“All too often we are focused on the future, instead the landscape holds so many secrets from yesteryear that are just waiting to be discovered.”
Brinsley is one of those places in Nottinghamshire that if you drove through it would very much be a “blink and you miss it” kind of place; but it is also a place that holds secrets and they are left behind from yesteryear - passing through Brinsley the chances are is that you would more than likely not even be aware of the secrets that exists, apart from maybe catching a glimpse from the road of a wooden structure which has been somewhat blocked from view by trees, although from the road, the top part of this wooden structure can still be seen.
It was yesterday though that I revisited Brinsley, prior to this I had visited Brinsley before Christmas of 2020, back then though the weather was crisp, cold and a stillness was in the air, yesterday however the rather hidden but glorious Brinsley Headstocks and it’s delightful Nature Reserve felt very much alive. Perhaps more alive than it ever had been - I suppose that is probably due to the fact that I had not visited since last year and that change can bring out some interesting things that previously I had not really noticed, however this time around it was different.
The path from the car park is one that is both level and accessible meaning that it really is incredibly easy to discover this unique gem, but this pathway also holds a secret that if you go back a number of years you begin to uncover, for once upon a time this pathway was part of a railway, “a railway you say, for what would have been carried along this gauge?” Coal was carried along this railway from where the Headstocks are towards the main GNR line further towards the Erewash Valley, but here in front of me the remnants of the old line and I can see where the railway would have once gone up towards the Headstocks in the distance; now though it is meadow land, and whilst I could have walked through the meadow land, instead I chose to turn right, and follow the path of the old railway line that once bypassed the Brinsley mining site and continued to Underwood.
“What is truly fascinating to think is here I am walking on history, walking through time and what was once a busy railway carrying coal and other minerals, now falls silent, a beautiful green avenue of trees and fields now provides calm, yet close your eyes for a moment and you can hear the sounds of times gone by.”
I had continued to walk along the straight path, from where the old line would have gone up to the Headstocks, but to the left of me now was a brook, I had seen people exploring here before, but now I had to explore what this brook had to offer, I walked down and was actually quite surprised. A hidden world is what I found and with that new industry existing alongside the old industrial landscape now turned into a beautiful nature reserve.
 |
| Exploration of the unknown - (Landscape). |
 |
| Exploration of the unknown - (Portrait). |
Surprisingly despite the rather deprived and unhealthy looking state of the new industrial piping that suspended over the brook and also fed the brook it was a haven for wildlife, a Robin had joined the scene and was taking a bath. Stillness all around and this little bit of an area that upon a first glance might not have come across as photogenic actually turned out to be incredibly photogenic in it’s own unique way.
I walked back up the short incline towards the path, and turned left, the location of the brook is in a dip, but at one time with the railway here I could imagine some sort of bridge that would have crossed the brook, instead the path dips into this secret little small valley. Walking up the incline I could see an avenue of trees and it was here that I paused, the sound of lambs and sheep in the field to the right somehow made things a little bit more alive, serenity is what followed next.
 |
| Silent tracks - (Landscape). |
 |
| Silent tracks - (Portrait). |
The skies blue above me with cotton wool like clouds and here I was, walking through an area that one time would have looked and sounded incredibly different. Now as I walked along a soothing and calming environment; soon though it was time to take a left, away from the path and away from the old ghosts of yesterday - the railway and the sound that it would have made, now I was at a field full of grass and other wild meadow plants, in front of me a selection of Trees against the backdrop of a noticeable hill, the hill itself is the former slag heap that is where the remains/remaining coal from Brinsley Colliery would have been placed or discarded. Now, it is a green haven of hidden delights. But it was the trees in the field looking towards this now lush hill that caught my attention.
 |
| Ambient meadow chill. |
Continuing off the path I head down to the brook that I had photographed at the beginning of the walk, here the brook is narrow and a haven for wildlife has been created along with a wildlife pond, home to various aquatic and non aquatic species, I pause a short distance past and a tree that has fallen over in the winds, looks like living sculpture.
 |
| Tangled in time - (Landscape). |
 |
| Tangled in time - (Portrait). |
Now is the time to make the crossing, a new bridge has been built over the brook, and at the bottom of the slag heap amongst the greenery the path is ahead of me, just above the brook it gives a truly amazing view of the wetland, a streak of wetland between the main path and the path at the bottom of the slag heap that I am walking on, lush and green I had to stop.
 |
| Through nature and time. |
The scenery at the side of the brook was something else, was this a miniature version of the Everglades or not? No it was not - but this nature reserve is proof that after old industry, life can continue thus providing sanctuary for all to enjoy. Now though it was time for something dramatic; I looked to the right and the headstocks were in front of me, looking incredibly dramatic against a glorious sky, I just had to capture this moment.
 |
| Below old ghosts - (Landscape). |
 |
| Below old ghosts - (Portrait). |
Yet I had also noticed that where I had walked alongside now looked even more beautiful, so onto the bridge I walked, an old bridge that has had numerous repairs carried out, and looked down what appeared to be another secret hidden valley - instead I was now looking back at the path I had walked down and what is an incredibly lush wetland, stretching as far as the eyes can see.
 |
| Wildlife sanctuary. |
 |
| The small hidden valley - (Landscape). |
 |
| The small hidden valley - (Portrait). |
That slight momentary pause and the sight of the greens was something else, now was the time to “double back” on myself and walk along the side of the wetland again, instead of turning right and going back over the new crossing over the brook, I turned left. This time the path began to rise slightly until I reached a turning point, to the left of me steps, and to the right of me a continuation of the path that I was on and that path is the one that leads you around the back of the slag heap. Now though this slag heap is woodland, rich in shapes and colours. But many years ago when I visited the path around the back of the slag heap and to the top of the slag heap was rough and ready, now after changes have been made it is modern and exciting, accessible to all.
 |
| Where to explore next? - (Landscape). |
 |
| Where to explore next? - (Portrait). |
Amazing really how sometimes a footpath can look so photogenic amongst the trees no matter what time of the year it is. Either way, I decided to take the steps and walk up the short distance to the top of the old slag heap. Upon reaching the top a path takes you to the right, but I turned left - in front of me the path winding its way towards the end of a beautiful and small, but perfectly formed woodland.
 |
| Journey through the mystery - (Landscape). |
 |
| Journey through the mystery - (Portrait). |
Snaking its way through the trees I followed the path until I got to the end of the woods, and sat down on a bench overlooking the headstocks, to the left of me a tree with what seemed to be like Midges feeding, they probably weren’t midges though!!! But I decided to sit on the bench and observe a quiet Utopian world that I had made.
Leaving the bench and my “slice of Utopia” it was down the hill towards the imposing headstocks, the sun and the clouds providing a contrast and a rather stunning skyscape, I set my camera up and after a short while ended up with the following results,
 |
| Amongst old industrial ghosts. |
 |
| Ghosts of the old giants. |
Needless to say I was impressed with those photographs, but the opposite side of the Headstocks provided me with another opportunity to photograph the scale of these old wooden structures that are the last remains of somewhere that not so long ago would have been equally vibrant.
“Here I am at a site of beauty that not so long ago in time would have felt incredibly different. Yet here I am walking amongst industrial ghosts.”
I then set up my camera and captured a different view of the headstocks, looking back towards the location that I was previously at; yet somehow the headstocks still remained dramatic against the backdrop of a glorious sky.
 |
| Silent now is the industry. |
 |
| Shadows of the giant. |
Now though it was the end of the walk and as I walked back along through the meadow, where an old railway once stood, a certain feeling came over me and that was just how delightful this area now is, not so long ago in would have been different, old buildings and offices for Brinsley Colliery would have been standing on the path I was now walking down, and that old path was a railway that would have taken coal on a journey throughout the entire country, now all that remains of this former colliery is the stories from yesteryear along with the sounds of old industrial ghosts in this truly delightful little corner of paradise that remains hidden, but one that is a slice of paradise now that just wants to be discovered, so next time you are passing through Brinsley, why not discover this small section of paradise and walk through time.
Find out more about Brinsley Headstocks: http://www.brinsleyheadstocks.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment