Clipstone offers several distinct perspectives on the town’s history: the technical features of Clipstone Colliery, the history of Clipstone Camp and the street layout of New Clipstone Colliery Village. For outdoor activity, the Vicar Walk Circular is a specific option. You can choose a historical focus for your stay or include a walk in your plans.

Mining history: technology and settlement

The listed Clipstone Colliery complex preserves winding engines and pulley wheels associated with the Koepe winding system. This brings the technology of coal winding into focus alongside the broader history of coal mining. The complex was a highly modern facility in the post-war development of the English coal-mining industry. Its surviving technical features and this historical context give the site a distinct industrial focus.

New Clipstone Colliery Village is also part of Clipstone’s mining history: it is regarded as one of the finest interwar colliery villages. Its street layout, with curving avenues and cul-de-sacs, also draws attention to the structure of the settlement. Its historical significance and street layout are two distinct aspects that complement each other when exploring the place.

Clipstone Camp and All Saints

Clipstone Camp represents a different chapter. Between 1915 and 1921, it was the largest training establishment in the country and housed between 20,000 and 30,000 soldiers at a time. The time span and the number of soldiers accommodated there give this historical focus a clear sense of scale, distinguishing it from the Colliery’s industrial history.

At All Saints, Clipstone, a large piece of coal and several mining tools recall the church’s connection with coal mining. This brings the mining history into a different setting from the winding engines and pulley wheels of the listed complex.

Vicar Water Country Park and Vicar Walk Circular

Vicar Water Country Park was partly created on the spoil heaps of Clipstone Colliery. The former mining site is therefore also part of the park’s landscape history. For a different way to explore the area, consider the Vicar Walk Circular: the circular route starts at Vicar Water Country Park in Clipstone, away from the B6030.

The Vicar Walk Circular is designated for walking, cycling and horse riding. As a circular route, it offers a distinct type of outing; the three activities also provide different ways to experience the route. Its starting point and location away from the B6030 help you place the route in Clipstone. This puts the historical themes and an active outing side by side as different priorities for planning your trip.

This priority gives your search a specific starting point without prescribing a set order for your visit.

Discover more destinations: Newark-On-Trent, Stapleford, Huthwaite, Colston Bassett, Whatton, Edwinstowe, Carlton, Beeston

For the broader travel overview: Nottinghamshire.