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.

Whiston - Cogenhoe - Brafield - Denton - Whiston

8 miles. Barry, Eddie, Maureen, Gordon. 

Down the hill from Whiston to Whiston Lock on the Nene. The couple going through with their boat had spent one month travelling back to Oundle from Bath.  The water was pretty choked with weed, and the gates were difficult to close. Some weed has been raked out and left on the path at the side.

From there we walked along the Nene Way by the river as far as Cogenhoe Mill, then up into the village itself.

The path emerges into Cogenhoe near Mill House

Chickens and Indian runner ducks (?) by the playing field in Cogenhoe.  We took the footpath towards Brafield on the Green.

St Laurence's church at Brafield.  From Brafield we took the path behind the church and made our way to Denton,, across some ploughed fields, and on one occasion we needed the machete.

Through the hedge, and onward.

Denton. 

Free range chickens between Denton and Whiston

Whiston church tower dominates this part of the Nene Valley, but is not, as far as we could see, easily accessed by car.  It was built by the Catesby family, and is very much their monument.

One of the Catesby cats inside the church.

There are traces of some structure on the ground. I'm not sure what it is.




Map and details

Nene Way 4 - from Billing to Wellingborough Embankment

With Marta. 11.1 miles, including our wander round Earls Barton. Hot, sunny, dry underfoot in spite of yesterday's rain.A lot of up and down, to visit the villages above the flood plains.


From the info board at Billing Lock:

The River Nene is a particularly important navigation as it

links the Grand Union Canal to the sea and, via the 'Middle 

Level' to the Great Ouse.  Rising at Badby, Naseby and 

Yelvertoft, the Nene becomes navigable at Northampton

where the three tributaries combine.  The navigation, which

was opened on 7th August 1761 when "7 coal laden barges

reached Northampton with the customary band of music, 

flags and streamers" begins at the junction with 

the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal near Cotton End

Lock, Northampton  and extends 91 miles (147 km) to the sea.

There are 37 locks between Northampton and Peterborough.

We set off from Billing, via the lock with its two different styles of gate - the 'pointing door' and the 'guillotine'. The Nene Way marker showed the way across a bridge, and a couple of fields towards the Brafield Road. We took the road and turned left into Cogenhoe, now an attractive village on a hill above the Nene valley.

In a central position is a village sign erected by Cogenhoe and Whiston Parish Council . . . in commemoration of the millennium July 2000.


On four sides are pictures representing the history of the village, and  in the base there is a time capsule compiled by local children.

The pictures show local scenes, transport and the past industries of brick-making and shoe and boot manufacture.










There is an active local heritage society - Cogenhoe and Whiston Heritage Society .  
I also happened upon a blog entry about Cogenhoe Football Club  .

Cogenhoe church clock stands just after half past five, though it was late morning.

From Station Road turn left into Church Street, and follow the Nene Way signs through a small lane and gate into an open field.


When we left Cogenhoe I was surprised how high we had climbed above the river. It's only about 300 feet above sea-level and 100 feet above the valley, but there are lovely views over sloping fields of cows, and trees, and the path descends quite steeply to the Nene.  Over to the South East Whiston Church is prominent on the hillside.


By the river we found a great stash of ripe blackberries, the best so far this year, and pretty early.


Follow the river as it winds its way to Whiston Lock. At this point a man was sitting next to a boat  - la Sabatera. 
'You've found a nice quiet spot', I commented
'Not by choice,' he replied.  'Have you seen a boat making its way along here?'
He was stuck at the lock for the moment - but was 'rescued' as we saw him two or three times later. 


We crossed the river here and made our way towards Earls Barton.  The route includes a slightly hair-raising crossing of the A45 using a flimsy-feeling footbridge. Then along a track parallel to the road (B573) past a farm shop/garden centre and uphill towards Earls Barton.  Turn right and walk the length of the village. 


As you walk in the church tower is very striking.  The centre of the village is attractive, though it was impossible to get a view of the church again without going into the churchyard itself - there are huge trees in full leaf, and I think we'd have missed it if we'd arrived from the other direction.

We had lunch in Jeyes Apothocoffee shop's Walled Garden . Some interesting history on their website.

Lunch over, time to move. Just about the half-way point, we reckoned.  Loins girded, and packs backed we walked to the end of the village to Mill Lane.  We turned right and follwed the Nene Way down to Mill Farm and over the river, following the path between the river on our left and the lakes on our right.  

We didn't cross the bridge over the weir but continued on the right of the river to Hardwater Mill, where, according to Mia Butler in her book Exploring the Nene Way  a miller fell in the water and was drowned in 1309, and Thomas à Beckett called in on his way to France, after he escaped from Northampton Castle.

Hardwater Mill

The bridge takes the Nene Way  over the mill pond, which was teeming with fish

We followed the path over the bridges and to the right. At this point we went slightly off course by following a concrete track tot he right of the sewage farm. We were able to cut back and find the path with gates leading up hill to Great Doddington. The village has a  shop - handy for a cold drink, and a public area with a seat just across the road too.


On through Great Doddington, with a short diversion when we saw a sign for the Nene Way, followed it for a while, then decided it was leading us in the wrong direction - back to Cogenhoe.  The path we wanted is to the right shortly before the Stag's Head. 


It leads downhill through fields, and another mill where several boats were moored. 

The path stays on the left hand side of the river,  all the way to the Embankment.  We were overtaken by La Sabatera only to catch it up at Wellingborough Upper Lock.  
We refused to resist the temptation of an ice-cream before making for the car, and seeing another section of the walk completed.






Billing - Cogenhoe - Earls Barton - Great Doddington - Wellingborough