Burghley Park, Stamford to Pilsgate circular

I've done this walk three times recently, and both clockwise and anti-clockwise! 
This is the route, anti-clockwise, with no inadvertent divergence from the route. almost 6.5 miles.

Walk 1 
Monday 4 June, with Kate.
Four or five stiles, but not like the Marston Trussell walk!
We parked in the main Burghley Park car park, then walked back down the drive to the Barnack Road, and turned right to follow the footpath alongside the road, but separated by a hedge. This extends for about a mile and emerges very close to Pilsgate.  We crossed the road and continued with it on our right, past the bus stop and out of the small village. We took the first road on the right and followed it to the end, passing Windmill Farm on our left.
At the next junction a public footpath goes into the corner of a field on the right. 
This took us diagonally across a field, probably of wheat, and in the next field the path continued close to the hedge on our right.
It then goes through a short stretch of woodland, before crossing some hay meadows - lots of flowering grasses, and a few nettles. The yellow posts mark the route clearly, particularly in this direction, taking us over a footbridge and eventually to the golf course. 
We walked through, looking for a suitable place to perch for a break, and eventually decided on this luxury tree stump not far from the road. It was actually quite comfortable, with a mat!

From the golf course we simply followed the road as far as another entrance to Burghley Park,

Sweet chestnut - castanea sativa

and made our way to the car park, and the Garden Cafe, for lunch. 

The aliens landed a while ago, I think!

Walk 2
With Marta, Thursday 7 June.
We started quite late - 10.45, and this time walked anti-clockwise, along the drive past the big house, turning off to the right to pass the cricket ground on our left, coming out on to Burghley Lane, through a small wooden gate, and walking past this sign, before joining the London Road.

The Lady Anne's House - Tradesmen's Entrance

We crossed London Road and took the Kettering Road for a short distance as far as the point where a footpath goes off to the right, through a kissing gate.  You should make for the opposite corner of the field, and not be tempted to go straight ahead. A rather overgrown section, quite well marked at the gates led us up the gentle slope and out in Wothorpe. A convenient bench - not to be resisted after our late start - and we hit the caffeine! There's a grand view of Stamford from this point.

We walked to the London Road, crossed it and turned right, walking slightly uphill to the entrance to the Golf Course. Just after one of the old entrances to Burghley Park we climbed a stile and made our way past one of the jumps used during the horse trials.

We walked across this fine Avenue - Queen Anne's Avenue on the map, which must lead up to Burghley House .

 On across the grassy fields, and the overgrown footbridge. It's a bit rough underfoot too. A few small brown butterflies and iridescent blue damselflies, but not as many as I expected.

The wild roses are blooming.

 We emerged from the fields on to the road, and passed Barnack windmill on our right this time.

When we reached Pudding Bag Lane in Pilsgate, we succumbed to the urge for another small coffee.

We took the path alongside the road and back to Burghley Park and the Garden Cafe once more.

Walk 3
Monday 11 June.
With Kate, Norma, Marion and Eddie.  Anti-clockwise - route as for Walk 2.

We thought the semi-semaphore would work - we were tramping after all.

The jolly crew having a breather at Wothorpe. After that we went on as far as Pudding Bag Lane before a break. The Garden Cafe wasn't serving food, so we headed back to Gretton and Lydia's cafe.