Easton on the Hill,Tinwell, Stamford, Wothorpe,

 Monday August 9 th 

I walked with Harry from Easton on the Hill,

past the church, and along the footpath/ track which leads straight on not through the company car park area.  The track turns into a footpath down Easton Hillside (OS label), alongside a wood and over the mainline railway.

It joins another track and continues to the Welland, just before Tinwell - you can access Tinwell, but we turned right and followed the river,under the noisy A1 and past the remains of Stamford Spa and its healing ironwater.

We crossed the river at Broadeng Bridge and followed the well used path to the Town Meadows, where we paused for a break, before heading up to the A43. We crossed and turned right, along the lower footpath, through the newly built mansions, and some more established des reses - the path is clearly separated and easy to follow, and climbs gently. It goes alongside the A1 for a while - quite pleasant as there are lots of trees to

mitigate the unavoidable roar of traffic. Under the road, through a still muddy tunnel,we emerge into what would be idyllic if only it was quiet.

The path takes us to the west of the old Wothorpe House (now Wothorpe Towers) , then along a path enclosed between two high hedges and back to the bridleway labelled as Warren Road, then into Easton on the Hill. Just under 5.5 miles, and done before any rain fell.

Easton on the Hill, Tinwell, Stamford, Wothorpe.

 Tuesday 03 August, about 6 miles.

First mile or so missing!

Dry and later sunny and warm. Walked with Marta from Easton-on-the-hill, near the village hall

following directions past the priest’s house,

then turning right down the tarmac covered byway towards Tinwell Crossing (of the mainline railway).

The path continues through woodland, and turns very slightly left towards the river, and a bridge leading into Tinwell, which we did not cross. Instead we turned right, and followed the course of the Welland,

under the roaring A1, past the pumping station, with its weir, then the Spa. We had a coffee stop on a concrete structure, with the sound of distant traffic.  This is a well-walked route, popular with dog walkers and families alike.   We crossed the footbridge (Broadeng Bridge) and the path took us to Stamford Town Meadows. 

From there we headed towards the A43 and the footpath leading to Wothorpe. At the top there is a bench with a great view of the town.  Turn right and then take a cut through to the left behind houses and through some woodland. When you reach the Old Great North Road turn right and then, opposite the entrance to the golf club, turn right on to a bridle way. This leads past Wothorpe Towers, previously known as Wothorpe House.

We also explored the path just past the building, which leads between two very high hedges. Then it was back to Easton in the Hill. 

Lunch Ciabata at the Blue Bell, Easton on the Hill (which is now displaying the UK flag, though they still have an Italian one by their pizza oven.)

Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Wothorpe

 Saturday 17 July, with Harry, 5.5 miles.

Another blazingly hot day.  We went out to draw Wothorpe Towers, 

then decided to walk the same route as last Thursday, 

but in reverse and without the overgrown diversion to Wittering.

Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Wothorpe

 Thursday 15 july - 7.2 miles.

Dry and warm, but not sunny.  Walked with Harry and Eddie - Easton on the Hill 

past the church

through fields down hill and across the railway line

and below the A1,

then across the River Welland

to the Meadows,

past the station

via Wothorpe

and the Old Great North Road. The footpath has views of Ketton cement works

and the ruined Wothorpe House

On an impulse we took the footpath to Wittering which disappeared under crops after the first minor road.

Very awkward walking and my socks ended up full of grass seeds.

Marbled white butterflies in a small wild area, lots of scabious plants. Returned to Easton via Cliffe Road.

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.