Ivanhoe Way -Shackerstone to Snarestone

Friday 8th November 2008
After what seemed like weeks of dull, dingy, drizzly weather, it promised to be fine today and so we decided on a proper walk. Having finished the Leicestershire Round a few weeks ago, we now embark on our next project, the Ivanhoe Way - a 35 mile walk around NW Leicestershire.

We drove to Shackerstone and parked. This is home to the Battlefield line which runs from Shackerstone to Shenton and is also where the Leicestershire Round joins the Ivanhoe Way.

We set off towards the Ashby canal and headed along the towpath.
Ashby canal carried coal from the pits in Moira and Measham. It closed in 1846 but there are plans to re-open it along the stretch to Ashby.
We saw a heron take off in front of us and several ducks splashing about in the water. We also heard the whump-whump of swans taking off. The canal was very autumnal with leaves falling from the trees into the water. We left the canal at bridge 54 and took the footpath towards Newton Burgoland, but soon left the path and joined the narrow road towards Snarestone. We passed a large house with crowns on the gate and later discovered this was part of Gopsal park which is owned by the Crown. We left the lane just past Shackerstone Fields farm and then crossed several fields to arrive in Snarestone. One of the fields contained a maize crop which had not been harvested. It looked a bit sorry but had lots of cobs, so we wondered why it had been left. At Snarestone we walked to The Globe which although it was 12.15 appeared to be closed. As it was early we decided to continue the walk and try the pub in a later village.

We left the Ivanhoe Way and walked down a footpath between houses and into a field of sheep. The ram was particularly interested and was starting to come closer as we got to the stile (all his ladies had run in the opposite direction). We continued through large areas of National Forest. These plantations of small sapplings, did not seem to be very diverse as the majority of the trees were oak. As the latest fungal disease to hit oak trees has been sighted in Leicestershire it seems a bit short-sighted to have an almost mono-culture. We climbed the hill towards the church at Swepstone and then headed down the road towards Newton Burgoland. The fields here were particularly wet and boggy and we had to cross a large field full of charolais? bullocks. They had a look at us but then continued grazing. We arrived at Newton Burgoland and diverted off to the Belper Arms for lunch- a baguette and very good glass of Hobgoblin. We didn't want to leave as it was so warm and cosy but it was getting late so reluctantly we set off to walk the last 2 km. We followed a footpath past a large pond with lots of geese - possibly being prepared for christmas, and then through a field of dairy cows, through the very boggy area beside the stile and out onto the very muddy lane towards Shackerstone. We got back to the car at about 3.30pm having walked about 13.5 km.

Leicestershire Round: Ashby Folville to Burrough Hill

Saturday 18th October 2008
Today was bright and sunny so we set off to do the final section of the Leicestershire Round. We parked in Ashby Folville and set off up the road to join the LR. We climbed the stile into the first field to be encountered by a huge bull standing beside the path. He was much more interested in his lunch than us. As we climbed the slope we saw his family, a few cows with very young calves. We continued across the fields and under a bridge over the disused railway line and continued into Thorpe Satchville. There was a lovely church here but it was locked so we couldn't look around. From Thorpe Satchville we followed along Baker Lane towards Burrough on the Hill. We crossed onto a ploughed field and followed the track up the hill to Burrough Hillfort. This was where we had started this walk on 22nd August 2007. We walked along the ramparts to do a complete lap of the fort and then retraced our steps down and back to the Leicestershire Round. We walked across the fields and up to the road leading to Burrough on the Hill. We had a nice lunch in the Stag and Hounds and then left to walk towards Twyford. As we walked along the road a man came out of his house and asked us if we wanted some apples. He picked 4 lovely apples from his tree and gave them to us to munch on the way. They were lovely and sweet and juicy with pink flesh. The field towards Twyford was very difficult as it had been ploughed and was very uneven under foot. From Twyford we walked along the river through lots of fields full of sheep and headed back to Ashby Folville. It felt like quite an achievement to have finished the LR. We walked 15.7 km today and the whole walk had been 392km walked in 28 stages.

Linton, Derbyshire, From Beer to Eternity cache walk

Thursday 16th October 2008
We drove to Linton, just inside Derbyshire to do a walk and hunt for a series of geocaches based on Breweries. We parked near Bee Hive fishing lakes and set off for our walk. The first cache was found as we reached the first stile for our walk. We climbed the stile into a field which had only just been planted with rape plants. The footpath had not been reinstated but there was the beginning of a trail of footprints so we followed that across several fields to the edge of a patch of woodland. The stile here was in a dangerous condition and collapsed as we tried to climb over. Luckily there was a very stiff and heavy gate next to it so we were able to continue. We walked beside some farm buildings with lots of large containers outside. We saw that each one had a run attached and contained a young calf. We continued walking through several new areas of National Forest. Top wood and Potters wood were quite advanced, with the trees being about 10 years old. We sat for a while beside a trig point on the top of the hill where we had a snack and then diverted off from the walk to find a cache. The diversion was very wet and the fields were squelchy but we found the cache and retraced our steps back to our route. We continued walking through the woodland which was lovely –it was a bright sunny day, with just a bit of a chill wind, and the colours of the trees were wonderful, especially the spindle trees with their bright pink berries. We finished the walk alongside the fishing lakes as we approached the car park. We had found 13 caches along the way and had walked 13 km.

Leicestershire Round: Gaddesby to Ashby Folville

Monday 29th September 2008
It was a nice day so we decided to do some LR. We had been hoping that this would have been the last section to finish the LR but John has not been feeling too good (he has been having problems with his back and neck again) so we cut the route down to a short one. We parked in Gaddesby and walked down the lane to join the footpath going past the church. The door was open so we went in for a look. It was a lovely light airy church with lots of clover shaped windows. It contained a very large equestrian monument which is supposedly the only one in a church in England.

We then continued along the footpath until we joined the LR, where we had last left it. We crossed several fields, one containing some bullocks, but they ignored us. Lots of the fields had been ploughed but they were not too bad to walk over as it was fairly dry. We finally emerged in Ashby Folville. We decided to return here as we didn't want to overdo it. The pub here was closed for renovation and would be opening on Saturday. We thought that was a bit long to wait so decided to walk on to the pub in the next village. We walked alongside the church and then over the fields and along a path through a narrow stretch of woodland and over a stream. We crossed the driveway of a country house and then passed into a field full of cows which were all huddled close to the stile. We bravely walked through the field and managed to get over the stile where we walked into Blaseby. Here we sat on a wall to look at the map and the local postman stopped and told us the way. He was very friendly and looked a little like Billy Bunter! The pub here was now a building site. We carried on walking over fields full of sheep back towards Gaddesby. We finished the walk by passing under a long avenue of oak trees where we found that the pub did not open on Mondays, so it was back to the car for an apple before going home. We only walked 6 km but it was enough.

Abbot's Bromley Horn Dance

Thursday 4th September to Tuesday 8th September


Several years ago we did a walk around the area of Abbots Bromley and on visiting the church and pub we discovered the Horn Dance. We promised ourselves that we would return one year to see this annual event.
http://www.abbotsbromley.com/horn_dance

Having noticed that the Folk Dance and Song group of the Camping and Caravanning Club were holding a rally to coincide with this event we hitched up the caravan and set off to join them at Little Dunstall farm.

It was pouring with rain when we arrived but after a warm welcome from the other caravanners who had already arrived we set up the caravan and then when the sun came out we set off for a walk around Blithfield reservoir.

That was almost the last of the sun for the next few days as it poured with rain on Friday, Saturday and sunday morning. We did attempt a walk along the canals at Great heyward but after a few miles the heavens opened again and we abandoned the walk.

On sunday afternoon it dried up a little and we went for a short walk on Cannock Chase. It was very pleasant but from the top of the hills we could see how flooded the surrounding area was following the rain on the previous days. The Trent had burst its banks and several roads were closed.

On the morning of the Horn Dance (the first Monday following the First Sunday after the 4th September) my alarm did not go off but we woke at 6.20 and quickly got dressed and left to walk to Abbot's Bromley. We arrived just in time for Holy Communion and at 7.30 the villagers arrived to collect the horns which were blessed. These are 6 pairs of 1000 year old reindeer horns. The horns are worn by 6 villagers and are accompanied by Robin Hood (about 8 years old), Maid Marion -rather masculine looking, a Fool complete with pigs bladder, a young lad beating time on a triangle, a hobby horse and some musicians. We watched the start of the horn dance outside the church and followed them through the town for a while. Bacon sarnies in the church house then called so we popped in for breakfast. We walked back to the caravan while the rest of the Horn dancers walked around the village boundaries. At 12.15 we walked up to Little Dunstall farm where we were entertained by the Folk group while waiting for the Horn dancers to arrive. The farmer had provided hot pork rolls with apple sauce and hot punch which was very nice. The Horn dancers arrived at about 1.30pm and performed their dances on the farm lawn. They left after about 30 minutes to continue their walk round the area. We returned to the caravan for a cup of tea and then at 5.30 we walked back to Abbots Bromley where we watched clog dancers and Morris men until the horns arrived back after a 10 mile walk. We went to see the horns replaced in the church and then walked back to the caravan in the dark.
Luckily it had stayed dry all day unlike Tuesday morning when it was pouring with rain again as we packed up to go home.

Leicestershire Round: Rotherby to Gaddesby.

Saturday 23rd August 2008
It was a lovely day so we set off for possibly our penultimate LR walk.

We parked in Rotherby and set off along the footpath. I was a little nervous of this walk after the man we met last time having told us about the boisterous cows at Frisby. The first field we came to contained a herd of bullock. I was quite nervous but after an initial look they ignored us. We then walked through a field of dairy cows who also ignored us.

We then continued on a pleasant walk through rough pasture until we emerged at Frisby. Walking through the village we saw a thatched cottage with unusual roofing material - its roof was covered in tarpaulin and tyres! After Frisby we walked through another large field with more bullocks - also uninterested in us.

Having got beyond Frisby I thought we were safe. In the next field we met a bunch of walkers having lunch and it turned out they were doing the same walk as us but the other way round. They told us of a bull in a field beyond Gaddesby, so not safe after all.

We walked through Gaddesby and stopped at the Cheyney Arms for lunch. We set off again having left the LR and now walking on the Midshires way. We had been walking for about 30 minutes when I realised that I had left my walking pole behind in the pub. We decided to finish the walk and go back by car rather than retracing our steps. We followed a good path through cereal crops to Brooksby college. To my horror we were back at the same field as the other day - the one with the stroppy bullocks in. They came very close to look and snort as I stood on the other side of the cattle grid. Eventually I plucked up courage and walked across the grid. We walked along the path and they started to come closer but as we walked through they lost interest -phew. We got back to the car and then set off for Gaddesby where luckily my pole was still where I left it.

Leicestershire Round: Cossington to Rearsby to Rotherby

I realise after posting this draft that a section of the Leicestershire Round was missing.

So I will slip it in here.

Tuesday 22nd July 2008

Leicestershire Round Cossington to Rearsby
The forecast was good so we drove to Cossington to do section of the LR. As we drove through Oaks in Charnwood we only just missed hitting a buzzard that flew in front of the car.

We walked along Bennets Lane in Cossington and over the railway bridge where a trainspotter was standing taking photos of all the trains passing underneath. We then walked along an uninspiring lane which became a track for about a mile.

We walked past Ratcliffe college, a private catholic school and left the lane at a signpost pointing into the school grounds. It seemed a bit strange wandering over their football pitches and wondered what it would have been like during termtime. The exit path was through a small gap in the hedge but the signpost had been knocked down, so we missed it at first; you would have thought that good school security would have wanted strangers sticking to a well signed footpath and not wandering around looking for the way out.

The path led through a field to the busy A46 which we carefully crossed and then walked through a well marked wheatfield and some sheep pasture onto a lane which we followed to Rearsby mill. Past the mill we headed along a green lane through a housing estate and past a nice packhorse bridge where we left the LR. We had lunch at "The Wheel" and then followed the road to a footpath across a meadow with horses on it. We were surprised to notice that the house numbers on the road through Rearsby were nearly up to 2000, which seemed odd for a small village.

The footpath emerged onto the road at East Goscote where we crossed over a bridge over the river Wreake where we watched shoals of fish. Further up the road we passed into some woodland beside a golfcourse. The path was very overgrown and although by the river was not pleasant. The path became very narrow and sloping and encroached by nettles and brambles and there was no wildlife on the river. We eventually emerged on the edge of a large wheatfield. Although there were footpath signs there was no way through the field. A lady with a dog told us if we followed the field boundary we would come to a underpass under the A46. We followed round the edge and under the pass into another wheatfield with a path signpost but a very overgrown field boundary. The proper footpath across the field was missing but a wide track had been put in at a different position. This was full of wild wheat which made the track difficult to walk on. We eventually emerged onto a lane which we crossed and into a field of nearly ripe maize with a good path through the middle. We emerged from this field back at Cossington. 14.8km.

Wednesday 20th August 2008

Rearsby to Rotherby
Back from holiday and off for a real walk! We drove to Rearsby, parked and set off over the pack horse bridge. We headed past the church and then across an area of parkland where two men were repointing an ancient wall. As we crossed the next field we came across a sign saying a footbridge beyond was closed. We decided we should have used the footbridge and needed to look for a diversion. We walked on and met a man, walking his dog, who said work had been carried out on the bridge 6 weeks ago and that it should be ok now. The next man we met told us he didn't know if the bridge was open and then proceeded to direct us on walks all around the area but not appreciating we wanted to stay on the LR. He also warned us about the cows in Frisby who like to chase you - not a good sign for our next walk. We decided to walk on and check the bridge for ourselves and retrace our steps if necessary. We came to the bridge and it looked open so we crossed it. Then over the next bridge and round the corner to find the path taped and warning people from that side that the bridge we had just crossed was unsafe! There was no point turning back now and recrossing the "unsafe" bridge so we ducked under the tape and continued our walk.




We walked across fields and eventually arrived at Hoby where we looked around the church. It had a highly decorated and carved rood screen and beautifully painted ceiling arches.
View from Rotherby to Hoby

We went into the Blue Bell for lunch and then walked across more fields to Rotherby. Many of the fields have now been harvested but a few still have standing crops of wheat and barley. From Rotherby we walked along the road and across a cattle grid. Whilst walking across this field John startled a hare who raced away from us, and then we attracted the attention of a large herd of bullocks. We spotted the stile and hastened towards it with the bullocks getting more boisterous and snorting. We quickly got over the stile and relaxed while the bullocksgalred at us from the the side of the fence! We walked through Brooksby agricultural college and followed the track through more fields until we arrived back in Rearsby. 12 km.