Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Having recently completed The Leicestershire Round I thought that I would put into words my reflections on that journey.

The Leicestershire Round is a 100-mile walking tour around Leicestershire, devised in 1987 by the Leicestershire Footpath Association to celebrate the Associations centenary.

My journey began back in August 2024 at the start point in a misty Bradgate park. Amigo Mick and I were looking forward to the challenge.

I definitely remember having a sense of embarking on a journey. Given that it was August you will be forgiven for expecting fine weather when, in fact, the opposite was the case. There again, it was a wet summer last year.

We were going to be walking the route in stages which involved using two cars. We parked a car at the beginning and end of each section that we were walking. As we progressed around the route the business of having a lot of driving, plus trying to locate suitable parking became a challenge in itself. Parking near churches we found to be useful.

I only had one issue with parking and that was in Bagworth where I had initially parked in the Community Centre car park only to be told by an irate lady that I had no right to park there. My memory of Bagworth will be forever tainted with this unfriendly incident.

I think we managed 5 legs of the walk before the weather was too bad with winter looming. At this stage we had had enough of muddy walks.

Burrough Hill, and the remains of an iron age fort, should have been a good view point with plenty of photo opportunities, but the day we did it, it was misty again.

In general, the route was very well signposted. However, relying on signposts is not good in misty weather when they cannot be seen across a field! 😊

I recall walking through a VERY muddy Owston Woods – this was a particular low point on the walk. Progress was slow with wet feet and risk of slipping over.

Let no one tell you that Leicestershire is a flat county. The first few sections that we walked had plenty of up!

It was a real joy passing through numerous small and beautiful villages whilst walking the Round. Who knew that so many existed.

Finding a very old Packhorse bridge in Rearsby was a delight.

In November I recall we had a walk on a rare day without rain, although it was still muddy.

On the Round we came across The Tenth Battalion Trail and learnt about the areas history with the Parachute Regiment as a consequence. It was nice to delve into the history.

We took a break from the Round over winter and resumed in the spring. Who would have predicted that we would have such a long dry and sunny spring. It’s been wonderful. The blossom was been spectacular. The muddy, gloomy, wet walks of last year were replaced by sunny, dry walks and we made hay whilst the sun shone, knocking off all of the remaining legs.

Walking up Foston Locks on a sunny day was a particular highlight for me – a canal lover.

Visiting the Ashby canal was also a highlight.

Unexpected bonuses were finding out that The Battlefield Line heritage railway existed and that there is a good heritage museum at Boswell Field.

I think the walk was a voyage of discovery where we explored territory new to us. I realised how little I knew about areas close to where I live and it was a good feeling to be exposed to new experiences.

It was great walk to do and rekindled my desire to do more longer distance trails.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶