Shipley Country Park, Derbyshire > Reviews (3)

Shipley Country Park is located between Ilkeston and Heanor in Derbyshire, 10 miles to the North East of Derby and 11 miles to the West of Nottinghamshire. The Park covers an area of over 600 acres of open Grassland, landscaped Gardens, Lakes and Reservoirs and other recreational areas.

This is an area of Derbyshire that I seldom visit, as I tend to prefer the more hilly areas of the Peak District National Park further to the North. However I did recently find myself “down south” so to speak and the Shipley Country Park was one of the places that I visited.

The Park opened to the Public in 1976 and is managed by Derbyshire County Council. The former Estate was a vast Country Estate, which during the 18th and 19th centuries and was the residence of a very prominent local family called the Miller-Mundy’s. The Estate was rich in Coal deposits and the Miller-Mundy family exploited these. These Mining activities have helped to shape the Park into what we see today.

A decision was made to transport the Coal by Canal, down the Nutbrook Valley linking up with Erewash Canal. This decision altered the landscape dramatically as three different Reservoirs were constructed to supply the Canal with water.

There is no entrance fee to enter the Park, although there is a 50p charge for Parking. This payment is however taken on trust and not enforced. There is a payment box in both of the main Car Parks, but when I visited recently I noted that many people were deciding to ignore this.

There are lots of mature woodlands within the Estate and within these there are numerous footpaths, trails and bridleways.. These include nature trails, which are colour-coded depending on their level of difficulty. The easiest walks should be possible even for wheelchair users. There are over 18 miles of footpaths in total.

The remnants of the area’s Coal Mining past is still evident today, especially as you approach the Park through the former Mining towns of either Ilkeston or Heanor. It is probably fair to say, without offending anybody, that these are not the prettiest of Towns and they still contain many scars from their past.

There are two main entrances into the Country Park. One of these is at Mapperley, just off the Ilkeston to West Hallam Road, but we followed the signs from Heanor and entered via the rather unsightly Heanor Gate Industrial Estate. For a brief moment we actually thought that we had taken a wrong turn but the scenery does improve dramatically as you finally reach the Park.

The first impressions of the Park is that is very green and there is also a lot of different Ponds and Lakes. The lay of the land is sloping but not too steeply inclined. Located within the Park there is the American Adventure Park, which is currently closed and up for sale. This occupies quite a large area of the Grounds and it will be interesting to see what will happen to it if a new buyer cannot be found.

Elsewhere within the Park there is a Sculpture trail and an Adventure Playground, as well as a Toddler area for younger Children.

There is also a Visitors Centre, a Gift Shop and a Coffee Shop. Considerable effort has been made to make these areas accessible by people with disabilities.

Scattered throughout the Park there are several areas with wooden benches and seats for Picnickers. The Park is also home to the Shipley Park Cricket Club and their grounds are very well kept and pretty.

Looking at Shipley Country Park today it could be easy to forget the Industrial past, but if you look closely you soon realise that the easiest trails to walk on through the Park follow the old Railway Lines. Over half a million trees have been planted in areas that were once mounds of Coal Spoil, and stagnant Pools and Flashes have been cleaned and transformed into Wildlife Habitats. There are several Birdwatching Hides located at the edges of these Habitats and a list of the Bird Species that have been seen is displayed in the Visitors Centre.

The Visitors Centre also has a model of Shipley Hall, showing how the House looked in its heyday. This Visitor Centre also provides a base for the Park Rangers and is the Administrative Headquarters for the Park. There is a Education Room located here, which is used for lectures by Community Groups and local Schoolchildren. There are also refreshments available, including Sweets and Ice Cream. Here you will also find some very well maintained toilets, which have Baby Changing facilities and facilities for the disabled.

In addition to Birdwatching, Fishing is also a popular activity here and many of the Ponds and larger Lakes have wooden platforms that project out into the water, where the Anglers do their fishing from. We actually saw some of the big Fish come up to the surface and eat the bread that people were throwing into the water for the Ducks.

Walking around the Park we saw lots of people riding Mountain Bikes, both Adults and Children, and we also saw several people jogging. We didn’t see anyone riding Horses but we did spot several Horse Jumps along the route. More curiously however we also kept noting areas with steel bars and frames. Closer inspection revealed that these were exercise areas where you could do pull-ups and sit-ups etc.

Overall I enjoyed my visit to Shipley Country Park. It is not the sort of place that I would travel far to visit but I would certainly recommend a day out here for anyone that is in the area.

The Park is open at the following times:

Winter Opening between November 1st and February 28th
Monday – Friday 11:00am – 4pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4.30pm

Spring opening hours during March
Monday – Friday 11am – 4.30pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4.30pm

Summer Opening between April 1st and October 31st
Monday– Friday 11am – 4.30pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 6pm

The address is as below:

Shipley Country Park,
Slack Lane,
Heanor,
Derbyshire,
DE75 7GX,

Telephone - 01773 719961

Thank you for reading.