Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today myself and Angela did a 9.7 mile circular walk from Hickling to Hose across fields and returning along the Grantham canal. We did a slight detour from Hickling visiting the high spot of Hickling Standard to see what the view was like.

It was a cloudy, blustery day but mild at 12 Deg C – much milder than the very cold February to date.

We parked by the canal basin and the converted warehouse which is now a popular café called ‘The Old Wharf’.

Mr and Mrs Duck were having a domestic and there seemed to be a lot of squabbling going on😊. Walking through the village we admired the village hall which used to be the school before it closed in 1966.

Leaving the village we followed the footpath up a gradual hill – Hickling Standard. The path was quite boggy and it got worse – a sign of things to come! Reaching the top we took in the extensive view and then headed down via a different path to avoid the treacherously, slippery, muddy path by which we had ascended.

Thankfully, our new path down was relatively mud free and brought us back into Hickling. Leaving Hickling our next section of the walk was roughly 3.5 miles across, what turned out to be, very muddy fields. The fact that horse riders clearly use some of the route did not help with the condition of the path. We did not enjoy the muddy fields – it makes walking slow and tricky. On this section we crossed over the small river Smite which forms the Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire county boundary.

We were glad to reach the village of Hose and take a much needed break, by the church of St Michael & All Angels.

There was a some nice brickwork at a workshop close to our coffee stop. The Farrier theme continued with the village sign.

After a walk through Hose we took a short section of road to reach the Grantham Canal.

Here we joined the towpath which, we rejoiced, was mud free. The canal is a restoration project so currently there are long sections covered in weed.

It was great to be walking along solid footpath and we were able to stretch our legs. As per usual there were very few people using the towpath. We had the odd brief shower so we were pleased to avoid heavier rain. We passed a couple of nice swing bridges.

One of my favourite bridges was next – the restored Clark’s bridge. The plaque beside the bridge gives a nice pictorial view of how it would have looked back in the day.

Slightly further along we passed the restored Lengthsman’s hut. It gives us a good idea of an old canal building where a Lengthsman (responsible for looking after a section of canal) could take a rest and shelter from the elements.

Continuing along the towpath we arrived at Hickling basin which was considerably busier that when we had left it.

So, it was a walk of two halves. The first half across horrendously muddy fields – I think that it will be some time before I am able to persuade Angela to do any more field walking ! The second half was lovely along the peaceful Grantham canal and a nice dry towpath.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶