Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

The UK is experiencing its third heatwave of the summer. With this in mind, the Three Amigos agreed to do a local walk and start early to avoid the heat as much as possible. I arose from my slumber at 05:00, briefly listening to the birds singing in the garden. It had been a hot night and the house was still hot from the retained heat.

I sense that the climate is changing more quickly than predicted – each season bringing extremes and new records are set. There is no normal anymore! Where will it all end I ask myself. In this country we are not geared up for such hot weather and there seems little acknowledgement of the changing climate e.g. we continue to build houses that are designed to retain heat.

Mick and Chris were already at our meeting point when I arrived at 06:15 and without further ado we set off following the Grantham Canal towpath.

Most of the way on this stretch the canal cannot be seen because of the growth of weeds and reeds, however, in one clear section we spotted two swans with their cygnets which was wonderful.

After walking along the canal we turned off and followed a farm track. The adjacent fields looked ready for harvesting – crops are ready early this year because of the previous two heatwaves.

Shortly, we reached a road and then had an uphill walk towards Belvoir Castle. The road had recently had a coating of tar / chippings and was subject to a speed restriction. This was very clearly being ignored and as the cars flew past chippings went sailing up into the air in all directions. You would think drivers would be more considerate? Having reached the top of the hill we took a break in the Belvoir Castle Retail Outlet called The Engine Yard. There was a nice Eagle sculpture there.

There was also an impressive horse sculpture attached to a Gypsy caravan.

Chris wondered why the retail area was called The Engine Yard. Well, built around 1812, the original yard featured a 20-ton steam engine used to pump water from the Holwell Spring in Woolsthorpe, a mile away, to Belvoir Castle. The engine powered the saws and forges in the workshops too.

After our break we continued on passing two horse riders (we had also met a third earlier on the walk) and exchanged greetings. We had distant views across the Vale of Belvoir.

We had a nice view of the Castle as we walked firstly, along a track, and then through fields to take us into Woolsthorpe village.

Wheat in these fields looked ready for harvesting too.

The temperature was rising quite quickly at this stage and we had a hill climb to do. Mick pointed out that we should have done the walk in reverse, which, given the weather would have been a good idea! Chris, relishing the challenge charged up the hill in one take and then waited for the two moderate walkers to arrive.

A short section through woods – thankfully not overgrown- and a field crossing brought us to the Viking Way and a downhill section to the canal. A cheer went up as we started to descent.

After an easy descent we reached the canal. The canal is rich in fish and these could be seen swimming as we crossed over the bridge to reach the towpath.

A walk along the towpath brought us to the cars – it was only 09:40, so it definitely had been a good idea to start early on our 8.2-mile circular walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶