Poolsbrook Country Park

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Overview

Once the derelict and abandoned site of the former Ireland Colliery, Poolsbrook has been transformed into a wildlife-rich country park. The 180-acre country park consists of 23 acres of lakes, 85 acres of woodland and 42 acres of grassland. There is a purpose-built visitor centre which houses a ranger base, toilets, community meeting rooms, and a cafe. Also in the park are a children's adventure play area, picnic sites, sledging slopes, four miles of trails for cycling, horse riding and walking, and lakes for angling, canoeing and model yachting. Poolsbrook has also become an important and diverse site for wildlife, and birdlife includes great crested grebes, cormorants, mute swans, pink-footed geese, wheatears, and yellow wagtails.

Ratings & awards

Green Tourism Gold

Location

Pavilion Drive, Poolsbrook, Staveley, CHESTERFIELD, S43 3WL

About the area

The natural features of this central English county range from the modest heights of the Peak District National Park, where Kinder Scout stands at 2,088 ft (636 m), to the depths of its remarkable underground caverns, floodlit to reveal exquisite Blue John stone. Walkers and cyclists will enjoy the High Peak Trail which extends from the Derwent Valley to the limestone plateau near Buxton, and for many, the spectacular scenery is what draws them to the area.