Rutland Round 6 - Clipsham to Whissendine

With Marta. Fine, sunny, very warm. A few dry ploughed fields to cross. garmin fail between Teigh and part way to Whissendine - human error. About 13 miles in all.
The first part of this walk was a little uninspiring - along the road from Clipsham to Stretton, though we discovered that we could have walked a little further from the verge, too late for today.  

We followed the road to the roundabouts under the A1.  Our path left the slip road for the A1 North, via a plank bridge and a stile.  

The route lies across a large grassy field, and crosses a concrete track, then another bridge and field before joining a minor road.

A very free range hen

At the road we turned right and walked up to the bend in the road, where a path goes to the right.  At this point we had some difficulty, and lost the waymarks.  When we came out at the road as the map route showed, we were still unsure, and diverted slightly to join another path which took us back to our route more easily. 

This was near the flight path and approach lights for RAF Cottesmore.  This now known as the Army's Kendrew Barracks.  

Soon after crossing the old flight path, we had a quick break, before following the route into Thistleton. John Williams's book and the waymarking helped make this straightforward.

Thistleton, the most northerly village in Rutland, is very small, but has a fine church and a herb farm.

St Nicholas church, Thistleton

From Thistleton, we took the road west towards Sewstern - and carried on until we reached the point known as Thistleton Gap, where Rutland meets Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

From wikipedia:

On 28 September 1811 a massive crowd of up to 20,000 watched a prizefight at Thistleton Gap. Tom Cribb fought the American Tom Molineaux in a hotly contested re-match for the heavyweight championship of England. The match was a matter of national pride and the names of both these men were famous throughout the land. The venue was chosen as the three counties of Rutland, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire met there and if the police arrived to halt the illegal fight the boxers and crowd could escape across the county boundary. In the eleventh round Cribb knocked out Molineaux. The original match, a year before, had ended in exhaustion for both men after a gruelling 33 rounds with accusations of cheating. During the intervening period both men had lost weight; Cribb because of extensive training with the famous Captain Barclay and Molineaux due to loss of muscle whilst earning his keep at local prizefighting venues.^[7]

The barns near Thistleton Gap

We recognised the spot by the county boundary sign, and two large barns on the left hand side of the road.  

There's an exhibition case deciated to Cribbs v Molineaux in Oakham Museum

Shortly after the barns we had to cross another ploughed field, diagonally right to the corner of the hedge.  After this it was a case of following the path and waymarks along field boundaries.  With the hedge on our right we could see a house - Cribb's Lodge, which is reputed to be the training base for his bare-knuckle fights. 

We continued with the hedge on our right, ignoring a path and stile on the right. We had to turn left then right with the field boundaries, joining a farm track just before a small industrial estate on our left.  We carried on skirting some woodland, still with the hedge on our right.  As we were on the south side of the hedge for most of the time, this was hot going, and the views weren't up to much for a while!  We had another break when we found a suitably shady spot - at last.

Just after walking past the wood there is a shadier path, with wider views -  quite a relief!

We turned left and later right around the wood's edge.  The path is crossed by a path towards Edmondthorpe.   We had to turn left at a point where a bridleway goes straight ahead. 
Use the book and the OS maps here - much clearer than my description!
At the end of the last field is a gate, near the disused Melton to Oakham Canal. The track goes over the canal.

The disused Oakham to Melton Canal

As instructed we headed slightly to the right across the field to a gate in the right hand hedge.   This led on to a track. When the track met the road, opposite Catmose Lodge,  we turned left towards Teigh. (TEE?) but no tea :-(.

We walked past a road to the right signposted to Whissendine, then just after the Teigh sign we turned right into the village and on to the imposing church.  It wasn't open at the time, so that'll be one for another day.

Holy Trinity church, Teigh

The path leaves just over the road opposite the west end of the church.  The waymarks are easy to follow here - there's even one on its own in the middle of the first field.  We went quite close to an area of water and saw two herons flying from there.   A footbridge and a stile, then a longish section with the hedge on our left was next, leading to this rather long thin footbridge:

Not quite a rope bridge over a chasm, but . . .

After this we took the path diagonally right across a field and through a gateway in the opposite hedge. We emerged on to a bridleway, turned right and then crossed the Leicester-Peterborough railway line.  You can see for a fair distance each side,  and judging by the train which came along soon after we'd crossed, you can hear the trains coming.

'Pill-box' remnant of World War 2 defences

Our path was along the bridleway for a good mile gradually uphill until it met the road to Whissendine.  We turned left, and in a couple of hundred yards took a footpath to the right, over a stile.

Whissendine windmill from the path

We crossed the field to the stile opposite and came out near St Andrews Church in Whissendine.

From here it was all downhill to the village centre, the shop for a sandwich and some liquid, and back to a circular seat on the village green, where we ate our food. 

 
Map and details

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

Cranford St Andrews - Burton Latimer - Cranford St Andrews

Led by Barry. With Gordon, Eddie, Terry, Jill, Carol, Ian and me. Beautiful sunny warm day. A lot of fields and three busy roads to cross.  Same walk as this one last November, but in reverse.  7.3 miles. 

We set off from Top Dysons, crossed the road and went past the Old Forge tea-rooms along Grafton Road to the right.
Soon the footpath took us off the road to the left. We turned to our right when another path crossed ours, and followed this to the south eastern corner of the field, then south and east and south again before coming out on Church Lane and Cranford High Street.  We walked along this for a while, then followed the path right to the edge of the field and steps down to the A14.  Patience needed to cross this. Luckily there is a division in the middle of the very busy road.


Banana break! A shady, though not scenic spot.

More later. Map and details

Bradgate Park to Beacon Hill and back via Ulverscroft Priory

With Harry. Weather a bit grey to begin with, fine drizzle, then muggy, then cleared. Great views but hazy. Muddy in woodland. Just over 10 miles (with our detour!) Just over 1000 feet of climbing - not all at once.

I hope it's crystalline in clarity next time I do this walk!

We parked at Bradgate Park in Newtown Linford, and after a kick-start cup of coffee, went through the main gate to the drive, took a path immediately to the left and headed up hill towards Tyburn Copse.  From the right hand side of this copse the obelisk monument to the dead of the two World Wars is visible directly north.

Onward and upward to the memorial obelisk - a hazy, misty start to the walk.

Misty landscape behind Harry

And more mist behind 'big boots'!

We followed the path to the right of the copse and up to Old John, the tankard-shaped 18th century folly at the highest point of the park.

Scaling the heights

There's a toposcope here which claims views as far as Nottingham Castle and Burrough Hill.  On a clear day . . .
We left Old John and walked downhill to the north-west corner of the park.

Downhill from Old John

We continued past the toilets, downhill and through the car park, to a road junction.  We took Benscliffe Road for a couple of hundred yards, before turning right along a footpath waymarked 'Leicestershire Round'.  This goes downhill through Rough Hill Wood, then continues on to a magnificent golf course.  The path is clearly marked as it crosses several fairways.

A fine crop of crab apples

The sweep of the greensward

I hope the ducks manage to dodge the golf balls

After the golf course, the path is quite clear as it goes over a field and on to a track.  The track joins a road where we turned right and walked downhill toward Woodhouse Eaves.
There are two possible routes from here - I think we chose the one where it's easier to wander off track.

We took the first footpath off to the left. It leads up and along the edge of two fields, before cutting diagonally across a grassy meadow.  By one of the hedges I spotted my first serious blackberry pickers of the season.  The path comes out at a road and this is where we made our unintended diversion.  I blame lack of looking at the map, and being distracted by an obvious gate and continuation of the path just opposite.  

We visited the Broombriggs Farm trail, which is well supplied with benches and decent views to the east - and cattle.  

Wot? No kitchen sink? Snack break at Broombriggs.

We returned to the entrance and turned along the road (left this time). At the T-junction with beacon Road we crossed the road and a track to join the wide path which leads gradually to the summit.

Trig point on Beacon Hill - great views all round

Another peak conquered
forget the car park 100 yards down hill!

Radcliffe power station in the distance?

Cattle grazing near the summit

Blooming heather adds to the moorland feeling

We went downhill to the car park, and turned right, past the toilet block.  The gravelled path forks left and heads downhill through the woods.  When we reached a rusty charcoal burner
we walked round behind it and took a narrow short path which comes out at a crossroads.

We crossed over and took the road towards Copt Oak.  A few too many cars, but it's a short distance.  After 300 hundred yards we turned into a lane just before a wood.  There's a remote-operated gate for cars, but a path for walkers at the edge.
When the wooded area ends, the path forks off to the right and heads south-west along the edge of several fields. When we reached Ulverscroft Lodge Farm, we turned left along the path which joins a drive leading past Ulverscroft Pond to the remains of Ulverscroft Priory, with its moat and fishponds.

The drive continues until it reaches a road junction.  Here we crossed over into Ulverscroft Lane.  This was pleasant walking, as it is quiet and shaded by trees.  Continue past the wonderfully named Polly Botts Lane.

After around three-quarters of a mile, there is a footpath sign for Newtown Linford. The path  leaves the road on the right hand side, then you take the left hand fork across a field just after a stile. It was very muddy in places, especially through the woods, but easy to follow.

The only slightly tricky part, is just after you pass a ruined building to the left.  Here you have to turn left and very soon go over a footbridge then head for Newtown Linford which can be seen ahead.  This is an exceptionally attractive, well-kept village.  We walked through, past the pubs and back to Bradgate Park and a large pot of tea with cake.

Thanks to James Rhodes and Walking Britain for info about this walk Map and details