Wed 08 August Islip to Aldwincle

Wed 08 August.  With Marta. Just under 5 miles. It's Monday's route in reverse, more or less. We started from Islip, and walked the Ridge Road first, past the holiday cottages and on into Aldwincle coming out near Pear Tree Farm, then picking up the Nene Way ad following it through Titchmarsh Nature Reserve. Lots of herons in evidence today. We picked a few blackberries as well.

 An unripe walnut.

Changing skies.

More Himalayan Balsam

Swans on the lake

 We didn't cross the footbridge this time, but stayed on the west side of the river, walking through a shady section of woodland, and over a large field with cows, following the Nene Way.

 At Islip Mill we crossed Mill Lane and followed signs fro the Nene Way through a couple of fields and the pub garden and back to the High Street.

We picked up a sandwich at the Cafe at 34 in Thrapston.

Mon 06 Aug: Aldwincle to Islip circular

Monday 06 August. With Maureen, Marion, Norma and Eddie.
The same walk as last Thursday but with a different starting point, with no diversions. Hot again. Just under 5 miles today!  I set a new fashion standard by using a light brolly as a parasol - it worked better than a sun hat!

John Dryden's grandfather was rector of All Saints church here, and the poet was born in the rectory in August 1631.

From Aldwincle we took the footpath marked to Islip, from near Pear Tree Farm. 

  This leads through a field, goes to the left of a house, then crosses another field to a gate in the corner on to the minor road. At the bend in the road a farm track leads to holiday cottages and a view of the fishing  lake.

 After the cottages the footpath continues southwest and we reached a parking area for anglers. Our route lies along the road through a wooded section, then it comes on to Ridge Road, which becomes Mill Road and takes us to Islip, where we follow Mill Lane down past the mill and over the footbridge.

 We paused for a few minutes in a shady spot near the Nene, watching the canoes and a narrowboat coming through the lock.

 We took the same route as last time following the Nene Way through Titchmarsh Nature reserve. 

The cattle on the opposite side of the Nene were obvjously seeking relief from the heat!
We stopped for a scone break at a shady picnic table close to Aldwincle, before continuing to the village, then on to Wadenhoe Old Barn for lunch.

Thursday 02 August: Islip to Aldwincle circular via fishing lake and nature reserve.

Thursday 02 August. With Maureen. About 6 miles. Hot again.

In Islip walk down Mill Lane as far as the mill, then cross the footbridge.

Turn left and follow the path with the river on your left.
When a path branches off to the right, keep left and cross another footbridge.  The path (part of the Nene Way) continues between two lakes, and eventually along a wooden walkway to the gate below. Dry as anything today, but I have seen it more than muddy.

You reach a place where a track goes off to the left. Lots of dog walkers around here. The track leads past a car parking area and on to the road into Aldwincle. 

We turned right and followed the roadto the junction, turned left, and walked through the village to the local shop, where I  bought a disposable cup since I had forgotten the one I use with my flask!

We had a short break, the retraced our steps through the village, almost as far as Pear Tree Farm. We took the footpath to our right which leads through a couple of fields to the minor road and then a farm track leading to holiday cottages and a view of the fishing  lake.
After the cottages the footpath continues southwest and we reached a parking area for anglers. Our route lies along the road through a wooded section, then it comes on to Ridge Road, which becomes Mill Road and takes us back to Islip.

Himalayan balsam

Islip, Denford, Woodford Mill, Ringstead

On a very fine, bright and frosty morning five of us set out on this gentle walk from near The Woolpack Inn in Islip, just before the bridge into Thrapston. The walk was extended for an extra mile or so from the original as the weather was good, and there were only five of us.

We followed the Nene Way over the field, across the disused railway and turning east alongside the A14. It goes under this noisy road and turns west, following the road for a short distance before turning on to the disused railway track path toward Stanwick Lakes.

Very soon the footpath which forms part of the Nene Way turns off to the left, just after a bridge. You keep close to the hedge, on your left. A footbridge takes us into the next field, and now we keep the hedge on our right until we reach a gap. We turn right across the field. On the OS map the track goes diagonally over this big field, but on the ground it's slightly different. We come to another bridge/stile and in the next field take a diagonal path for the bridge at Denford Lock. 

We cross the bridges towards the village.

We wander through the village of Denford and then back to the river.

A pleasant spot, but too early for a break!

Just after the third bridge we turn left along the footpath which follows the river as it curves round to Woodford Lock. This is very pleasant walking, and easy underfoot apart from the odd wet gateway. We turn left along the track towards Stanwick Lakes, crossing the viaduct, then going through the bridge carrying the Ham Lane track, and over another viaduct. In about a mile we reach the sign for the Woodford Mill tearoom, and head over there for coffees and teas.

After a break we agree to extend the walk by a mile or so, and take the road toward Ringstead, but turn off to the left and follow a footpath alongside Kinewell Lake.

We pass the car park on our right, and soon afterwards walk through a kissing gate and along a fenced-in path which comes out near the Axe and Compass pub. We walk through the village, past the Post Office and shop, and up a short hill past a building site, to pick up the path leading to Denford. This follows a hedge to our left, some allotments on our right, and there is one sticky field to cross downhill, and back into Denford.

We pick up the route over the river (third crossing of the bridges today), and the Nene Way back to the railway track. We turn right this time and head under the A14 and directly back towards Islip.

Aldwincle, Titchmarsh NR, Thrapston, Islip

Mon, 2014 Aug 4 9:34 AM BST

Led by Gordon, with Mel, Norma, Tim, Jacqueline, Phil, Barrie, Sue, Marion, Maureen, and me. Pleasant, flat, dry underfoot. Around 6 miles.

From Aldwincle opposite Pear Tree Farm (coffee shop now closed), we walked along Main Street towards the school, then crossed over and turned left along the footpath through a field leading to the Lowick Road, a small road, and soon to a T junction. We walked straight on along a track to some new holiday cottages, and then gently downhill with the lake on our left hand side. We walked under some pylons and then turned right, between lakes and over the Nene.

Once over the bridge we turned right and followed the course of the river, until we crossed Meadow Lane and reached a grassy spot near the weir and a modern housing development. This was where we paused for a break. We looped round the houses and returned to cross the river to Mill Lane. Just after the mill we took a footpath to our left climbing up into Islip. We turned right along mill Road and then Ridge Road, which is only one car wide. This took us north east more or less, into some woodland. We turned right shortly afterwards, rejoining our earlier path in the opposite direction.

We didn't go as far as the Nene, but turned left to head back along the Nene Way, which we followed all the way back to Aldwincle. It just reamined to have lunch in Wadenhoe at the Old Barn Coffee Shop, which suited us perfectly.

Map and details

Aldwincle circular via Titchmarsh and Islip

Mon, 2013 Jul 15 9:49 AM British Summer Time

Led by Mel, with me, Norma, Brenda, Gordon and Maureen. Very warm, pretty flat, two breaks. Just over 8 miles in all.

We set off from Aldwincle tea-room,  turn left from the car park, then cross Main Street and turn right down Baulks Lane, which takes us down to Lowick Lane, where we turn right. Soon we go through the car park on our left for the Nature Reserve,  and then along the track.  Once through the gate into the reserve we turn left through the trees, and follow the main track - we have a quick look in the hide, but can see little but distant ducks and swans, so continue. Before long we turn left and cross the river.  It looks clear and deep, with fish swimming in and out of the water weed. Almost tempting.

Weed and reflections in the river

We walk southeast towards the A605 - a busy road to cross before we take the road into Titchmarsh village.

Church of St Mary the Virgin, peeping modestly from a veil of trees

We haven't walked far yet, but it's hot, people would like more water, and there's a community shop.

The helpful woman behind the counter suggests we can sit outside, and then I spot that the shop sells coffee. This temptation is not to be resisted.  Unfortunately we can't agree on biscuits, so we make do with the drinks.

Definitely not resisted.  A great place to stop on a hot day.  But we can't hang about all day - there's walking to be done.  Onward. 
A couple of hundred yards along the High Street, and there's the footpath, going off to our right, through a stile/gate,  past a small allotment, and a few sheep, then over another stile. We follow the edges of a field, and the path soon takes us over a minor road, then further down to another crossing of the A605.  When we arrive at a lake we turn left - walking south west, just north of Thrapston.

We have another break by the skateboard park, sitting on a shady stone.  I could get used to these two-break walks in the sun.  

It's a duck's life!

Over the bridge by the mill, and up Mill Lane on the edge of Islip.  

View from the bridge

Very pretty alien invader - Himalayan Balsam.

We turn right along Ridge Road towards Aldwincle.  At the start of the woods we take the path to the right, and walk as far as the river. We keep this on our right and go past Aldwincle Lake and Heronry Lake on our left.  We rejoin our route from this morning just before the bird hide, and retrace our steps back to the cars.



Map and details

Aldwincle - Islip - Aldwincle

Almost exactly the reverse of this walk from January 23rd.  About 6 miles. Led by Gordon. Sunny, though some of the route was flooded, so we took the high road.  Barrie E, Barry O, Terry, Eddie, Norma, Kate and me.

A little bit of fence climbing round the submerged path

Map and details  ignore anything after the 6 mile mark!

Aldwincle - Islip - Aldwincle

About 6 and a half to 7 miles. Led by Gordon. With Norma, Karen, Sue, Kate, Terry and me. Carol and Ian and Phil part of the way. Fine, mostly sunny, pretty dry underfoot, and flat. Map and details

We started the walk near the Pear Tree Farm tea-shop, walking along the main street, past the church, heading north on the Wadenhoe Road. 

A house called Onicle, corroboration of old local pronunciation!

Another house was called Ealda Nene, which means Old Nene. A few hundred yards past the last house we took a footpath on our right, north-east towards the Nene. We turned right when it joined the Nene Way, and headed south, parallel to the road, behind the houses.  

The Onicle Troll?

Rather than following the Nene Way right into Aldwincle, we kept walking ahead on the path. This emerges at the eastern end of the village, and we walked along a minor road to a lay-by, where we met the Nene Way and followed it into Titchmarsh Local Nature reserve.

The walk took us between the two large lakes - the trout fishery on the right hand side of our route was deserted.  We followed the Nene Way as far as Islip Mill, then walked a little further to a sluice near a new housing development. There is plenty of grass near the river for a pleasant snack stop.
We retraced our steps to the Mill, crossed the bridge and took the footpath on the left, which crosses parkland and emerges into Islip through the yard of the Rose and Crown pub.


We turned right and followed the road which becomes Ridge road, above the valley where the lakes and river lie.

Downhill slightly and back to the LNR, this time on the western side of the trout fishery. We continued straight on until the path met the junction of Lowick Lane and Lowick Road. Both Aldwincle churches are visible from here.  I thought one was Wadenhoe, but on closer examination of the map, I proved myself quite wrong.
Shortly after the junction we took a footpath to the right across a couple of fields to reach the Pear Tree Farm tea-shop where we had lunch.


A few pics from a previous walk  October 2008

John Dryden's birthplace - 1631

Orla the Harris hawk

All Saints Church, Aldwincle

The walk also covers some of the same ground as this one from Thrapston to Barnwell Sept 2nd 2011.

Map and details