Barrowden circular via Wakerley Woods

7.5 miles. Led by Mel. With Norma, Barrie, Terry, Chris, Barry, Gordon, Maureen, Eddie, Kate and me. Fine, dry - some mud in woods.

We set off from the duckpond in Barrowden, following the Jurassic Way, and walked out of the village to the west, along Main Street and then turned on to the Seaton Road. 

 Here we turned left and shortly right over a stile and diagonally across three fields, before hugging the boundary on our left.  We went through a gateway and followed the hedge, now on our right, through four fields until we reached a stile. A somewhat overgrown short sectiontook us on to a wider track, where we took the footpath to our right down to Turtle Bridge.   The river was much lower than on my last visit three weeks ago.

Instead of following the Jurassic Way at this point we headed south-east, straight up the byway to the Harringworth-Wakerley Road. 

Looking back down the byway to Turtle Bridge

 We crossed straight over to a footpath which follows the hedge, keeping it on our right. 

Through a gate or two and we reached the old quarry and there's a steep muddy path to climb. It's short.  Once the main road ran through here.  The footpath leads to the corner of Short Wood and then on for a short distance before going into the wood marked as Wood Hollow on the OS map.  The path goes slightly north of east for about three quarters of a mile and comes out behind Laxton Hall.  Here we took our snack break.

Laxton Hall from the path

We walked past the Hall towards the A43, slightly north east.  Laxton Lodge gates are visible.  A couple of hundred yards before the road we turned left (north west) and rejoined the Jurassic Way by a fence.  The path crosses the field to a stile in some trees, and then over another field to a kissing gate where we entered the woods again.  We followed the Jurassic Way through Wakerley Woods,  though it is not always clearly marked.  
Mel navigated us through the last tricky section in the Woods - tricky for me last time I walked it anyway.

Then, by road for a short distance, round the right hand bend towards Wakerley. The footpath is half hidden in the overgrown hedge this year, but goes behind Wakerley church and emerges by the old pub. Then we walked along the road past the old Wakerly station, and over the Welland, before taking another path across the fields towards Barrowden.

Path to Barrowden just after Wakerley Bridge

As we approached Barrowden we took this overgrown, nettle-strewn path between hedges. We could have avoided it, but I ploughed on regardless. 

Another very good walk, covering a couple of unfamiliar-to-me paths, and we were lucky with the weather. Many thanks, Mel.




Map and details