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.

Mini Northern tour -Last Stage

Halsall, Southport Friday 15th August to Monday 18th August.

We had a long drive to Halsall, the idea being that it would break our journey home from Edinburgh. The Temporary Holiday site was in a school playground and was run by North West folk group.

Saturday 16th August 2008
As we hadn't done much proper walking over this holiday we decided it was time for a walk. We drove to Formby to do a walk along the coast and parked at a NT car park adjacent to a nature reserve. We walked into the forest and saw several red squirrels. We ended up sitting on a log for about an hour watching them with one coming to within about 3 ft of us. They have had an outbreak of squirrel pox virus in the reserve and the population of squirrels has fallen by about 2/3rds, from 250 but it was lovely watching a few scampering about. We abandoned our walk after that and sat on the beach instead.

Sunday 17th August 2008

It was a bit rainy but we decided to go to Crosby to see the Antony Gormley installation called "Another Place". We parked on the sea front at high tide and could just see a few iron heads sticking out of the water. We walked along the esplanade as the tide was going out and the iron men slowly became more visible. There are about 85 of them along a 3km stretch of coast. We walked to the end of the beach and then back again, stopping at a leisure centre for a cup of coffee.

Mini Northern Tour -Part 3

Edinburgh.
Leaving Beadnell Bay was a bit tricky as several caravans had to be towed off as it had been so wet but John managed to keep going and got to the dry section. We had a steady journey to Edinburgh and arrived after about 2 hours. The site was not so pretty this time being on the Royal Showground next to the airport but did have the advantage of being close to the Park and Ride into Edinburgh and thus another city based break.

Several days were spent walking up and down the Royal Mile, watching street performers and solving clues for geocaches which again led us to some interesting places including a secluded garden and the grave of GreyFriars Bobby.

We had a nice afternoon walking up to Arthurs seat which gave wonderful views across the Firth of Forth.

We were also lucky enough to get tickets for the tattoo which was a good experience.

Mini Northern Tour : Part 2

Part 2: Beadnell Bay, Northumbria

We set off from York and headed towards Beadnell Bay in Northumbria. It was sunny when we arrived but had been very wet so the field was a bit boggy in places. The Temporary Holiday site was about 100 m from the sea, so after some tea we went for a walk on the beach as the sun went down.

Tuesday 5th August 2008
We decided on a walk today as even after all our walks around York city we felt as though we hadn't done a proper walk for ages. We drove to Newton by the Sea and then walked towards the sea and set off along the coast path. We walked beside a golf links and despite getting a little lost we soon found the path towards Embleton and then towards Dunstan Staith where I had a spectacular tumble. I somersaulted down the road ending up sitting in a puddle and having grazed my knee and elbow but luckily had not broken anything. We continued along a farm track passing a war-time pill box which was still in good condition. When we got to Dunstan Staith we turned off the track and headed up the Heughs which was a gorse covered escarpment with good views of Dunstanburgh castle from the top. We followed the top of the Heughs past the war-time radar station towards Craster where we followed the coast path towards Dunstanburgh castle which we looked round using our NT cards. As we were looking round the castle the mist came down and visibility shrunk to about 100m. We could not see the tower on one side of the castle. As we left the castle we found a geocache and then continued along the coast path towards Embleton bay. We walked on the beach back to Newton by Sea.

Friday 8th August 2008

After several days of wet weather where we didn't do much except sit and read in the caravan it finally dried up overnight, so we set off for a walk. We drove to Belford and then walked along the road,down a lane and over a bridge above a very full and fast flowing brook. A field edge footpath was followed past West Hall farm which was like a small castellated castle and towards Swinhoe farm where a lady was giving riding lessons. After the farm we followed the track past Dicks Old Walls (2 stone buildings) and then towards a plantation where we saw a buzzard flying overhead. We followed the perimeter of the plantation with good views to the Cheviots, and we came across some wonderful rock formations called the Singing Hinnies. Whilst looking for a geocache in the Hinnies a RAF fighter flew low and directly overhead. We then continued through the plantation until we came to St Cuthberts cave which was quite impressive.

We walked round and over the cave and through the field beyond to the mound with a cairn on the top. We then followed St Cuthberts Way, through a field with lots of cows, which behaved very well despite making a lot of noise. Our return route was through woodland, seeing lots of chaffinches and yellowhammers. We arrived back at Swinhoe farm and then followed a different route through woods and grassland back to Belford. On the way back to Banburgh we stopped to find a geocache. We walked through a gate, round some rough meadow, climbed a rock outcrop and headed towards some engineering equipment. It turned out to be a wartime bunker and it was possible to go down about 8 m via a ladder to a room below but we chickened out as the hatch lid was a bit rickety and we didn't want to get stuck! We found the cache though.

We finally headed to Seahouses for fish and chips which were eaten sitting on the harbour wall, whilst we watched the tide come in.

Sunday 10th August 2008
It rained all night but was quite bright when we got up so decided on a walk along the coast. We walked towards Beadnell and followed the coast path through a large static caravan park and then onto the dunes. We crossed a narrow bridge over a river and then followed the coast path all the way to Newton by Sea. It was a nice walk across the heath with lots of wild flowers and caterpillars but no sea view. We diverted to walk round the headland and pick up a geocache - and then walked to the pub at Newton, The Ship where we had the best crab sandwiches We've ever had and a couple of pints Dolly Daydream for John and Sandcastles at dawn for me (the pub had its own micro-brewery). There were a couple of bands playing so we sat and listened for an hour and then set off back. We walked back along the coast path but this time after crossing the river we headed down onto the beach and walked along the sand back to Beadnell.

Our mini Northern tour! Part 1

York

Wednesday 30th July - Monday 4th August 2008

We set off on an extend multi-site holiday which started with a Camping and Caravanning Club temporary holiday site at York. The site was on a rugby field which was a 15 minute riverside walk from the city. As we were so close we spent most our stay walking into the city and exploring by doing multi -geocaches which led us to many areas and points of interest that we would not normally have found. One directed us to look for the pig bricks in Swingate, which were quite difficult to spot but once we had our eyes in we found six.

Friday 1st August 2008
We decided on a walk round the city walls which were well preserved and were quite high above the rest of the city giving good views. We had lunch at a coffee house at Walmgate which was an Elizabethan building above the city gate. It was quite nice, full of leather armchairs and a religious library. We finished the wall walk (2miles) and then finished a geocache that we had started yesterday. It was a good walk round and quite fun following in the footsteps of Walter de Gray. Again this walk led us to many places that we would not have spotted - including the area where the Minster stonemasons and lead window manufacturers work.