and occasionally rides a bike.
A word of warning. The walk descriptions are not detailed enough to guide you - please take a map. The batteries never run out, and you always have a signal. Oh, And don't take left or right as gospel!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Skeffington - Billesdon - Tilton - Skeffington

Thu, 2014 Aug 21 9:18 AM BST
With Gordon. Some fields now harvested, paths not so clear! About 8 miles. Fine.

Very similar to this walk three years ago, apart from the last mile or so. 
We walk along towards the village centre, but when Main Street turns right we carry straight on following the footpath past a very large house and out into the fields. We head south as far as Farm, then turn right along the drive - this seems to be a permissive path rather than a right of way. After about 100 yards we meet the small Skeffington to Rolleston Road, and join the public footpath directly opposite, signposted to Billesdon.
We cross three fields with no problem, but come slightly unstuck when we meet some woodland where the nettles have grown. We should have stayed closer to our left and crossed the stream, but paths were a bit ambiguous.
After this minor detour, we follow the path more or less northwest until we reach Harborough Road, then cross this and follow waymarkers through two more fields to reach the road going downhill into Billesdon. 


We walk along Church Street, turn right into Brook Lane, and soon take a footpath to our right. 
This heads east, then goes diagonally across one field, round the edges of another and emerges just beside the cemetery on Uppingham Road. 


Seldom Seen Farm

Billesdon Coplow
 We have to walk for about fifty yards along this road, with narrow verges, before our path goes off north, to the left. It climbs alongside the hedge, and then we have to cross the A47. We follow the hedge north until we reach the end of the field, then turn right, now heading northeast.
We continue in roughly the same direction, over two minor roads and eventually we reach the Melton Road, which we cross, following a path, leading to a driveway with an avenue of young horse chestnuts. At the bottom of the hill we leave the driveway and head across more fields uphill, keeping to the right hand side of buildings. We cross another minor road and two more fields before reaching Tilton's Loddington Road.
Tilton Church
 Time for a break! Then we turn right past a few houses.
 Our path is on the right hand side, heading south, next to a track and with a view of the moat below.
Moat outside Tilton
We follow the track for some distance, past some works buildings, decorated with these flowers! 
Soon after the "works" the track turns, and before long the footpath goes straight ahead while the track leads to a house.  The path is easy to follow for a while, until we reach fields which have been harvested. 
21st century haywain?
 Rather than keep wandering looking for the line of the path we take the Skeffington Wood Road, turning left and heading back to Skeffington.
Up to Skeffington
Map and details



2 comments:

Ida Jones said...

Intrepid explorers on the move again! The countryside there, as here, is now looking mellow. The photos of Seldom Seen Farm and Bilesdown Coplow look like paintings and are lovely.

aliqot said...

Thanks, Ida. It is a lovely area, though the arable fields are not always wonderful for walking!