Centenary Riverside Nature Reserve — Attraction in Rotherham

This is one of several hidden parts of Rotherham that is an interesting and pretty walk through the graveyard of an industry. There is nothing spectacular here, it is just a gentle short walk across an old bridge into a little patch of countryside by the river. But a little slice of unexpected prettiness. Quite hidden away. You take the road from Rotherham towards Magna, there is a car dealership on your right and the entrance to that leads to a small car park on the left which is at the entrance to the park. Free last time I was there, but the council managed to destroy retail in Rotherham with parking charges so I can't promise they won't make you pay for half an hour...

Sadly the site is neglected for whatever reason. There used to be a large maintained pond on the top bit with a walkway for dipping, but the liner has been pulled away and of course we've had drought but had the pond been maintained, the sticklebacks may have survived. They were left in one small pool under the lily pad but it's just mud now and all the snails and the fish are dead. I know ponds have their cycles, but this has been deliberately destroyed and so it had no chance. Like so many projects, they get funded initially but can't be...

Lovely hidden nature reserve in the centre of Rotherham. It was very muddy around the lake which is to be expected as it is part of the flood plane for the river Don and we have had a lot of rain. The upper path was much better and has lovely views over Rotherham. Our dog enjoyed the walk round too. The steel henge and deck chair sculptures add interest. Looking forward to going in the summer when the wild flowers are in bloom. Bonus was seeing a beautiful kestrel fly...