Gretton to Rockingham and back

We followed the Jurassic Way from Gretton all the way to Rockingham. An easy six-mile walk on frosty fields, we thought. We must remember it is not so easy when the ground is wet, a couple of fields are sticky with mud, and one of the gates is surrounded by a foul-smelling pond. To be fair the path has been clearly made good by the farmer.

We found some snow on the path across to West Hill - one of my favourite vantage points near Gretton.
West Hill itself was pleasant to walk down, firm underfoot. But at the bottom, through the gate near the railway we had a taste of mud to come. For the most part the walk across was good, apart from the gate mentioned above, but we negotiated it without too much trouble. We were very warm, and there was little wind. We soon reached the beginnings of Rockingham, and could see traffic crawling up Rockingham Hill.

When we reached the road we turned right, and walked down to the teashop. 
The return journey was not so pleasant, as sleety rain was falling. The gate with its attendant water proved trickier this time, and in the muddy fields our boots grew heavy.

The way was clear but the ground was sticky

Such elegance!

We chose the low level route back into Gretton, rather than climbing up the steep side of West Hill. In spite of the unexpected obstacles, we enjoyed our walk. However, in future we'll choose snow, frost or dry weather for this walk.