Lamport, Scaldwell, Hanging Houghton, Lamport

We followed the route of this walk from August 2011. Map and details  are still accurate, and I used them as a quick reference. I walked with Maureen and Harry, and the walk is about 8 and a half miles.

Today was frosty, which improved conditions underfoot,  since some potentially soft and sticky mud was frozen.  Brilliant sunshine and blue skies with very little wind made this an enjoyable walk, with fine views of rolling Northamptonshire farmland, villages and trees.

We parked on the road not far from the church, and walked north east to a road junction, where we turned right. After a quarter of a mile or so we turned right along a path which took us through parkland and pasture behind Lamport Hall.

The path is crossed by another one in the middle of an arable field. Not clear on the ground, but we turned left and aimed for the gap in the hedge, where we found a waymarker. 

We followed the path along the hedge for a while, then had more arable fields to cross - here the path was fairly clear on the ground, heading towards the village of Scaldwell, which we could see at the top of the slope.

Heading towards Scaldwell

We walk past a few houses as we enter the village, then follow the road to the right, past the church. The road swings left, and just after The Grange we see a footpath sign pointing right.

Professorial owl

Is that the old road or the road to Old?

Festive birds

Scaldwell church

Is it coffee time?

The Grange

We followed the path through fields near some stable buildings, then a field with sheep and llamas (or alpacas?).

The footpath was pretty clear from here towards Hanging Houghton, which we reached after crossing the A508.

Sunny, not over warm, but time for coffee and a slice of cake or a scone.

We walked down Manor Road, which has almost no traffic. it crosses the Brampton Valley Way and a stream and turns into a farm track/ byway - easy walking for a while.
When we reached the T-junction we turned right towards Blueberry Lodge. Around here we saw lots of fieldfares, a couple of buzzards which had landed in the field, and a red kite, as well as the usual gulls.

At Blueberry Lodge we turned right again along a bridleway-cum-muddy footpath now heading back to Lamport.
Once againt the path was pretty clear through rolling farmland, eventually reaching the Brampton Valley Way once more. A convenient bench was too tempting, and we had the company of a bold robin - we fed it a few crumbs before tackling the final uphill stretch into Lamport.
From the footway alongside the A508 we had good views of the church and Lamport Hall through the bare trees.

This would make a fine setting for a story - the Old Rectory garden.