Ketton circular, almost to Empingham.

Thursday 08 August

With Eddie, harry and Maureen. Almost 9 miles. We set off from the lay-by with a phone box on the road coming in from Luffenham. We walked along the A6121 through the village, where there are several interesting buildings.  

This was the house of on George Hibbins, one of a family of stone and memorial masons.  The house has several carved decorations.

and a statue.

Monument for Victoria's golden jubilee in 1887

I suffer from agapanthus envy

We walked through Ketton as far as Pit Lane, past the industrial area and the cement works 

as far as the edge of the disused quarry Nature reserve,

where the path goes off to the left, at a righthand bend in the road.  

through the woodland

to some open land covered in weeds, and several butterflies

and on to the Macmillan Way/Hereward Way footpath.

This goes through the quarry on a separated path, with a bridge over the roadway. 

Watched the dinky toy like  trucks...

Onward past some blackberry bushes, then we came to a stile through a  hedge*, where another path crossed ours. We continued straight ahead, through cornfields and past Woodside Farm, until we reached a road.

At this point we joined the route of last Monday's walk. 

We came out on the roadside verge, then through a gate on the other side of the hedge ( a right angled turn to our  right) Gently downhill  through two fields  across the A606, close to a lay-by, and a fair way downhill towards Empingham. 

When we met a path crossing our route we turned right, through a meadow, up a short slope to a double  stile, and through a cornfield. This path continues past Shacklewell Lodge and Shacklewell Cottage before joining the A606. 

There's a quarter of a mile or so alongside this busy road - it has a decent verge to walk on. After a short uphill drag we turned very sharply right, to cross a field and meet a path between hedges.

Turn right again, and follow the grassy bridleway round a 90 degree turn and then along until you reach the stile (* above).  

At this point we turned left and followed the route we had taken earlier today. We ignored the path to our left and continued past Home Farm and into Ketton. A right turn and a short walk past the library, school and Jubilee monument took us back to the car.