Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today Mick and I enjoyed a 10-mile circular walk from Manthorpe Chase which took us through Belton village, Syston, Barkston Heath, Barkston and Great Gonerby.

It was quite a sunny, but chilly, morning as we set off early crossing Belton Woods Golf Course, part of the 4- star hotel, spa and golf resort. http://www.beltonwoods.co.uk/

We had a quick chat with a golfer who was looking for his missing golf ball, and he told us he had been playing for an hour – so he was a very early bird!

Exiting the grounds we crossed the busy A607 and walked into the lovely village of Belton where the National Trust property Belton House resides.

On this occasion we did not go into the estate but walked through the village. If you are in the area it is well worth a visit. We passed a nice stone monument, unfortunately there was no information written on it to say why it was there.

Belton House was previously owned by the Brownlow family and the greyhound is part of the family crest. We spotted a greyhound above a cottage door in the village.

Historically, greyhounds were used by Royalty and Nobility for hunting and in the Middle Ages they were a status symbol, with laws forbidding commoners from owning them.

Leaving Belton village we walked towards Syston and up a road towards a large Auto company called ‘Autocraft Solutions Group’. In WW2 the factory was used to manufacture bullets. Just before the security gate we turned left and followed a track adjacent to an old wall.

The wall was part of what was once Syston Park Hall. Built in 1775 for Sir John Thorold the hall was demolished in 1928.

We followed the path uphill emerging beside a splendid white house.

Continuing on the track it became a road and shortly we arrived at RAF Barkston Heath. This is an active military airfield currently serving as a relief landing ground for RAF Cranwell. It now hosts the Joint Elementary Flying school, training student pilots. As we stood peering into the airfield we could see a security vehicle heading our way. It turned out it was moving a herd of deer that was wandering around. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/spotting/barkston-heath.php

As we were walking away from the airfield we were privileged to see two planes successively coming in to land.

We followed Heath Lane track along the edge of the old grounds of Syston Park Hall.

It is interesting to note that in 1906 Sir John Thorold (not the original!), a motorsports enthusiast, held a hill climb at Syston Park. We would shortly be headed down this hill – Minnetts hill. In 1926 a circuit was created from the estate road. Soon, it became a Grand Prix venue attracting crowds of up to 30,000 people. It is amazing to learn the history in areas you walk through.

After a nice stroll downhill – I was glad we were not going the other way around – we arrived into Barkston village, passing the church and war memorial.

Walking on we reached a picnic area adjacent to the River Witham – here we stopped for a break, and I had my much needed scotch egg.

Following our break we resumed by walking along the bank of the tranquil and meandering River Witham.

We came across a sign and wondered what it was about – it became clear upon reading. We could see the mink trap close to the bank.

Leaving the river we followed paths/tracks across open arable farmland. It was turning out to be a lovely day.

We headed upwards and were aiming for the top of Peascliffe tunnel, through which, runs the East Coast main line railway. When the line was being planned, the then Lord Brownlow insisted that he did not want to see trains running through his land – hence the tunnel.

We could hear the trains passing under us as we walked above the tunnel. We passed a pepper pot shaped ventilation shaft, designed to let fumes escape from the tunnel.

Finally, we arrived into Great Gonerby and followed a nice path downhill to Manthorpe Chase. There were quite a few stiles in this section but we were on the home stretch.

Happy Walking!😊🚶