Manton, Egleton, Brooke circular.

 Monday November 8th, with Norma and Eddie. Seven and a half miles. 230 feet of ascent.

Around the reservoir perimeter track as far as Egleton, then we took the footpath to the left taking us back towards the A6003, almost parallel to the route we had already walked.

We crossed the railway by a bridge, and joined the official path near Gunthorpe Hall

The path took us into Brooke, close to the church - the seat was handy for a short pause.

After our break we turned left at the junction and walked along the road to the America Lodge crossroads.  From there the route past Martinsthorpe was the same as on Nov 4th.

Manton, Egleton, Brooke, Braunston-in-Rutland.

 Thursday 4th November, with Eddie, almost 10 miles

From the Horse and jockey at Manton, round the Rutland Water perimeter track as far as Egleton. 

Then the road to the A6003, across the road and the railway line and up the hill. following tracks to Brook, with views of Oakham off to our right.

Past the pigs near the entrance to the village and round to St. Peter’s Church.

A glimpse of the Dovecote near the Priory ( now a private house)

Then across field paths to Braunston.

We followed the road uphill to the crossroads

Past America Lodge, where the road becomes track then footpath.Then the lost village of Martinsthorpe, high on the ridge with views of Rutland Water.

And finally across the A6003 and back to the start.

Manton, Egleton, Brooke, Martinsthorpe.

Thursday 15 August

A shorter walk today, about 7.5 miles. With Eddie, Harry and Maureen.  This walk from 2014, but in reverse.

We set off from the Horse and Jockey in Manton and walked round the lakeside cycle route.

part of Rutland Water

Men at work on the railway line

We had a short pause to look at the ospreys' nest - from a distance.

We carried on as far as the Nature reserve at Egleton.

The season moves on

 At Egleton we turned left and headed to the A6003. 

We crossed this and the railway line, and made our way up the hill, with views of Oakham on our left.

 At the top of the hill we followed the footpath heading towards Brooke. On the way a farmer was chopping up a fallen giant, a large oak tree destroyed by recent strong winds. 

Another fairy ring

  We passed Brooke Covert East, and turned slightly left to go downhill towards the village, joining the track which becomes the access road to the recently renovated Hillside Cottage. From certain places the Dovecote near Brooke Priory can be clearly seen.

The Dovecote

We enter the village close to Bridge Farm, and follow the road directly ahead to reach the church. 

Tomb if Charles Noel

The door was open today, and we bought a couple of jars of rather good gooseberry and elderflower jam, before having a coffee break in the church porch.

We left the village by the road to Ridlington (not the Braunston Road). It climbs up to a crossroads, where we turned right towards America Lodge. 

The road becomes a track and then a path, keeping to the top of the ridge with views of the reservoir, 

all the way to the site of the deserted village of Martinsthorpe. 

The house is being rebuilt  on the site of Old Hall Farm. 

We walked to the right of it, then on to the A6003, just opposite the road along to Normanton.

A short walk back to car, followed by lunch at the pub.

The route. First mile was round the reservoir path.

Manton, Brooke, Egleton circular

Thu, 2015 Aug 13 9:10 AM BST

With Gordon.  Grey day, but dry. Good views as usual. Around 8.9 miles.

The same walk as on 22 May 2014, with an extra mile.

We set off from Manton, and took the footpath to the west (left) opposite the Horse and Jockey.  Way marking at the end of the field not perfect, so we ended up walking through some nettles, and climbing a wire fence on to the verge of the A6003, slightly south of where we should have been. We picked up the path across the road, and followed it through a couple of fields, past a farm. When we arrived at a freshly harvested and ploughed field we took the path of least resistance and followed the field edge uphill to join the bridleway, which is a much easier route to follow.

Martinsthorpe Old Hall Farm, which is surrounded by fencing, and being worked on, is a landmark to keep us on track. It is the only conspicuous surviving trace of a seventeenth century country house and the site of an earlier medieval village.

 The views on both sides from the ridge are good, but not very photogenic on a grey day. The path  becomes a track, just after Old Hall Farm, then a road past America Lodge, to a crossroads. Here we continue straight ahead towards Braunstone. The road is flat for a distance, then loses height. In the valley the Leighfield Way path turns off to the right, and we take this path, past animals we must not feed, but which seem friendly and interested in us as we pass by.

 We follow the path between hedges then over a stile and a footbridge and along the edge of a field, coming to the road near Brooke Priory and Dovecot.  We turn right and walk uphill to the present day village. There are lots of humps and bumps in the ground - earthworks on the map.

A bench on the green in front of Brooke church is handy for a break. We take the road to the left of the church, past Bridge Farm, and Hillside Cottage, which is still derelict, and uphill following the Macmillan Way. At a junction we take the right hand fork past Brooke Covert East, and gradually downhill with views of Oakham to the north and Rutland Water to the East. 
We cross the railway line and follow Hambleton Road to Egleton, then the cycle track all the way back to Manton.
Not a drop of rain fell while we were out.

Map and details