Sheepwash Local Nature Reserve

"Beautiful reserve with two large lakes and running streams. Ideal for walking and cycling.
Lots of goose and birds with pleasant sounds. The empty fields have some of the most magnificent scenery during the hot months of summer."

kai m

"Started the walk , came back in 2 minutes.
1. There's was so much rubbish everywhere.
2. Something about this place felt off. Didn't wanna continue

I don't recommend this to solo walkers. Or even couple."

Minch

"If you stick to the main paths, then it's quite a nice place to walk around. Unfortunately, when I first arrived, I went into a side path through the trees, and there is even a gate to show that you can walk that way. That was the worst mistake ever, as the path is more of a path merged with a brook, so it is extremely thick mud sludge for quite a distance through the trees. My newly cleaned shoes instantly had mud all over them. Not only that, but this whole part smelt like the sewers. I had walked quite a ways through this, hoping that it would get better, and I didn't really want to have to go back. You can't even cross over to the main path as there is a big main brook all the way along. There were downed trees everywhere, and every few meters, a cobweb would hit me in the face. Before long, it felt like I had webs all over me. It was a nightmare to say the least. I did eventually get out into the main park and pathways, and it is quite in contrast.
Unfortunately, as other reviews have said, there is rubbish everywhere, I mean it's actually disgusting. The main paths in the park are clean, but if you go on the paths through the trees, you'll see rubbish everywhere. Someone even threw a TV away here too... in a nature reserve. The entrance I went in, someone had dropped a coffee cup from Costa, and next to it were about 25 unused wooden stir sticks. Who needs 25 sticks to stir their coffee? I only need one. I don't think there is even a Costa nearby. So they had to walk from there, all the way to this park, ignoring all the bins along the way and then dump the lot in the park. Just animals, what a waste. If I lived in one of the houses next to this, I'd be ashamed of how this placed looks, all of the entrances have rubbish layed about, it's even in the trees. If I lived here, I would clean it up.
Aside from that, the walk around the main paths and around the ponds is quite pleasant, and there are many ducks and birds around. There are no benches anywhere though. A few would make all the difference. There are some red brick walls you can sit on between the 2 ponds though. There are power lines stretching over head where the walls are, and rather unsettling is that you can hear the electric crackling above you.
Before yesterday, the last time I came here was 30 years ago when I was a kid, I used to walk down here with my parents, usually once every few weeks from the Netherton tunnel. There is a tunnel you could use to walk under the train rail tracks to reach this park from the other side. It's still there, but you can't exactly walk through it anymore, more like swim. The park has changed over 30 years, and I'm sure it wasn't even a nature reserve back then. Unfortunately as it stands at the moment, and the state the park is in, I won't be going back any time soon. It's ideal for dog walking and bird feeding. Just outside the main entrance is an abandoned house. You can actually see inside, and there is still furniture and stuff in there, but it's clearly not in use. That would be a nice place to live if it were done up."

Brendan Corcoran