Iona goes looking for Coal

Silverhill Colliery, Teversal, Nottinghamshire.

Silverhill Woods was a mine spoil heap on the site of the former Silverhill colliery which closed in the 1990s. It was subsequently landscaped in 2005 by Nottinghamshire County Council, with tree planting, numerous footpaths, and a viewpoint. It is one of a number of recreation sites in the area. These are linked together by multi-user trails, many of which incorporate the track beds of disused railway lines which once served the various local collieries.

Silverhill was designed to be the highest point in the county, albeit an artificial one, and this was achieved by adding an extra five metres of height during the landscaping work that ended in 2005. 

We visited here in 2016 & 2017 so this will be our third visit to the campsite at the base of Silverhill, previously the campsite was part of the Caravan & Camping Club but since January 2022 it has become independently owned and managed.

The drive was uneventful and we arrived at about 14.00 . After filling with water we were shown our pitch which turned out to be the same one we had on our first visit in 2016.

The campsite is fairly busy although a few caravans seem to be for people working in the area, there are also some seasonal pitches as well.

After lunch we read and I watched the end of the wheelchair rugby match between England and Ireland. England won with 104 v 0, so it was very one sided.

At about 15.30 we went for a walk which turned out longer than planned.

The Silver hill trail starts just across the road from the campsite. We did not climb the hill but took a path around the hill passing a section of railway that took the coal away.

We rounded a bend and found the ponds complete with an inquisitive family of swans.

We continued the circuit using the old railway trackbed trail which took us past the site of Teversal Station and a memorial bench for the station master who looked after the station from 1946-1963.

Eventually we left the trail and joined the road back to the campsite, passing the local pub but on this occasion we did not stop – maybe tomorrow.

Tea tonight is beef stew and fresh bread that Sue made yesterday.

Day 2:

I put my back out and trapped a nerve before going out today. I had planned a good walk but we had to make a change.

I managed to walk to the reception but I nearly turned around and walked back to the van. Anyway we carried on to the park with the intention of seeing how long I could put up with my back .

We walked around a pond but the track stopped and a muddy footpath headed up a very steep part of the hill. Strangely it was easier walking / climbing up the hill avoiding the motor cycle tracks.

We made it up to a main path and we found a bench to rest my back. It helped.

We continued along a short cut towards the top of Silverhill and the Miner testing for gas. It was not a very bright day so the views were not as good as they would have been if the sun was out.

We left the miner and walked down the hill to our start point here we turned left and headed for the visitor centre where we sat on a picnic bench and ate our sandwiches.

We left the visitor centre and headed along a path towards the road that would take us back to the campsite. My back has survived the walk and hopefully it will be back to normal tomorrow.

Day 3:

Well not a good start to the day. My back is far worse today, the trapped nerve is making it spasm when I am in certain positions. Hopefully it will ease after some more exercises and stretching on the floor. If not we may have to stay an extra day.

The day was spent in the motorhome reading and chilling. My back was a bit better in the evening so we are off home tomorrow.

I had a wake up call at 06.00am Saturday so I could watch the ladies World Cup rugby final from Auckland,New Zealand. The Red Roses started well and had 2 tries on the board when we had a player sent off for a head on head tackle. The Black Ferns came back at us and at 34 to 31 with only seconds to go we were 5 yds from their touch line for a line out, but we miss handled the ball and New Zealand grabbed it as the full time horn went.

A disappointing result but they all played well. The drive home was different, I seems to have missed a turn and we ended up going through Sutton in Ashfield town instead of bypassing it.

Well that it probably our last trip this year but the blog will be back hopefully to record next year‘s trips.