Nottinghamshire 1

Walk Details:
Date: 27/4/2007
Total ascent: 4m/ 13ft
Total distance walked: 0.33 miles
Walkers: Anth, Jim
Car Parking: You could actually park on the county top in Woodland Avenue.
Accessibility: Freely accessible – on a public road. You could create a walk linking this to the other two Nottinghamshire tops, which lie nearby.

Top details:
Name: Herrod’s Hill
County top number: 147 of 206
Grid reference: SK 46092 59082
Height above sea level: 204m/ 669ft
Description/Notes: The highest point on Herrod’s Hill is on the roundabout in Woodland Avenue, Woodend. This may claim to be the highest point in Nottinghamshire, but Newtonwood Lane and Silverhill Coliery (see separate reports) also put in a strong challenge.

The Walk:

Fuelled up by a cracking breakfast at McDonalds (in my opinion, anyway – Jim hadn’t liked it much) we were ready to tackle the challenge of the Nottinghamshire tops – the challenge being that there seems to be a great dissent over where the highest point in Nottinghamshire. In the 1970’s Paddy Dillon declared the top to be Herrod’s Hill; since then Herrod’s Hill has been largely ignored in favour of the nearby Newtonwood Lane. However, things changed when Silverhill Colliery, a mile or two north east, was redeveloped into a country park with a landscaped mound which was a metre or so higher than the other two tops. Nottinghamshire County Council now claim Silverhill Colliery as the official high point, but many baggers scorn it as being man-made. Jim and I decided to visit all three to try to resolve the debate.

First up was Herrod’s Hill. We parked on a residential road with the charming name of Strawberry Bank, and were delighted to find that that it had immense views to the north and west that quite belied the modest altitude. Admittedly they were mainly of the M1 and a huge industrial complex, with a glimpse of the Newtonwood Lane summit to the north, but it was just nice to have a view at all after the three miserable tops we’d done previously today.

We weren’t entirely sure what exact point was Dillon’s highest (he had only used 6-figure grid references), so we took a stroll round the roads within the 200m contour. At the end of Strawberry Bank there was a run-down snackwagon that (when open) claimed to sell somewhat mysterious “salad cobs”. We turned into Woodland Avenue, and the GPS registered the high point on the roundabout halfway along. As the hill is fairly flat-topped, there may have been a higher point on a compost heap in the back garden of one of the surrounding gardens, but the roundabout was good enough for us. We returned to the car, ready to head off and compare our readings with the other Nottinghamshire tops. Jim insisted of driving two laps of the roundabout on the way out, just because he could.

Verdict:
Surprisingly good views, but apart from that nothing special.