turn left out of the car park and walk up Wilmot Street. Turn right onto Mundy Street, then right again onto Ilkeston Road. Take the tarmac jitty on the right just past Heanor Library. At the end, turn right and cross the road opposite Stainsby Avenue. Follow the footpath towards the cemetery.
   Marpool Cemetery Chapel (1857). It later housed the Heanor Heritage Centre (1991–2005).
2. Follow the path along the right edge of the cemetery. Turn right and cross into Thorpehill Drive. Continue through the car park area, then cross the road and continue to Shipley Park Gardens, entering Shipley Country Park via the jitty.
3. Take the left-hand footpath and follow the old railway for about 1 mile (1.5 km), passing Osborne’s Pond. Continue along the Nutbrook Trail to the old Station House. Cross the road, follow the track with the fence on your right, and continue up the rising path to the disused pit headstocks.
   This path was formerly the route of the Great Northern Railway from Heanor Gate to Ilkeston. Osborne’s Pond was opened in 1791 as a feeder reservoir for the Nutbrook Canal, which joined with the Erewash Canal near to Stanton Gate. The ‘Piper’ headstocks are all that remain of the Woodside Colliery which opened in 1847 and closed in 1961.
4. Turn left at the junction and after 50m take the rough track on the left. Follow it around the playing field and through “Waterloo Cutting.” Climb the steps and cross the road (take care). Follow the path down the left side of the old railway bridge into the field and then into Bentley’s Plantation. Continue downhill with the hedge on your left. Refreshments are available at the nearby Shipley Garden Centre, a short way along the road to your left.
5. Exit the plantation and go under the railway bridge. (If very muddy, walk along the road to the Whistle Barns Wedding Venue instead.) Take the second footpath on the left over the stile. Follow the hedge on your right towards the Whistle Barns Wedding Venue. At Shipley Lock, cross the canal bridge and turn left onto the towpath. Follow the towpath north to Bridge 27. Turn left just before the barrier, cross the River Erewash, and follow the path to a lane. Turn right, cross Milnhay Road, and continue into Brookvale Road.
   The Erewash Canal was opened in 1779. It was built to carry coal from the nearby colliries to Leicester and beyond. It runs from Langley Mill to Trent Lock and linked with the Nottingham and Cromford and Nutbrook Canals.
6. Turn left at the next junction into Lime Tree Avenue. Go under the railway bridge into the industrial area. Continue along Amber Drive to Aldreds Lane. Turn right, cross the road, and take the next left onto Station Road.
7. Continue along Station Road. Cross at the pedestrian lights opposite the Co Op. Turn left, then take the bridleway on the right beside Bailey’s Brook.
8. Follow the bridleway through the landscaped former opencast site for about 1 mile (1.5 km). Continue uphill through woodland, then downhill to a junction. Turn right, then left toward Loscoe Dam.
   Loscoe Dam is an idyllic place for birdwatching and fishing. It can be traced back to the 1300’s and was owned by the Zouch family from Codnor Castle. The Dam Cottage was built in 1785 and bears the initial of the owner, Thomas Vicas Hunter of Kilburn Hall.
9. Walk along the edge of Loscoe Dam and up Furnace Lane to Loscoe High Street. Turn left. Cross when you reach the yellow winding wheel (take care), and enter Red River Local Nature Reserve. Follow the path through the reserve.
   Red River LNR. Red River was designated as a local Nature Reserve in 2003. It used to be part of the land associated with Losoce Manor. The surviving pond was constructed to provide a water supply for the mill which used to operate here. The name is thought to be associated with the mineral deposits from the mines which operated here in the 18th century.
10. Walk down the steps to the small bridge. Cross the bridge and stile, then turn right along the bottom of the field. Go through the next hedgerow towards the large footbridge, but do not cross it. Instead, take the path uphill to the left beside the hedge.
11. At the top, turn left along the hedge. Turn right at the next stile, continue straight through Douglas Avenue, then turn right onto Kingsway. Follow Kingsway to the main road, turn right, cross into Thorpes Road, and follow it into Ray Street. Continue to Mundy Street, turn left, then left again onto Wilmot Street to return to the car park.

Disclaimer

Please note that the council update these leaflets on a periodic rolling basis and that some landmark information may have changed. The footpaths should remain in place and be signposted and be clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey maps. Please report problems you may find so that these can be investigated to tourism@ambervalley.gov.uk.