IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Sheepbridge Lane, MANSFIELD, NG18 5EW

A 150 metre stroll up a gently sloping service road (a track), off the left-hand side of Sheepbridge Lane (marked by the entrance gates into the premises of ICS Waste Management plc.) leads to this footbridge that crosses Sheepbridge Lane. The footpath ahead passes behind the new "Heritage Park" housing development. It is part of a centuries old unmade path leading towards what is now the Portland Retail Park near to the town centre. The path is known locally as Cinderella Walk, perhaps because of past associations with burnt fuel residue, i.e. cinders. 400-500 metres along this path there is also the option to make a right-hand turn and thereby to access Quarry Lane Nature Reserve and the River Maun.

Photo taken by the path through the Oakham Local Nature Reserve. It is a southern hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea). They are big - nearly 3 inches.

A weir on the River Maun at the mid-point in this northern section of particular local nature reserve. This LNR is one of nine in the Mansfield area. The mid-point of the overall route, i.e. where the path crosses Hamilton Way and the southern section begins (or ends), is accessed is 10 minutes walk away behind the photographer. The other end of this northern section, i.e. on Hermitage Lane, is 10 minutes walk ahead.

These steps, cut out of the rock, give access from road level to the footpath (called Cinderella's Walk) which crosses Sheepbridge Lane on the footbridge. They are also known locally as The 39 Steps. There are actually only 37 of them now - maybe some of the bottom ones have been swallowed up by improvements to the road surface. Further information here http://www.ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk/page_id__618_path__.aspx (see comments at the bottom).

Cinderella Steps linking Sheepbridge Lane and Cinderella Walk, i.e. behind the photographer. Since there is no pavement at the foot of the steps, descending onto the road seems potentially dangerous. The section of Cinderella Walk in question passes behind the new "Heritage Park" housing development and leads towards what is now the Portland Retail Park on the edge of the town centre. This ancient unmade path is known locally as Cinderella Walk, perhaps because of past associations with burnt fuel residue, i.e. cinders.

A set of steps linking Sheepbridge Lane (below) and a section of Cinderella Walk. Since there is no pavement below, descending onto the road seems potentially dangerous. The footbridge on the left crosses that road. A section of Cinderella Walk, to the photographer's immediate right, passes behind the new "Heritage Park" housing development and leads towards what is now the Portland Retail Park on the edge of the town centre. This centuries-old path, is known locally as Cinderella Walk, perhaps because of past associations with burnt fuel residue, i.e. cinders. 400-500 metres along this path there is also the option to make a right-hand turn and thereby to access Quarry Lane Nature Reserve and the River Maun.

A railway bridge seen from a footbridge that carries Cinderella Walk over Sheepbridge Lane. The particular section of Cinderella Walk in question, to the photographer's immediate right, though not visible in this picture, passes behind the new "Heritage Park" housing development and leads towards what is now the Portland Retail Park on the edge of the town centre. The path is known locally as Cinderella Walk, perhaps because of past associations with burnt fuel residue, i.e. cinders. 400-500 metres along this path, in the direction of the town centre, there is an option to make a right-hand turn and to access Quarry Lane Nature Reserve and the River Maun.

A wooden bridge crosses the River Maun in the northern section of this local nature reserve. The mid-point of the overall route, i.e. where the path crosses Hamilton Way and the next section, the southern section, is accessed is 3-4 minutes walk ahead. The end (or start) of this northern section, i.e. on Hermitage Lane, is 10 minutes walk away behind the photographer.