Ghostbusters

I was out for a few drinks in town today with my friends Jason and Mark, following the funeral of our friend Chris.

We got talking about my old office building which is almost empty now while it awaits redevelopment. It has long been rumoured to be haunted and builders have recently been complaining of some spooky goings on - ghostly hands on the shoulder and figures glimpsed down the corridors. Also there are apparently pentagrams on the walls in the roofspace.

As we were just around the corner, we decided to do an impromptu paranormal investigation.



My old office:-

The "pentagrams":-
Who you gonna call? :-


We went down to the old cells. One of the ghosts is said to be that of a DJ who hung himself while held in one of the cells:-
Then up into one of the Courtrooms which we blundered through as it was pitch dark with no windows and we couldn't find the light switch, lots of ghostly orbs in the courtroom photo's (I think my lens probably needs a clean):-

Riverside Walk

I walked out to Trent Bridge and headed West following the North bank of the river.

There was a pub here last time I came past, one that I never bothered visiting as it was a bit of an eyesore:-

Shortly after this point the riverside parkland ends and there was a stretch of pavement walking alongside a busy dual carriageway, past some factories. Not the most inspiring setting for a walk:-

After a while the path left the dual carriageway and I could let the dogs off their leads. I liked the look of these woods, across the river in Clifton. There was no bridge anywhere near them and so they will have to wait to be explored on another occasion, maybe later in the week:-
After another mile or so I left the river, cutting across some fields to join the Nottingham Canal which I followed back into the City.

I stopped for a picnic lunch by the canal. I managed to get the dogs to stay still for a photo - they are staring intently at a little terrier, just out of shot, that wanted to come and say hello.
On the way back through the City I went past Castle Rock which is pitted with caves:-

Snow Dogs

Hemlock Stone Circular Walk

I drove out to Bramcote Hills Park and started at the Hemlock Stone, Nottingham's answer to Ayers Rock.

The stone is halfway up Stapleford Hill, the highest point in the County. Here is the view from the top:-

I came back down the hill and along the main road for a bit to get onto the Nottingham Canal towpath. There is a long stretch of disused canal which makes a great dog walk. The route runs across the green belt either side of the M1. It was a nice crisp morning with a bit of snow and a healthy smell of dung in the air.


The sun came out as I approached the motorway:-


After passing underneath the motorway, there was another long stretch of disused canal heading North. Eventually I left the canal, near a small village called Cossal, and headed back towards the M1, stopping to explore the Oldmoor Wood Nature Reserve. The wood was completely deserted, apart from me and a few woodpeckers. It would have been quite peaceful if it wasn't for the constant hum of traffic on the motorway a few hundred metres away. It reminded me of some of the walks I did in New York State although the hum there was from waterfalls.


On leaving the woods I followed a footpath through a few fields and then back under the motorway:-

A few more miles of farmland footpaths brought me back to the Hemlock Stone, here's a view of it from the Holocaust Memorial garden on the other side of the main road:-

Radcliffe on Trent Walk

It was a cold grey day (yesterday) with snow in the air - not ideal conditions for a dog walk. I walked through town to Trent Bridge. That's the Nottingham Forest ground viewed from the bridge:-


Not far after the football ground, is the Hook nature reserve and Trent fields - a big open grassland area, ideal for dog walks:-This block of luxury apartments, on the other side of the Trent, was built about the time of the credit crunch, I'm not sure how many have been sold. Sven Goran Erikson bought one of the penthouse flats, I believe:-



The route passes through the Holme Pierrepont watersports Centre. That's the white water course in the background:-

Unfortunately, the Centre has missed out on hosting watersports events for this years Olympics.

The riverside path deteriorates and eventually disappears after this point and there are no pedestrian bridges across the river on this stretch. This is a shame as Colwick Park is on the North bank which is another good dog walking area and would have been a good route home from here.

Continuing on, I had to negotiate some locked gates and barbed wire fences and eventually had to leave the river on the outskirts of Radcliffe as there was a stream with no crossing place.

I didn't really fancy the walk back as it was still cold and grey at 1pm, and so we got the bus home:-