Allestree Park in Derby, England, is the largest and most scenic
of the City’s parks. Although lying on the northern boundary of the city of Derby, it merges
with the attractive hilly countryside of the south Peak District
fringe. Much of the Park is a golf course, but there are a multitude of
different wildlife habitats ranging from woodland to the large lake.
PICTURE OF THE MONTH: Oak tree near Main Avenue entrance
12th June, 2009 - Bill Grange
The Park was laid out in late 18th century, when the present Hall was
built. The Hall is now largely empty - being the subject of several
abandoned schemes in recent years, one of them being a nature museum.
The Park is largely used for quiet recreation by Derby’s people, with a
variety of interesting walks, including a nature trail. It is easy to
get away from it all in this splendid park and it is difficult to
realise when walking in its woodlands and meadows that it lies within
the boundary of an industrial city.
There is a wealth of wildlife in the Park, including several county
rarities. This variety is partly the result of a varied underlying
geology.
The Friends of Allestree Park group was founded in 2005 and is
open to anyone who is interested in Allestree Park, its conservation,
educational and recreational value.
As well as liaising with Derby City Council, which owns and runs the
Park, the Friends have organised a programme of events, including
talks, activity days for young people, nature walks and conservation
work parties. The latter have included tackling the alien Himalayan
balsam and rhododendron, cleaning out debris from part of the Lake and restoring the main footpath through Big Wood.
This year we instigated the clearing of a large amount of invasive sycamore from part
of Big Wood, carried out by members of Broomfield College.
We have also mounted a successful campaign to save the animal pens near the Hall from closure and prevent the scrapping of the permanent on-site ranger service.
LATEST:
Our Former Chairman, Alex Kilpatrick
We are sure that all who knew him will be greatly saddened to hear that Alex Kilpatrick, Chairman of the Friends of Allestree Park, passed away on 12th January, 2009, being diagnosed with a brain tumour the previous year. Alex was really the founder of the Friends and has been the driving force behind many of our projects, being an inspiration to us all with his enthusiasm and warm sense of humour. Many more tributes to Alex can be seen by clicking on the arrow:
We have a number of forthcoming events: See Events calendar and forthcoming Events list, top left.
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ALLESTREE PARK - A PHOTOGRAPHIC INTRODUCTION
AERIAL PHOTO OF ALLESTREE PARK
The red numbers show the location of the photos on this page
| 1. Allestree Hall
Built in the late 18th century - it is a
Grade 2* listed building. It was once the home of the Evans Family
who founded Darley Abbey Mills. Apart for a bar and other facilities of
Allestree Park Golf Club, it is now empty, being the subject of several
failed schemes in recent years, one of them being a Nature Museum.
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2. View from the Hall Gardens to
the southern boundary of the Park in early spring
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| 3. The Lake in Winter |
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| 4. The Lake in Spring |
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5. View across the Park from the southern boundary
In the foreground is a splendid old oak, one of many fine trees in the park. |
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6. Big Wood in autumn
Autumn turns Big wood into a magical place. Here sunbeams filter through a grove of yew trees.
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7. Woodlands Field in late autumn
Woodlands Field is a City Wildlife Site because of its varied flora. Views across
the Derwent Valley from here are magnificent, especially with the trees
in autumn colour and with the grass and herbage dusted with frost.
Photos by Bill Grange
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