BY bike from Gretton to Rutland Water

 Tuesday 12 October 2021. With Harry 20 miles. The weather promised to be sunny, or so we thought as we drank coffee in the garden.

Out ward route via Harringworth, Wakerley,  Barrowden and the Luffenhams. Return via Lyndon, Wing, Seaton and Harringworth.

A pair of swans on the Welland near Wakerley.

A murky Rutland Water from Normanton car park as the drizzle persisted.

Approaching Wing

Coffee break over…

Penultimate hill climbed - only the hill between Harringworth and Gretton remains

3 hours, 20 miles, 1160 feet of ascent. 

Wing to Rutland Water , back via Edith Weston and Lyndon.

Thursday 06 February. Eight and a half miles. With Maureen, Eddie and Harry. A beautiful frosty morning.




The frost was still on the shady part of Wing Maze.





Daffodils beginning to bloom.

Down the bridleway to the railway line, and straight ahead.



Uphill to the road above the reservoir.

A coffee break at the cafe near the Fishing Lodge.




Through the village of Edith Weston. Along the roads to Lyndon, then the footpath behind the big house with the ha ha, and Lyndon Hall, with a glimpse of the church behind.



A few muddy bits now the ground has thawed.

Back across the railway line and then the uphill pull back to the village of Wing.

Lunch at Wellies.

Wing, Edith Weston and Lyndon

Wednesday 27 March, with Marta.  Just under 7 miles.

Plans certainly went aglae today. The gods of the roads were determined to thwart us - road works and diversions and then gridlock! Luckily a nifty left turn allowed us to escape - not to the destination originally planned, but hey, we can improvise!
After a coffee at Asda, and then a "nice drive in the country" we decided to walk from Wing. It's a walk I've done a few times, and new to Marta, so - no problem. A later start than usual, around 11am.

Here's a slightly longer version of the walk, from about a month ago!

We set off from Glaston Road, by the turf-cut maze in Wing, according to the info board one of only eight which survive in England.

From here we turned right along Morcott Road and took the first turning on the left, which is a bridle way. This took us downhill and north over the railway line and the river Chater.

Along the track uphill to the main road the blackthorn bushes were blossoming.

We crossed the main road and took the small road directly opposite, past the campsites and down towards the Manton Visitor Centre. 

From there we turned right along the waterside track, and continued by Rutland Water as far as Edith Weston Sailing Club. Instead of following the cycle track signs we walked up the road past the school, towards Manton Road, turning right along the path near the houses. We had a brief break in the bus shelter. 

At this point we walked along the roadside verge as far as the left turn towards Lyndon. We walked down this minor road, and turned right at the junction into the village.

Can anyone identify this plant??

At the signpost, with a bench over the road, we turned left and soon found our footpath to the right which leads past Lyndon Hall.

The church is just visible behind this, to our right.

The path takes a zig zag route along field edges, then joins the bridleway near the Chater. It just remained to walk uphill to the railway line and back into the village of Wing.

I only post this because it makes us look more like climbers than we are! If you don't spot the scale, that is.

A late lunch at the Orchard Cafe at Welland Vale Garden centre completed the day.

Cycling round Rutland Water

Wednesday 27 February 2019.
A fifteen mile trip with Harry,  around the outer edge of the reservoir, with a bit of road cycling at the end. 
Wonderful views of the lake, swans and ducks in evidence and plenty of sheep, including some black Hebridean ones. 

We paused to look inside the little church at Egleton, where the snowdrops are almost over, being replaced by daffodils. Cyclamen inside caught the light streaming through the coloured glass windows.

A royal coat of arms - possibly of George III

One of the old pew ends saved when the pews were renewed.

I took the road back from Manton, while Harry took the longer lakeside route.

Wing, Rutland Water, Edith Weston, Lyndon

Monday 25 February 2019, with Kate, Maureen, Norma and Eddie. About 8.5 miles.
Unseasonably warm weather, in spite of an early shimmer of frost. 

We set out from Wing, near the maze. We walked down to the road junction and opposite us, slightly to the right was a bridleway which we followed downhill and over the railway line, then uphill until we reached the main road. We crossed over and took the small road downhill towards Lyndon Visitor Centre, where a lot of scrub-clearing work was being done. The views from the road were beautiful.

At the bottom of the hill we turn right along the track round the reservoir. We follow this for two and a helf miles or so, through woodland and open paths, as far as Normanton car park. We were hoping the café would be open, but it wasn't.  Toilets are always welcome though!  We made use of the tables for a break in the sun and Maureen's scones.  We'd walked at a fairly brisk pace of around 3 miles per hour and felt we'd earned a few minutes rest.

From the car park we went out to the main road, and walked past the village shop. For future reference, it's not far away, and does serve coffee.
There were a couple of miles of road walking, but the main road has a good wide pavement, and after less than amile we turned right, along the road to Lyndon. This is a pretty quiet road, with space at the side. Almost another mile, and a right turn took us into the village of Lyndon.

Past a field with horses and chickens and on to another bench!

We turned left at the bench and after a short distance took a footpath to our right,behind some large houses, one with a haha. You can glimpse the church tucked away behind the hall. 
The path turned left, and gradually worked its way south west to join the bridleway we walked earlier. 

 After the railway line it's a longish drag uphill - it certainly feels that way after eight miles!

Looking back towards Lyndon

Today's lunch was at the Orchard café at Welland Vale Garden Centre.

The route.

Wing to Rutland Water and Lyndon circular

Monday 08 January 2018.  With Maureen, Norma and Eddie. Almost 7 miles on a frosty grey morning.  The same route as in March 2014 when the weather was much brighter!

We set off from Glaston Road, by the maze in Wing, crossed Morcott Road and took the first on the left, which is a bridle way. This took us downhill and north over the railway line and the river Chater, then uphill to the main road. We crossed this and took the small road past the campsite towards the Manton Visitor Centre.  

View of Rutland Water as we breast the hill.

 From there we turned right along the waterside track, and continued as far as the Sailing Club. Here we took the road past the school, up towards Manton Road, turning right along the path near the houses. We took a brief break in the bus shelter before following the road as far as the left turn towards Lyndon. We walked down this minor road to the village, turning right, then left and taking a footpath to the right which leads past Lyndon Hall. The church is just visible behind this, to our right.  The path takes a zig zag route along field edges, then joins the bridleway near the Chater. It just remained to walk uphill to the railway line and back into the village of Wing.