Trail Series - Episode 2
Episode 2 of the short trail series
The 'Short Trail Mountain Biking Series' is a selection of short videos of some of my favourite trails. The second episode of the series takes in the quick downhill gravel track of the felly.
To get to the start of this trail head into the Felly from the A608 between the M1 and Kirkby. Go along Weaver’s Lane and then take the first left onto Kennel Lane, a quick downhill before a small climb to the farm. Pass the farm, through the gate and then downhill to a multi junction of paths. Head right under the M1 and follow the lane round the left-hand bend. From here it’s a slight downhill rough track round a sharp left-hand bend and just at the end of the tree line the track gets steeper downhill turning into the 30mph downhill featured in the video. Be careful as the stone under wheel is loose especially at the bottom. This section finishes as you swing right and you will come face to face with a very challenging climb, great to get the lungs cleared.
Before you duck into Weaver’s Lane off the A608 you are likely to pass the fascinating Annesley Hall or Chaworth Lodge as it is now known. It is a Grade II listed country house near Annesley in Nottinghamshire, England and the ancestral home of the Chaworth-Musters family. It is now a freehold detached house spread over 2,519 square feet and is ranked as the most expensive property in NG15. But it is reaped with history. The 13th-century park, 17th-century terraces and 19th-century pleasure gardens and walled gardens of the hall are also Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The Hall dates from the mid-13th century and was the home of the Annesley family, passing to the Chaworth family when Alice, heiress to the Manor of Annesley, married George Chaworth, third son of Sir Thomas Chaworth of Wiverton, in the 15th century. The Chaworth family owned the estate for the next 350 years. It was significantly enlarged and improved by Patrick Chaworth, 3rd Viscount Chaworth, in the 17th century when damage to his family seat at Wiverton obliged him to move to Annesley.
Mary Chaworth, who lived at the Hall, was the boyhood lover of the poet Lord Byron, who lived at nearby Newstead Abbey. Byron's poem "The Dream" concerns the meeting of two lovers on Diadem Hill, part of the Misk Hills range, which belonged to the Annesley estate. The uncle of the poet Byron had killed William Chaworth in a duel at the Star and Garter tavern in Pall Mall, London after a meeting of the "Nottinghamshire Club" that met there every month. Mary Chaworth eventually married John Musters of Colwick Hall in 1805. Their teenage son, Charles Musters, sailed as a Volunteer 1st Class aboard HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin, but died of malaria in South America on 19 May 1832. The Chaworth-Musters family became one of the most powerful families in Nottinghamshire. John Chaworth-Musters was appointed High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1864–65. Structural alterations to the hall took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the addition of a service wing c.1880. Annesley Lodge, the former gatehouse to the hall, is also grade II listed.
It remained in the hands of the Chaworth-Musters family until sold by Major Robert Patricius Chaworth-Musters in 1972. The new purchasers carried out extensive internal alterations and removed many of the 17th century fittings. The hall suffered a fire in 1997 which caused damage to the structure, and it has not been lived in since. The hall is now in private ownership, in very poor condition and not open to the public. English Heritage have listed the building on the 'Buildings at Risk Register' as high vulnerability and deteriorating. Two of the three floors at the hall were severely damaged in a fire on 16 May 2015.
Annesley Old Church, near to the hall, is a grade I listed building and a scheduled ancient monument. It is on the Heritage at Risk register, but the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £450,000 towards its conservation. Fingers crossed they can both be returned to their original state at some point.
If you want more information about ‘The Felly’ and its Biking opportunities check out some of my other articles. I have a lovely video of the felly in the article ‘Be Free Be Happy’. What about seeing the Felly in the snow. I managed to get out on the bike as the snow fell, it was an amazing ride. The Felly also features in my ‘Moorgreen Loop’. On the 16-mile loop you pass through the felly in section four. Or, you can have a look at the route map which I captured during another ride at the start of winter.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
