Stamford,Wothorpe, Burghley, Barnack circular

Wed, 2014 May 7 10:23 AM BST

With Harry. Flattish walk, fine weather apart from one v light shower. 11.5 miles.

This walk was adapted slightly from two which were published in the lifestyle magazine "Rutland and Market Harborough Living" in May 2014. It's a newish circular walk, made much easier by a new footpath between the village of Pilsgate and the visitor entrance of Burghley Park.

Our walk involves one footpath crossing of the Railway line, unlike the two routes from the mag, but we wanted to visit Barnack Hills and Holes, and also walk through Burghley Park on the way back.

We parked in the long-stay near Stamford Station Road (£3 all day, if the machines work properly).

Sneaky view of the station over a wall

Walk up Wothorpe Road to the Kettering Road.

Making sure the machine is on track

Cross over to the public footpath, then take the path on the left, diagonally over a field, then left and uphill to Wothorpe. You will see an entrance to Burghley House over to the left when you reach a gap in the hedge.

When you reach the road, turn left. Look to your left for views of Stamford.

At the main road (the Old Great North Road)  cross on to the pavement and turn right, folowing this past the wood yard and turn left at the golf club.

Walk along the private road - the path is well signed, and so are the private areas. This section of the walk follows the course of Ermine Street.

Once you leave the tarmac the path is still very clear, over fields, over a stream and through a strip of woodland, then alongside the hedge, eventually reaching the road near Barnack. The windmill is visible to the left.

At this point there is a junction of three roads. Go straight on. You pass what is marked as Wittering Road on the map, and Barnack village only on the signpost.

A little further on the road bends to the right. There's a wall, and a bench, and a footpath sign to the left under some electricity pylons. The path bends to the right and follows the line of the wall round the Walcot Hall estate.

It takes you into the Hills and Holes Nature Reserve, somewhere we intend to revisit in a more leisurely way.

You emerge on the road to Southorpe, by a lodge. Cross the road and t ake the footpath slightly to the right, marked on the map as Church Lane. It goes past a cricket ground, some big houses, and later a hidden chapel and Chapel Cottage, before coming out opposite Barnack Church.

Details on the church tower

Follow the road to the right, and when it meets the road to Bainton and Helpston, turn right and continue past the Old Station business park, until you meet a wide track with a footpath sign, heading north, on the left.

and on a house

This is part of the Torpel Way, a path linking Stamford and Peterborough.

The path goes north, then turns left at right angles (west), then north again, and then alongside the Stamford to Cambridge and Stansted line. Two trains passed us as we were walking.

At Uffington crossing and Station Cottage, cross the railway and soon afterwards find the footpath in the hedge on your left. It doesn't go far from the road, and the easiest way is to keep on until you meet the footpath which goes off to the left, near the pylons.

Uffington Bridge, just after we turn left

It crosses the dismantled railway, and then you climb a short embankment to the mainline. There's good visibility in both directions.

On the other side the path goes diagonally over a field - well marked today, and meets the Stamford to Barnack Road.

Cross the road and make your way on to the newly made foot and cycle track, separated from the road by a hedge and quite pleasant to walk along. It's not marked on my map, but it is there.

After about half a mile the path emerges just before the main visitor entrance to Burghley House and Park. Turn left here and go up past the car park. We called in at the Garden Café for a sandwich and coffee.

Walk past the house and down to Queen Elizabeth's Avenue, following this as it curves round, and taking a right hand fork which leads back into Stamford.

Sweet chestnut tree

One of the recently shorn sheep

Cross into Water Street, walk over Albert footbridge, and up past Wharf Street Car Park.

We took the road up to the Arts Centre, then walked down to the meadows and over the bridge to the car park.
We saw skylarks, brimstone and orange tip butterflies, red kites.

Map and details