It was a breathtakingly beautiful morning. Attenborough Nature Reserve, which on my last visit had been all tossing trees and restless waves, sat serenely under a polished blue sky. The leaves were green, shading to gold, and the water shone in the sunshine.
I passed some contented cattle and reached the riverside path. At a footbridge, a heron paddled among the weeds.
Attenborough Nature Reserve is surprisingly large: the entire site is 560 acres, and the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust owns about two-thirds of it. That's a lot of lakes.
Eventually I reached Beeston Marina, where a pirate in a crow's nest kept a stern eye on a bar and cafe. There was no trouble today; it was all quiet. A man approaching me remarked on the lovely weather, and then added, "Bit cold for skinny-dipping, though." I looked down at my long coat, leggings, and waterproof shoes, and wondered quite why he thought I might be about to strip off and jump in the river.
Beeston Lock led to Beeston Canal, which doesn't rejoin the river until the centre of Nottingham. Next to the lock was a neat brick building with bright yellow doors. This was the Canalside Heritage Centre.
Inside was Martha's rocking chair.
Sadly I thought I'd better not sit in it; it belonged to a different Martha, whose family had occupied the cottages in the 19th century. I wandered through the rooms and admired their pots and pans, iron bedsteads, and carefully stitched samplers, and then watched a short video about the history of the canals in the area and the renovation of this once-derelict building.
The garden was a further delight. It was overflowing with flowers and, when I went up some steps, I could peep over the surrounding wall for a great view of the weir.
I expected the next section to look mostly like this:
Across the Trent was a ridge of trees which hid Clifton from view. Geese dabbled in the shallows on the river, and the bank was punctuated with fishing spots, each with their own set of steps.
Clifton Bridge is huge and imaginatively graffitied. There's a car park next to it which will be my starting point next time. I must have been within sniffing distance of the Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains, but no delectable aromas drew me closer.
Instead, I continued past an industrial estate named PowerPark and dropped onto the Beeston Canal, heading back the way I'd come. Next to the towpath was a continuous wall which I gradually realised must be flood defences. After a while it turned into an embankment and the path went along the top of it.
I stopped at the heritage centre again for a coffee and somewhat stodgy cake. The conversation at the table next to me was the best part of the experience, covering scaffolding disasters: "We were walking along this street in Coventry when a plank fell from four stories up - we didn't know which way to run," and DIY heroics: "The shop was selling hardwood doors half price so I bought six. Strapped four to the top of my Austin Allegro and had to go back for the others the next day."
Then it was back along the much-busier riverside path, across the nature reserve, and back through Attenborough village. Over the level crossing at the station, past the church, and back to the car park.
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River Trent Attenborough Nature Centre to Clifton Bridge: 29 September 2025
9.4 miles / 15 km
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