Southey Wood, Ufford, Castor Hanglands, Upton

Monday 12 August 

8 and 3/4 miles, with Eddie and Norma. Flat, although with a high point! Fine weather.

We parked near Southey Wood, where the car park is now closed.

 We followed the main footpath north and then west, eventually turning right, north along the bridleway known as "the drift". At Marholm Road we turned left ,  swinging right through Ufford.  

St Andrew's church was the "highest point", on Church Hill, at 44.16 meters (almost 145 feet!) above sea level.

It was the site for a beacon to warn of the invasion of the Spanish Armada. 

We walked past the large houses in Ufford, and took a footpath to the right which follows the edge of fields.  Be sure to take the path to the left of the hedge when this is possible, as the hedge becomes impassable further on.

The path came out at the side of Jubilee Wood (planted for Victoria's jubilee) on to High Field Road.

We turned right here and followed the road to the T-junction. We turned left along the only slightly busy stretch of road - we collected a small bag full of cans along the verge here.

At the cross roads we carried straight on the to Granary tea shop, attached to Willow Brook Farm shop,  where we had a well-deserved coffee break .

Scones for some ... cherry pie for Eddie...

We followed their permissive path into Castor Hanglands Nature Reserve. No horses today, but there were some cows and sheep.

We kept going south through the wood, and came out to open farmland. We continued straight ahead until a path crossed ours, then we turned right.  Instead of turning right and across fields to Manor Farm we continued west beside trees until the path turned sharp right.  At a left turn, which we didn't take there is a tree stump obligingly carved into an excellent seat. 

From here we walked past Manor Farm, and the field with the pillar - we still haven't found out where it comes from. 

We looked at St John the Baptist Church, Upton - set a little way away from the small village itself.we decided it was a bit too far to walk for the key. The church was built as a Chapel-of-Ease in the Parish of Castor in AD 1120. Major restoration work was carried out in 2005 and 2006. Repairs were made to the bell-turret, the roof and the windows, with support from English Heritage.

We peered through the windows - there is a large tomb with carved figures.

From here we returned to the track which took us over the cattle grid and headed north towards Southey Woods car park. 

On the way we passed this 'observation tower', and very soon arrived at the road and the car.

Southey Wood, Upton, Castor Hanglands, Ufford.

John Clare - Footpaths

Now tracking fields where passenger appears

As wading to his waist in crowding grain

Wherever as we pass the bending ears

Pat at our sides & gain their place again

Then crooked stile with little steps that aid

The climbing meets us & the pleasant grass

& hedgerows old with arbours ready made

For weariness to rest in pleasant shade

Surround us & with ecstasy we pass

Wild flower & insect tribes that ever mate

With joy & dance from every step we take

In numberless confusion all employ

Their little aims for peace & pleasures sake

& every summers footpath leads to joy

Pet MS A54 p415

Middle Period IV 318

From John Clare Society blog

Fri, 2015 Jul 17 9:59 AM BST

With Marta. Lunch at Granary Tea room, Willowbrook Farm Shop. Underfoot mostly dry, weather fine with some sun. I think between 9 and 10 miles.

Today the car was left in Southey Wood car park, and we crossed the road to walk south along the bridleway. A quick glance at the Observation Tower, surrounded by nettles and brambles in summer, didn't tempt us to explore further.

The way ahead is clear and easy heading towards Upton. The church is locked, though opening times can be found here.  A peep through the window showed a large stone tomb with effigies and carvings.

It is dedicated to St John the Baptist, and  is a 12th century Norman church with a north aisle rebuilt in 17th century, chancel restored in 19th century. 

 This pillar is in a nearby field. I think the cows may be fed in there too, as they became quite interested when we went to have a look.

From here we turned left through Manor Farm yard, and picked up the path from a footpath sign close by. After crossing a couple of fields we turned left along a cart track heading east. At the point where another path crosses, we turned left towards Castor Hanglands Nature Reserve. The place is alive with butterflies, and true to form, there were muddy patches near the entrance gate. 

There were several ponies, fenced off from the main path. This white one is a bit plagued by flies.

Just after the reserve . . .

. . . cows peer over the fence . . .

. . .and this one pretends not to be bothered. We head for the Granary Tea Shop. A little early for lunch, but it's the only convenient place, so we stop. 

Our route continues across the road, slightly to our left past some cottages. On the left is Swaddywell Pit Nature reserve, complete with a poem by John Clare. We don't have time to explore today, but I make a note for another time. The path goes alongside, then across a reclaimed tip, where the path is decent. It continues with woodland on our right, then crosses a field to meet the road (Heath Road). Here we make a very sharp left turn, about 45 degrees, without crossing the road.  We walk with the hedge on our left. 

In the distance we spot a hare sitting on the path. Photo opp - again I only have the little camera, but get a few shots - at least you can tell it's a hare, and see its ears and eyes.

Eventually we move forward and the hare decides it's time to leave. We pass a pond with plenty of dragon and damselflies zipping around, then an area dedicated to shooting, with lookouts and a pile of used cartridges.

When we reach the road we turn right, with Hilly Wood on the opposite side of the road. We dodge the cars (not too many) for half a mile before turning left on a footpath at the end of the wood.  There are lots of these giant bellflowers, along the roadsie, and woodland margins here.

After another half mile or so, we turn left at the next road, and walk a couple of hundred yards before turning right on another footpath past woodland called The Jubilee. This footpath takes us with the hedge on our right, past golden cornfields, with a view of Ufford church over to the left.  

This was the site of a warning beacon for the Spanish Armada, as it's one of the highest points locally at 44 metres and a whisker above sea level. The path crosses to the other side of the hedge just before the first houses in Ufford. 
We walk through following the main road, and make use of a bench at the top of the hill opposite the church.

Just after leaving the village of Ufford, after the road bends to the right, we take a cart track to the right, which goes past Lambpits Spinney and after a while turns through a gate into Southey Wood at The Severals. The main woodland track turns south after a while and delivers us back to the car.

Lots of information about Ufford, Southey wood, Swaddywell Pit and Castor Hanglands can be found  on this website.  Look under places of interest.

Map and details

Ail(e)sworth circular via Castor Hanglands

Thu, 2014 Mar 20 9:40 AM GMT

Led by Barry, with me, Maureen and Gordon. Flattish, with several small woodland areas. Muddy in the woods. Very windy at times, but dry. Just over 8 miles.

You don't need both OS Explorer maps either 227 or 235 will do fine- the area covered is on both.

We leave Ailsworth taking the footpath just inside the village boundary, along a flat field towards the A47, an obstacle that has to be crossed twice during this walk.  On the other side of the road our path leads more or less north and into Castor Hanglands*, continuing through the nature reserve including Ailsworth Heath.  No horses in evidence today, and we spot little in the way of wildlife. Four gallumphing people tend to put the critters off.

*"Hanglands" a definition. 

 Castor Hanglands woods were muddy in places, but passable.

When gorse is out of bloom . . .
At the other side of the nature reserve we turn right, outside the woods and walk as far as the minor road. We could have continued across the road, but instead walk along to the junction, turn right and take the bridleway to our right, parallel to the original road.
We walk by some more woodland, and follow the path as it zigzags and curves a bit towards Foster's Coppice.

Wise walkers check maps meticulously

The sun almost comes out, and I try to get the ISO numbers right to show it

We walk across an exposed part of the path, and find a shelter and seat - well, a large fallen tree - in Burmer Wood.

Blackthorn blossom

At the end of the wood we turn right for a very short section, then left following a field boundary.  This heads southeast to a T-junction of paths. We pause to exchange greeting with a woman and her dog - she lives in "Marram". That must be how the locals pronounce what I've always thought was Mar-holm!  We turn right and take the path and track which leads past Belsize Farm, through Belsize Wood. Then it's another left turn along the field edge (past a sign saying "Landowners welcome Careful Walkers").

I hope this isn't some awful warning

The field edge curves round to a footbridge with a wooden signpost. We follow the pointer towards Castor, through the edge of the plantation containing Oldfield Pond. At the corner we turn right following the path between the hedge and the plantation to another T-junction where we turn left, with a hedge of sorts on our right. You can see how windy from the windsock and birdscarers.

We have to fight the wind today

Just where we turn right again is an ordnance Survey marker with the words "This monument forms part of the Ordnance Survey National GPS network . . ." 

It marks the height above (sea level?) as 113.40 ft. On the map there's a nearby point at 36 meters so we guess that's more or less it. We turn right along the track marked as Cow Lane. This takes us to the A47 again, and continues after we cross the road. We take the right hand fork, as it looks a little drier - Clay Lane according to the map. Not far now and we're in Castor.

Village green in full spring dress

The Farmers' Cross - replacing the stump of the medieval cross, reputed to have been destroyed by Cromwell.

Click to enlarge any photos.

Map and details

Southey Woods, Castor Hanglands

Led by me, with Maureen and Gordon. Grey, very occasional light drizzle, a cool wind, but ideal temperature for walking. Less muddy than usual in the woods. Just over 10 miles.

Similar to this walk August 23rd and this walk August 30th

Ufford church, at 44 metres above sea level, is one of the highest points in the area

Another slight variation on this walk. We started at the Willow Brook Farm Shop, and took the footpath just across the road heading more or less north-east.  The path leads across a reclaimed landfill site with warning 'no smoking notices'.
 Then it continues along the side of a wood. At the corner the path should go diagonally across a field to the minor road, but we walked along the edge and then for a short distance along the road. Freshly ploughed fields are hard work until the paths have been made good.

We turned left at the point where the path meets a bridleway at the junction with the road. We walked west along the bridleway, past a pond and a few trees until we reached Langley Bush Road.  Here we turned right and walked north along the road as far as the end of Hilly Wood.
We turned left again (north west approximately), following a bridleway to High Field Road.   We should have turned left here (see garmin trace)  and walked south east as far as the second block of woodland, called Jubilee Wood.  A right turn just south of west took us to the path into Ufford, where we turned left and soon uphill, past the hall and the church.

We walked passed Hillside Close on the edge of the village, and another 400 yards later, turned right on to the track known as 'the drift' .  We ignored the inviting seat here, and walked about half a mile south to the gate leading into Southey Wood.  We followed the main waymarked path until after another mile we had a break at the well-placed picnic tables.

The tiniest bit chilly today!

After that it was straight past the car park and over the road to the track towards Upton.  This leads down hill past the church and we chose to follow the road through the village, past a row of thatched cottages and some houses, then turned left past Model Farm, before heading left along a bridleway marked on the map as Blind Lane.  We met a man trotting on a horse along this section. 
At the end of Blind Lane there are three chopped tree trunks with the letter A,S,W scratch-carved into them - useful seats, but we resisted the temptation this time, and followed a path diagonally across the corner of a small field through some woodland and out onto a shady path heading east. This leads on to the open fields, now harvested, with the two improvised horse-jumps. See this post.

We carried on towards the east, until we met the north-south path, and turned left and north towards the Castor Hanglands nature reserve. 
The main path through the reserve is clear and easy to follow.  Today it was noticeably less muddy than it has been.  Not much visible wildlife, but we did meet these horses.

We carried on through the reserve and then took the permissive path to the farm shop and cafe, where we stopped for lunch. 

map and details