Shirebrook Valley Nature Reserve

What does this walk offer?

• Open fields
• Wood walk
• A few ponds 
• Car Park
• Possible cattle fields
• (A road does run down the first part of the entrance for the car park, but isnt congested traffic and does have speed bumps)

Where?
Shirebook Valley is located just off the Parkway, which although sounds far its actually one of the first turnings you come to, and it one of the nearest walks, just off the A57.
Stone Lane,
S13 7BR

Parking
There is a car park for this walk, however there is a height restriction, so if you're driving a tall vehicle you may not fit through. The car park itself is fairly large, however it hasnt had much upkeep as there are quite a few pot-hole as you enter it, take it steady and it shouldnt be a problem. There are signed disabled spots, and the rest is just open space.

There are a few routes for this walk, but the general idea is a round circle of the area with a few cut throughs and different paths. We've been a few times and explored a few different routes, some can be quite steep whereas others are flat, so if our route doesnt suit you, dont worry to go off-track as the pathways all generally lead the same direction.

We start at the car park entrance every time, and our favourite route is to go around the outside, so once you get past the open field to the right of you, you continue down the path that goes along that field. There are a few benches here which would be nice for a picnic or a pitstop before or after you finish your walk! As you go past this small hilly field, you come to a crossroads of paths. We stuck to the outside route and followed the path to the right which leads down outside some trees. This then leads you to the first pond you'll see on this walk. I wouldn't advise letting your dog in this first pond as it is a bit stagnant and Izzy was sick the night after drinking from this water(although may be unrelated). 

However, as you keep the path that goes on the outside, you then come to the second pond. The entrances to this pond are a bit high up, so if you're dog, unlike Izzy, is confident it may just go ahead and jump in. If not there is a lower path closer to the water Izzy found a bit easier to get in/out of the water. 

We continued on this path, that brought us next to the road and the wooded area. Do keep an eye out if your dog like to wander as there are a few fences that have gaps underneath and the road is bang on the opposite side. The first of which is a bit unavoidable so I would lead your dog after the pond and wait until you've gotten past the first one as there are no alternative paths before that, after that however there are options. For this reason, we decided to take a path that went a bit deeper into the woodland (there are a few paths that do this, but it just leads you the same way, just a bit further in so long as you keep going the same direction). The woodland area of this walk is a bit muddier than the gravelled paths as they are walked paths rather then gravelled, so if you're wearing your brand new white trainers its probably best to lead your dog until you're past this path, or choose the middle path straight ahead from the entrance.

By the end of the path you come to a field where theres fenced in segments of land. I believe this probably has livestock in it during certain months, so just be weary of the fact they are there. We generally go up to the middle from one of the side paths, and go down a path that brings you to the other side of the walk, and walk along the main path back. There is a few other paths that lead you upwards, but they are quite steep. There are a few benches at the top and it is a nice view once you get there.

We always end up coming out above the car park road, so we lead our dogs when we get to the opening where the steps are, to the road, then cross it to get back to the car park.

We haven't seen any nearby pubs or cafes, but if we find one we will update this post!