Choices

As I have written before, some weeks it's a problem finding somewhere different to go for the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam and other weeks are just the opposite with a multitude of events from which to choose. This last week fell into the latter category. I could have gone to Nottingham on Thursday for the Olympic Torch Relay or Derby on Friday for the next stage in the relay. Both those events would have meant an early morning or late evening outing so we opted for a daytime trip to see the torch in Matlock instead.

At any other time I would probably have chosen the "Swing Back to the Forties" event at the Erewash Museum again for the latest images which was advertised as part of the ongoing Ilkeston Festival. The Forties event coincided with Armed Forces Day which has also been observed in Wollaton Park over the weekend. At a push I might have featured some scenes from the horrendous weather and storms that swept across the East Midlands during the week. So I really was spoilt for choice - but next week, now that's a different story but I'm sure something will turn up.

Country Walks

The object of this exercise was to decide on a new monthly series to begin in the New Year but one benefit I didn't expect was that it forced me into rationalising all the leaflets I have accumulated and put them into relevant categories.


I've already discussed the options of cities, towns and villages so all that remains can best be described as "Country Walks". The vast majority of the leaflets I have collected at various times fall into this category with at least twenty walks described in the Erewash area, another eighteen in Amber Valley to the north plus getting on for another dozen in Broxtowe to the east. Some of the walks cover only short distances and could easily be accomplished in one week's images but other longer walks would need a longer period to do them justice.

I will of course be going just where the fancy takes me most of the time and showing the results on the site but I am planning for a regular series (or two) to be featured the same week each month so now it's over to you. Please make your preference known to me by casting your vote on the home page of Ilkeston Cam. Note that although your vote is recorded it may not appear straight away as the results are only updated every hour.

Life is like getting dropped off in the middle of the woods, and then year by year, gradually walking home. - April Foiles

Villages

The decision so far for a new monthly series has been fairly straightforward between the heritage of Derby or a town walk through either Long Eaton or Belper. Now the choice becomes much more difficult with the inclusion of a number of village trails. A village to quote Wikipedia is a "human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city."


There are already a number of Village Trails on the Ilkeston Cam site and several of them are based on a series of leaflets produced a number of years ago with funds from the Groundwork Environmental Fund supported by the Department of the Environment. Villages in this series that I have not yet covered include Little Eaton (above), Morley (left) and Draycott and Wilne.

Also to be thrown into the mix are Milford (near Belper); Darley Village just to the north of Derby and in the Derwent Valley Heritage Corridor; a cluster of villages to the north of Ilkeston with a rich industrial heritage centred on Riddings (right), Ironville and Jacksdale to say nothing of Shardlow and Breadsall in the opposite direction.

Cities, towns or villages and that's not the end of it - there's more to come.

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. - Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

The Second Option

Last week I started to outline some of the choices and options for a new monthly series and suggested a look at Derby's heritage as the first possibility. The second option is a photographic tour of a local town similar to the Ilkeston Town Walk I conducted a few years ago.


In this category there are two contenders - Long Eaton and Belper. Among all those leaflets I mentioned last week, I have one first published in 1995 detailing a route and identifying places of interest for Long Eaton, the second in a series of which the first was the "Ilkeston Town Walk". Although this is nearly fifteen years old and there are bound to be some changes, much of the information contained in the leaflet is still current and would easily form the basis of a series.

For Belper I have two "Heritage Walk" routes published in 2006 as part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and these could easily be combined to form a circuit around the town.

So that's Derby, Long Eaton or Belper and next week I'll outline some of the villages that also come into the equation.

Everything you do in life, every choice you make, has a consequence. When you do things without thinkin', then you ain't makin' the choice. The choice is makin' you. - Mark Steven Johnson

Choices & Plans

This week sees the conclusion of the "Lock To Lock" series on the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam. Apart from the "Trees of Victoria Park" which is also nearing completion, the only other outstanding series is titled "First Impressions" and this is really a stop gap or fill in strategy for when there is nothing else of interest taking place. I am therefore looking for a new subject for a monthly series to add to the site.

Over the years I have accumulated a number of leaflets and brochures which have in the past provided me with the basis for the "Special Features" section of this site. These have included Village Trails, Town Walks and many other miscellaneous items. I now have several options so I decided to make a list before devising a plan of action, I was surprised by the amount of choice open to me. I will summarise some of the options here as time goes by. Any feedback or suggestions would be welcome either by email, in the guestbook or by comment here on the Blog.

Among those leaflets and brochures there is a fistful from the county town of Derby (above) detailing its heritage buildings, several city centre walks and a mini-guide. I would hope to combine all of these into a route to encompass most of the places of interest similar to the already completed "Historic Nottingham" series.

Next week, I'll list some of the possible Town Walks for your consideration and follow that with some Village Trails but if you have any ideas in the meantime, don't hesitate to contact me.

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood...Make big plans, aim high in hope and work. - Daniel H. Burnham (1846 - 1912)