A beautiful farewell to Summer of 2022 and a certain sense of magic. Light and Beauty at Brinsley Headstocks.

“Meteorological Autumn” has finally arrived and here we are in September of 2022, but of course there is something of a paradox; whilst meteorologically it is Autumn, Summer on the other hand eventually transitions into “full Autumn” on the 23rd of September; but then again that could be something of a strange oddity of nature and the way it works, thus keeps us all on our tip toes. Still though If I was to bid farewell to “Meteorological Summer” I wanted to do it with style and I wanted to find the farewell charm; which of course had to include light, atmosphere and a slight feeling of transition, something along the lines of,

“One minute you can see the summer, the next minute in the next scene you can feel Autumn beginning to encroach upon us.”

And that in itself was a challenge within its own rights. But here I was, at Brinsley Headstocks, an area that is now green and full of beauty with wildlife - some hiding and some being visible; yet it was not always the case, Brinsley Headstocks before it was a nature reserve and a place of sanctuary used to be called Brinsley Colliery; back then the landscape would have been very different to how it looks today. However the only two remains of the old Colliery are the headstocks and of course the old railway route which is now a pathway and one that I had started to walk along, before long I arrived at a gate and ahead of me against an interesting looking sky I could see the headstocks and the trees behind them. The light at this point was magical and I captured the following photographs.

Mood of the Headstocks - (Black and White).

Mood of the Headstocks - (Colour).

Then I continued along the pathway; yet I had to look backwards at where I had walked and a simple composition I was now faced with, the greenery and the path which once would have carried Coal, now sitting silent providing a sanctuary for all to enjoy - yet the echoes and stories of yesteryear could still be heard.

Where the old tracks run.

Before long I had walked down the rather strange dip of the footpath and up the gentle yet short incline; things had changed by now and to the left of me I noticed the wooden bridge over the aptly named “Brinsley Brook” at one time water would have been in it; yet because of the heat wave, the recent summer time temperatures that broke records of some 40.3 degrees, the brook now has little water at all, instead it is sad and dry; made even sadder by the new development of houses being built just a short distance away from this beautiful site and of course the developers have had to alter the brook; but I wondered to myself “Will the brook ever have water in it again?” or is that over at the hand of the developers building the housing?

Portal of Beauty.

After seeing the rather magical portal of the Bridge over the sparse and dry brook, I continued and ahead of me the light was even more magical and magnificent - here the light was creating the artwork and I knew I had to capture what was in front of me, serene is what it was; silent and I was thinking to myself “Summer you have been full of surprises, some of them good, some of them bad what with wildfires, yet Autumn, you need to be a healer.” Either way I loved the simplicity of the scene in front of me.

Magical end light of Summer.

Then came a change, whilst I could have gone straight on along the pathway ahead of me, I opted to turn of the pathway that I was on, a ghost of an old freight train from yesteryear carrying Coal, had gone by, and now the path that I was on was narrow; overgrown yet providing a home for nature to thrive; before long I had found myself noticing colour everywhere and it was almost as if I had stepped into a painting; the plants that I had discovered along with the interesting purple, red and white attributes were all saying a final farewell before they enter the sleep state for Autumn and Winter, after which they all come back out and blossom next spring.

The magic of getting close.

Standing out in Purple.

Purple is the Painting.

An alien growth.

Textures of Plants.

But hold on, the way that I was walking took me towards the wooden bridge over Brinsley Brook, and after seeing the beauty of the flora and fauna, something magical happened, I could see to the right of me the bridge and with it a magical and magnificent light. It was really unlike anything else that I had seen before and I knew that I only had moments to capture it, for will I ever see the same scene again? More than likely not; but I had just documented it.

End of summer framed.

Crossing over the bridge, the brook dry as bones I turned right, now it felt as if I was in some form of rainforest or alien planet, green everywhere and a strange humidity, I walked along the path before I arrived at a location that I have photographed on many occasions before; yet I could just here the scene in front of me whispering “Autumn will soon be here, and next time you see me an explosion of colour will have happened.” But the steps leading up to the top of Brinsley Hill just looked magical and like it had been copied from a Science Fiction novel and placed in front of me.

The route of Aliens.

I then continued; the woodland that I had walked through had disappeared and before long I could see the headstocks again, in front of me remaining silent. However, though the magic this time was in the skies, I paused for a moment and eventually found the perfect compositions to take, some panoramic, others not panoramic and it goes without saying I loved the results.

Incoming changes in Drama.

A "Headstocks" of a Panorama.

Catching the last of Summer Light.

After taking those photos it was time to take a short break, I sat on the bench and contemplated at what I had seen so far; the magical light, the flora and fauna and in a strange way the way in which Summer was beginning to say goodbye, for I knew the day after would be the start of Meteorological Autumn - but this was a final farewell before the weather slowly begins to change. Ahead of me I could see an interesting composition looking down to the final gate that I would pass through and the one where at the start of the walk I had captured the first views of the Headstocks.

Leading onwards.

Welcome was the short break - but now it was time to move on, I walked towards the gate; clunk and clang, the gate had closed behind me, then I looked back yet again towards the Headstocks, this time the light was even more magical, and behind the headstocks the trees I could see had a certain magic to them. 

When you can see a Change.

For whilst I could still see elements of Summer time, I could also see an encroaching Autumn, albeit beginning to arrive slowly; but what I had witnessed was a sense of magic with light and beauty; for this was the meteorological summer time saying goodbye in a strange way and one that I had witnessed in art form, the light affecting the landscape and affecting the scenery making things look magical, yet it came with a warning, a stark warning that soon, lurking in the wings will be an explosion of colour that is just waiting to be captured and with the explosion of Autumn colour on the way, that is also something that I am looking forward to capturing. However, what will summer be like next year? Will it be full of beauty and magical light, or will it be different bringing with it new stories to tell? I for one do not know, but I do know that I had bid farewell to summer and it had bid farewell to me with an ethereal beauty like nothing else that I had ever seen before - that in itself is something that will remain with me for years to come.

Walking amongst industrial ghosts: Discovering the delights of Brinsley Headstocks.

“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.