Kimnot three

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Kimnot here.

My walk started at the left lion between the Council House and the Old Market Square. In recent years the square has been used for numerous events so perhaps 'old market' is no longer appropriate. I head up King Street with the impressive former insurance office trapped between monarchs. Crossing the road busy with a stream of mostly buses it's onto Kings Walk and into Trinity Square named after  church which once stood here until it was demolished in 1958.

North Sherwood Street has the rear of shops of Mansfield Road and gives access to the Arboretum via East Walk. A passage through the park could be achieved more directly via Dryden and Addison Streets or even a brief exploration off of Waverley Street but this is a green Slow Way so I guess the tour is permissible.

Exit the park and climb to Forest Road then dive down alongside the site of the famous Goose Fair so any walk here in early October will encounter crowds. After Gregory Boulevard Noel Street offers a superstore for services and loos.

Following the trams to Gladstone Street the plot misses a patch of green to cut through to Shipstone Street alongside the decorative former brewery. Staying with the tram line, but avoiding the spur into the depot I enjoyed discovery of the link to Church Street Basford. I had anticipated this route many years ago but found it incomplete, I guess this was awaiting the construction of the significant boardwalk built of recycled plastic.

The walk along Lincoln street brought back school day memories then onto another new section of Leen side walk which is a vast improvement on the twists, turns and barriers of the original track.The path continues with the river on the right, the final approach into Bulwell stays on the west bank but a notice warns that the plotted route can be closed. Taking the right of way which crosses to the other bank would not be an issue if required.

Bulwell offers services and buses before we pass through an industrial area climbing to the Northern Cemetery which keeps the route green. Crossing the Bulwell by-pass road the route continues along what was a railway line hence the huge bridge to pass under the noisy motorway. The works had been completed and the path reopened, I don't understand why we need to take the path along the top of the bank but there it is.

Crossing the road the route remains clear to locate, eventually passing Kimberley school which must be a plus point on a Slow Way. After that I'm not sure the path is the best option with a long flight of steps and then an area that can get rather muddy but is of interest to railway explorers. The meeting place is good and there are good services in Kimberley.

Walked from Kimberley to Nottingham to test the route prior to uploading it, on a cloudy and drizzly summer Sunday late morning and early afternoon. The route works pretty well, but it does involve a few steps and some short unsurfaced sections, and there is currently a temporary closure affecting part of the old railway path out of the east side of Kimberley which necessitated a small signposted detour from this route along (Watnall) Main Road and New Farm Lane - while this is in place the distance will be a little longer. This is a much greener route than either KIMNOT 1 or KIMNOT 2, and I found it much more enjoyable. There are plenty of facilities in Bulwell and nearer the city, and at this time of year there are blackberries everywhere.

From the excellent Kimberley meeting point, we take the shortcut path into Chapel Street and follow it down past the old station to pick up the old railway path. This first section is pretty, but the path is narrow and twisty and there is a steep section on steps where the railway entered a tunnel, so anyone with mobility concerns should probably start on the pavement of Newdigate Street. After crossing Newdigate Street a surfaced path takes us past houses to Main Road. Here we would normally cross and continue to follow the old railway, but as noted in my introduction, a path closure forced me right onto Main Road and eventually left up New Farm Lane to rejoin the route (I did go and have a look at the blocked section, which is protected by high fences so I wasn't tempted to try and force a way through, and I also discovered the hard way that there is no short cut to the main road using Bishopdale Road and Reid Gardens).

Once we are out of the built up area we cross under the M1 and continue alongside fields on a surfaced track to reach Low Wood Road, which we cross at a pelican crossing. We continue to follow the signposted Broxtowe Country Trail over the hill through Bulwell cemetery and down through a park to Seller's Wood Drive. A brief section through an industrial estate and a shortcut through houses takes is into Bulwell past the bus station.

We cross Main Street and turn right, then take the signposted path that follows the river Leen south, crossing under the Phoenix Park tramline (a former railway) and through a park, then following the Robin Hood line and the tram to the David Lane tram stop.

Here we are forced onto the pavements for a while. Lincoln Street is quite industrial, but is at least direct, and we rejoin KIMNOT two briefly at Church Street. Beyond the church we rejoin the river Leen and follow another good path (with some sections on wide wooden boards) to Wilkinson Street. Beyond the tram stop we use the pelican crossings to reach Gladstone Street, which we follow up to Noel Street where we turn right, rejoining KIMNOT two again.

We cross Gregory Boulevard and head up through the Forest, then follow Waverley Street to the top entrance of the Arboretum. Our route through the Arboretum has a few ups and downs (there is an alternative path higher up, but yesterday this was fenced off for a music event), and the left turn uphill above the flower garden and the lake seems surprising, but it takes us past the Chinese Bell Tower then through the tunnel under Addison Street, and past more trees to emerge on North Sherwood Street, which we follow down into the city via Trinity Square and King Street to the Left Lion meeting point by the Council House in the Old Market Square.

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