The Hucknall Road Walkway, running alongside Hucknall Road towards Tesco and beyond,  is the track bed of a railway line built by the Great Northern Railway (G.N.R.) in 1880 and which ran initially to Hucknall and Annesley, before later being extended to Kirkby in Ashfield.

This line closed to passengers in the 1931, but it continued to be used for freight until the 1960s. All this was prior to the construction of the Rise Park and Top Valley estates, and at a time when Bestwood Park Drive and Top Valley Way did not exist.

Nottingham City Council have applied to designate this stretch of old railway trackbed as a Local Nature Reserve, and it is believed that work will shortly be commenced. A plan of the proposed stretch is shown below (Courtesy City Council website)

There was no railway bridge at the bottom of Bestwood Park Drive, as might seem to be the case when looking at the embankments at the traffic lights, but the line (and embankment) continued across what is now Bestwood Park Drive.

The area was, at that time, farmland occupied mainly by Rise Farm, Top Valley Farm and Southglade Farm.  Access to the farmland from Hucknall Road was via an underpass (See picture on the 'Pictures Old and New' / Bygones page).

The line closed before the estate was built. 

Bulwell Forest Station stood just opposite the Bulwell Golf  Clubhouse but fell into disuse and only a  few foundation remains can now be seen (as at March 2008).

This Northern Section of the Local Nature Reserve stretches from Top Valley Way, crosses the bottom of Bestwood Park Drive and continues towards Mill Lakes. (More information and photos on the Bestwood Country Park / Mill Lakes pages).