Nassington, Glenn Miller monument and Sulehay

Monday 24 September. With Maureen, Norma and Eddie. Just over 7 miles.

Covering much of the same ground as last Thursday. 

From Nassington church we walked north along Church Street. At the junction with Apethorpe Road we continued straight ahead along Northfield Lane.

Soon after passing Eastfields Crescent, and a house called Frog Hall, we turned left into what looks like an area of private housing. There is a footpath waymarker just after the turn, and another one on a fence inside. 

We followed the left hand side of this yard, past some stables and through a gate into a path between hedge and fence - quite a narrow one.

At the end of the fenced section the  path heads across a small field and through another gate. Then we turned slightly right to follow the obviously worn path to a gap between trees. As we walked on we saw another way marker and followed the route as far as a stile, then a gate onto a bridge over the dismantled railway. The path continued to the Wildlife Trust Field Centre. We went through the gate and across the track. 

The path is marked through the gate. At present it is waterlogged for a short distance, but it is possible to avoid most of it, and unless your boots leak there shouldn't be a problem. Another  blue butterfly glimpsed today.  After a short distance we reached a gate with a warning about shooting, and not straying from the path! The path is just about obvious, though a couple more marker posts would help.  Across a wide field, then through a couple of gates brought us to a wider track through the woods, where a right turn led to another bridge over the dismantled railway. This track heads north, and soon after reaching the wide green space of Jack's Green we turned left along a permissive path to the Glenn Miller memorial. 

We briefly paid homage to the man, then took the path across the grass to join the main track north and past the old clay pits. We saw a couple of (fallow) deer running across the fields here.  Before long we arrived at Kings Cliffe industrial estate. Ha? Deb's Café is advertised!  Weekdays until 2pm!  But we had to ask before we found it tucked away. Although it was a bit hidden there were at least a dozen other walkers there, as well as a few workers from the industrial estate. 

Like giants refreshed, we crossed the Roman Road between Wansford and Kings Cliffe, and followed the track through more small industrial buildings. Just after a gate we took a footpath to the right, and followed it through Cocker Wood, parallel to the road. More deer crossed the path ahead of us.  When we reached the track at the end we turned right and back to the Roman Road.

Not at all sure how a vehicle would get through!!

We crossed the road and walked south down Sulehay Road. Just after Old Sulehay Lodge gates we turned right into the old quarry, now a nature reserve.  We saw a green woodpecker here. And some fine fungi.

Our path runs diagonally through the reserve heading southeast. A minor hiccup when our path met the perimeter track - the path we wanted was a very short distance away on our right. It soon led us out and we picked the path up again across the minor road.

For some distance the path is enclosed between two fences, then heads south east over fields. It's worth checking the route against field boundaries here, or you could end up in Yarwell.

Once we could see the spire of  Nassington church orientation was easier. We joined the byway and caught sight of a red admiral fluttering about. A right turn took us under a railway bridge and into Nassington again.