Castle Ashby circular via Whiston, Cogenhoe, Brafield on the Green, Chadstone

Thu, 2013 Oct 24 9:52 AM BST

Led by me, with Barry and Maureen. Sunny, little wind. Some mud underfoot. Altogether just ten miles - including our walk to the Gardens, and back via footpath to the village.  

The walk was a figure of eight, with the loops crossing at Whiston Spinney.

From the road near the shopping yard we turned right towards the Falcon Inn and War Memorial. We followed the road towards Whiston for a while, until it bent to the left.   The path continued straight across a field heading for Whiston Church.

 There's a fine view over the Nene Valley from the churchyard.

We walked down the steep path from the church and turned left at the road, then left when we reached the junction.  A short stretch of road walking took us to the point where our route, a bridleway, led off on the right hand side. We followed this alongside Whiston Spinney until we reached some farm buildings.

At this point we lost our path, but were able to cross a field and pick it up at the top of the Jerusalem steps.

From here we walked downhill towards the road into Cogenhoe. We turned left and walked uphill past the Royal Oak, into the village.  Just past the village sign we took the left hand fork, then turned left on to a footpath beside a playing field.

We followed the path over fields, clearly marked, until we arrived at Brafield church - and it was time for a break.  

We rejoined the path behind the church, and headed in the direction of Whiston once more.   We arrived back at the farm buildings before too long, and rejoined the bridleway for a short stretch.

When the Northamptonshire Round footpath crossed the bridleway we turned right, down some steps to a footbridge and up the other side.

We turned right and walked along the edge of the field, turning left at the boundary and heading for a minor road.  We crossed this and followed our path in the same direction.

We walked downhill beside a wood, then continued until we reached Chadstone Lodge.

 At the road here we turned right, and made our way to the hamlet of Chadstone, before taking the road left towards Castle Ashby, then right to the Gardens.  

We crossed the impressively wide and long avenue to Castle Ashby House.

We didn't have much time to explore the gardens today, so we made do with a quick peep at the churchyard before wending our way back to the car.

Map for part 1.

Map for part 2.

Northampton Round 2 - Sywell Country Park to Castle Ashby

Wed, 2013 Sep 4 10:19 AM British Summer Time

With Marta. Very hot weather. Quite undulating. 7.5 miles then almost two more walking round Castle Ashby Gardens.

From Sywell Country Park we turn right and take the road uphill past East Lodge Farm, where the footpath is clearly marked.  We cross fields with horses, then the path crosses a line of trees and comes out on the A4500. 
We turn right along this, and soon left towards Ecton, on the quiet Wellingborough Road.  Ecton is a lovely village, with a large church, and attractive ironstone cottages.

The war memorial

  Benjamin Franklin visited in 1758 in search of his ancestors' graves.

Our route takes us along the High Street and towards the end we turn right onto a small path leading to West Street.  At the end of this we turn left, and walk south along a footpath.
The footpath joins a road, and we continue south along the road which goes above the A45.

Just after the bridge we turn left, or east,  along a byway - as the Northants Round instructions warn us, quite a lot of junk has been dumped here.   So much so that we missed our turning at first. Just before a gate you turn to the right away from the dual carriageway, and head south once more.

The bushes are covered in sloes and then haws as we approach fishing lakes and irrigation channels, and finally the River Nene. 

 

We have a break sitting on the bridge looking towards Cogenhoe Mill Lock.  The cows and bull obligingly move away from the pathway.  I think they're used to people from the caravan site and boats.

We have walked this way before

The church clock still stands at the wrong time, though it has moved in the two years since I last took its photograph.

We soon leave the short section shared with the Nene Way, and at the Royal Oak pub we turn left and downhill on the Whiston Road. 
Near the bottom of the dip the footpath is on the right, and leads south eastwards. 

 We walk along the hedgerow, under electrical power lines and follow the edge of the woodland.  Our instructions tell us to make two ninety degree turns - we manage the first  (to our right) and overshoot the second (to our left).   This adds a couple of hundred yards to our route, but we find the steps down from the embankment.

Jerusalem Steps, I presume.

The steps take us down to the bottom of the quarry, out of the woodland, then across a field and a track, and over a stream.  We turn right then slightly left to follow a track south east to the Denton to Whiston Road. We continue south east, through a short stretch of woodland and more fields to arrive at Chadstone Lodge.   On the small road we turn right and walk along to the tiny village of Chadstone. There a man and his daughter have been collecting plums, and he sings the joys of living there and foraging. "You can get a coffee . . ."  No he's not offering us one! " . . .at Ashby" he calls as he goes into his house.

We join the Castle Ashby Road, and walk the mile or so back to the car.  We take in the "rural shopping yard", fortify ourselves with tuna baguettes and cold drinks, and then explore Castle Ashby Gardens - £4.50 for us oldies, but a lovely place.  Lucky Marquess of Northampton.

Castle Ashby House with Latin words around the "battlements".

See next post for a few photos of the gardens.
Map and details