Testing for Gas

This truly fantastic staue at the summit of Silverhill has to be the highlight of my day of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire exploration. I’d previously visited Bolsover Castle followed by Hardwick Hall (and fantastic as they are) this dignified and thoughtful commemoration of Nottinghamshire mining heritage eclipsed them both. Silverhill Wood sits on the site of Silverhill colliery with its topography being formed by the slag heaps of yesteryear. This summit, although essentially artificial is Nottinghamshire’s highest point and how appropriate it is to see the working lives of generations of Nottinghamshire miners who spent so much time toiling so far underground marked at this elevation. A plaque lists all the pits of Nottinghamshire and their years of operation. The statue is by sculpture Anthony Duton. 

EXTRA blips are of Bolsover Castle, Hardwick Hall and my second favourite location Brierley Forest Park...


Again this park sits on the site of a former mine, Brierely Colliery, and again it has some superb public artwork commemorating the miners of Nottinghamshire. In this case five statues, which are now four, mark the loss of fiver mines lives at this pit. These wood sculptures are by Robert Koenig. 

Amazing really, being on these sites today it was like being back in the coalfields of County Durham I explored in great detail, and came to feel very fondly of, back in 2007. This area has a similar spirit.