Moorgreen Reservoir - Section One
Mountain Biking to River Erewash
One of my favourite local loops is a 16 mile off road circuit that passes by the picturesque Moorgreen Reservoir. When the sun is shining the Reservoir reflects perfectly like mirror, It’s amazing.
Here is the first video of my 'Moorgreen Reservoir loop' playlist. This first section is a quick sprint through the fields before crossing the river Erewash in Kirkby. It's a lovely track in Spring and Summer, but good grip is required in Winter.
As I cross the river I always wonder where it goes…well…The Erewash River rises in Kirkby-in-Ashfield but is partly culverted as it flows south-westward from town. It surfaces definitively to the north of Kirkby Woodhouse and flows roughly westward, under the M1 motorway, and between Pinxton and Selston. I probably pass it again in some of the Felly rides I do which also go under the M1.
Apparently, the Erewash River then becomes the approximate county boundary between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, flowing roughly south, between Langley Mill and Eastwood, skirting the east of Ilkeston, where it also becomes the boundary of the Borough of Erewash. The river continues south between Sandiacre and Stapleford until, at Toton, it turns east and flows into the River Trent, at the Attenborough Nature Reserve, near Long Eaton. At least when I pass next time I know where it finishes.
Kirkby-in-Ashfield, where the Moorgreen loop starts, lies on the eastern edge of the Erewash Valley which separates Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. I never knew that Kirkby, as it is locally known, was originally a Danish settlement (Kirk-by translates as 'Church Town' in Danish). There is a collection of small villages making up Kirkby-in-Ashfield including Old Kirkby, The Folly (East Kirkby), Nuncargate and Kirkby Woodhouse. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having two main churches: St Wilfrid's, a Norman church, which was gutted by fire on 6 January 1907 but quickly re-built to its former glory; and St Thomas's, built in the early 1910s in neo-gothic style. I guess that’s why it was given the Danish ‘Church town’ name.
There’s a bit about the start of the Moorgreen loop. Next section (two) is the railway crossing and through Portland Park. Feel free to watch the full 'Moorgreen Reservoir Loop' video which links all sections of the healthy 16-mile loop in Nottinghamshire.
