Castle Ashby circular via Whiston, Cogenhoe, Brafield on the Green, Chadstone

Thu, 2013 Oct 24 9:52 AM BST

Led by me, with Barry and Maureen. Sunny, little wind. Some mud underfoot. Altogether just ten miles - including our walk to the Gardens, and back via footpath to the village.  

The walk was a figure of eight, with the loops crossing at Whiston Spinney.

From the road near the shopping yard we turned right towards the Falcon Inn and War Memorial. We followed the road towards Whiston for a while, until it bent to the left.   The path continued straight across a field heading for Whiston Church.

 There's a fine view over the Nene Valley from the churchyard.

We walked down the steep path from the church and turned left at the road, then left when we reached the junction.  A short stretch of road walking took us to the point where our route, a bridleway, led off on the right hand side. We followed this alongside Whiston Spinney until we reached some farm buildings.

At this point we lost our path, but were able to cross a field and pick it up at the top of the Jerusalem steps.

From here we walked downhill towards the road into Cogenhoe. We turned left and walked uphill past the Royal Oak, into the village.  Just past the village sign we took the left hand fork, then turned left on to a footpath beside a playing field.

We followed the path over fields, clearly marked, until we arrived at Brafield church - and it was time for a break.  

We rejoined the path behind the church, and headed in the direction of Whiston once more.   We arrived back at the farm buildings before too long, and rejoined the bridleway for a short stretch.

When the Northamptonshire Round footpath crossed the bridleway we turned right, down some steps to a footbridge and up the other side.

We turned right and walked along the edge of the field, turning left at the boundary and heading for a minor road.  We crossed this and followed our path in the same direction.

We walked downhill beside a wood, then continued until we reached Chadstone Lodge.

 At the road here we turned right, and made our way to the hamlet of Chadstone, before taking the road left towards Castle Ashby, then right to the Gardens.  

We crossed the impressively wide and long avenue to Castle Ashby House.

We didn't have much time to explore the gardens today, so we made do with a quick peep at the churchyard before wending our way back to the car.

Map for part 1.

Map for part 2.