Belton-in-Rutland - Wardley - Ridlington - Belton

Led by Barry. 9.5 miles. According to the garmin there's about 900 feet of ascent. Fine, warm sunny. With Maureen, Gordon, Eddie and me.

From the war memorial in Belton, near the church, we turned downhill past  a green with a lime tree and a seat (too early for caffeine!), the Old Smithy and Rutland Manor, to a point where a footpath sign points to the left.  We went through the gateway and immediately right, crossing the field to a stile in the far right hand corner.  We followed the Rutland Round along the hedge and over a footbridge, then took the path along with the hedge on our right.  We crossed a bridleway and continued to follow the waymarks as the path goes downhill, crosses another bridge, then uphill to a gate in the hedge and on to the old A47.

They shut the road through the woods

Seventy years ago.

Weather and rain have undone it again,

And now you would never know

There was once a road through the woods  .(Kipling)

We walked left along this, then turned right to the present A47's  junction towards Wardley.

From the old road to the new

We crossed the road and walked into Wardley village with its well-kept houses and small church. 

St Botolph's church, Wardley

Time check?

No walk is complete without one of us going back for something!

We turned down the lane past Wardley House, opposite the church.  There are terrific views of the countryside.

View from Wardley House

We walked along the track, following it round to the end of Wardley Wood.   Here we turned left into the wood, but instead of walking straight though we diverted slightly to the left, in order to avoid some of the mud.  We then followed the edge of the wood and headed up towards the A47 again.  

Wardley Wood and beyond

We were not really where we wanted to be, so it was a case of heading downhill and meeting the path we had left earlier. Once we'd found it, it took us up to the Old Leicester Road going into Uppingham.

We had to walk for a few hundred yards along the A47 - the north side of the road has just enough verge to make this ok.  We crossed back to walk along the old disused road, then crossed over to join the footpath which follows field boundaries more or less north.  There are plenty of signs telling walkers where they shouldn't go, and by avoiding them we made our way towards Ridlington.

Rolling countryside

St Mary Magdalene and St Andrew's church, Ridlington

We walked round to the other side of the church, and along the road for a short distance before turning right along a marked footpath. Apologies for the garmin trace here on the map - I'd turned it off in the church and forgot to switch on immediately afterwards. 

We found the footpath towards Leighfield.  This was straightforward, with a little help from the 'Keep Out" Notices.  It goes downhill from Ridlington, passing a flock of Jacob's sheep.

  
The path flattens out as it approaches the River Chater and the fishponds near Leigh Lodge.

Newly planted trees and the bridge over the Chater

Bridge and fishponds

A good spot for a second break before tackling the long uphill road to the left. 

At the top we turned left, then took the path indicated on our right.  This went downhill quite steeply towards Belton. The path joins the road to Lambley Lodge, which we followed for about half a mile, downhill then up into Belton.

Map and details

Rutland Round 1 - Braunston-in-Rutland to Uppingham

With Marta.  8.5 miles. Dry, warm - cloudy. Muddy in the woods. Quite hilly.


The CPRE's book on the Rutland Round is easy to follow, though we made sure we had a map as well.

We started from Braunston church, with its large clock and sheela-na-gig.

  We walked along Wood Lane opposite the church and followed the road out of the village.  At a left hand bend in the road, our path carried on into a lane.  Just past the farm buildings the footpath turns to the left crossing straight over the field and down to the hedge.  It crosses a small stream, then goes across another field to the corner of Prior's Coppice.  It follows the western edge of the coppice, going south.  As we reached the road at the south western end of the wood, we looked back to a stretch of water.

Looking back from the end of Prior's Coppice

We crossed the track and went south along the left of the hedge.  At the field boundary there are a few trees, then the path goes diagonally downhill towards Leigh Lodge. 

Marta. The way marks point to the way we have come.

We walked past the magnificent Leigh Lodge, keeping it on our right, as we followed the tarmac track downhill to the right.

An orchard of fruit trees in training - look at the wall at the back

The track climbs uphill for about a mile until it meets a stony track by some farm buildings. Here we turned left, and in about 50 yards turned right down a rough bridleway. This was quite uneven and muddy,  but eventually turned into a tarmac road leading into Belton-in-Rutland.  We had to climb a short section before arriving in the village.

The bridleway 

Belton church.

 We came out of Belton, past the village green with its lime tree, and took the footpath soon afterwards. This goes to the left, through a gate, then right through another one immediately after it.  it crosses the field to the far right hand corner, where there is a stile.  
Then you walk along by the hedge on your left, and cross the stream by a small  bridge. Walk parallel to the hedge on the right to the next stile.  Keep the hedge on your right when you cross the bridleway.  There is a short step downhill section, and a bridge, then the path goes up to a stile. Through the hedge you join the old A47, the Leicester Road.  Turn left then right to walk to the present road. Cross with care - there is a traffic island in the middle of the road opposite the bus stop. Across the A47 is the road into Wardley, a small village with a tiny church and a few houses.

Wardley church

At the bend in the road near the church we turned right along a track which goes behind a big house, then south through the hedge, turns left (west for a short distance before heading south east towards Wardley Wood. The path turns right, left, right left (marked and clear) before entering the wood at its south western point.  From there the path goes uphill through the wood - very muddy at the moment, but it would be a great place to walk on a hot sunny day, with plenty of shade.  We carried on in this direction, following way marks through the main wood and between two smaller sections of trees until the path crosses a couple of fields and a stream.  The way marks are not always obvious, but the path climbs up hill to the old Leicester Road,  slightly south of its junction with the A47.  From here it's about a mile along this road into Uppingham.  We had a jacket potato lunch at the Crown pub.






Map and details

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