Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Summer has finally arrived and I was looking forward to going out walking early this morning on a familiar 8-mile circular route taking in The Grantham Canal, Denton Reservoir and the old Ironstone Railway track.

I parked on the road next to The Dirty Duck pub at Woolsthorpe by Belvoir and set off following the towpath past locks 17 & 18. The Grantham Canal Society ‘Three Shires’ cruise boat was moored close to lock 18.

The sun was warm on my face and the towpath was clear – wonderful!

I was soon passing under Longmoor bridge which is a fine example of a skew bridge – the bridge does not sit at 90 degrees to the canal and the brick courses under the arch are skewed which gives the bridge greater strength. There are also slots in the roof to allow bats to roost.

Next up was my favourite bridge along the canal- the Casthorpe bridle bridge. I think I like it because it reminds me of the Mathematical Bridge at Cambridge.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_Bridge

As I walked further along I spotted a ‘weed-berg’ floating on the surface of the canal – these could get wrapped around the prop of a canal boat and are best avoided.

I passed four groups of Duke of Edinburgh award students navigating their way along the canal.

As I neared Harlaxton the vegetation along the towpath was crowding in and the sense of openness I had felt earlier on the walk disappeared.

I left the canal at Harlaxton bridge, peering into the murky waters of the canal as I crossed.

A nice walk across fields (I remember the same fields in spring being sodden with mud) brought me to the open expanse of Denton Reservoir – built to supply water (it has a capacity of 60 million gallons) to the canal.

I sat for a break taking in the quiet and the view. Anglers could be seen dotted around the outside of the reservoir.

Leaving the reservoir I passed through the village of Denton and headed up the road to pick up the dismantled track of the former Ironstone railway by a bridge.

It was a nice walk along the track, partially in the shade and no one to be seen.

Passing through the support pillars of a dismantled railway bridge I picked up the Viking Way which brought me back to the canal.

A short walk along the canal brought me back to the car and the end of todays walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️