The Teversal Trails are an approximately four mile long circular
route on the Nottinghamshire – Derbyshire border. They form part of the
Pleasley Trails Network that also includes the Meden Trail and the Rowthorne
Trail. All of these Trails are former railway lines closed during the
mid-1900s since when plants and animals have colonised the track beds
and embankments. This has resulted in the attractive trails seen today.
The railway line to Teversal was the first to open in 1866. This was followed
by the Rowthorne Branch in 1883 and the lines to Pleasley and Silverhill
Colliery in 1898. This expansion of the rail network was all associated with the
expansion of the collieries in the area. From the 1930s the use of these lines
was declining. The first to close was the Rowthorne line in 1938. In 1978 the
Teversal to Pleasley line was the last line of this network to be closed. Since
closure the expansion of nature on the trails has been such
that they now form all or part of two Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs)and five Sites of Importance
for Nature Conservation (SINCs).
The trails support a mosaic of habitats including calcareous
grassland communities. These are grassland communities that exist on limestone
bedrock. The species present include tor grass, yellow oat grass, field
scabious, hawkweed and quaking grass. The calcareous grassland forms the
dominant habitat within the Teversal – Pleasley Railway SSSI and is found within
the Teversal Pastures SSSI. This grassland is among the few remaining
areas of limestone grassland in Nottinghamshire and is of regional
importance. Other habitats making up the mosaic include mesotrophic grassland,
scrub and semi-mature woodland. Within this mosaic of habitats a number of rare
plants and animals exist. Among the rarest plants is the frog orchid, which is
extinct in most places in central and eastern England. Other rare plants include
the fragrant orchid, common spotted orchid, greater burnet-saxifrage, bee orchid
and dittander. The rare fauna includes the butterflies dingy and grizzled
skippers, both of which appear in the Nottinghamshire Local Biodiversity Action
Plan (LBAP).
The Teversal Trails Visitor Centre opened in 1993 and now
provides an excellent place from which to access the Trails. There is ample
free parking and the Centre is open everyday from 10:30am to
3:45pm (subject to volunteer availability). A number of circular walks
have been developed which cater for everything from a short stroll to a
long walk in the countryside. Please visit the Teversal Trails web site at www.teversaltrails.com for more
information about the walks and the Visitor Centre.
