My Walking Journeys

Newbald Wold – a 6 mile circular walk.

Mar 24th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Todays walk was found in the Ordnance Survey book ‘Vale of York and Yorkshire Wolds -outstanding circular walks’. It would take me through Newbald Wold, give me views of the Vale of York and a glimpse into Swin Dale.

The day was sunny but chilly with a biting wind when I arrived in North Newbald and parked close to the village green.

The village green

I set off passing the Norman church of St Nicholas which was described by Pevsner as the ‘most complete Norman church in the East Riding’.

The church of St Nicholas

The village hall looked impressive as I walked past.

The village Hall

I found my way out of the village (which can sometimes be troublesome) and headed up a tarmac road with views back to Newbald.

The road out of Newbald

Reaching the crest of the hill I headed along the side of a field by a path which eventually headed downhill. There were a few village dog walkers about enjoying the sun but not the wind!

I walked into the wold along the dry valley bottom.

Arriving into the Wold.

This particular Wold is not as spectacular as other ones I know e.g Thixendale, but as I wandered along I became lost in my thoughts. I am in the habit now of using the voice memo app on my phone to capture inspirational thoughts because they have a habit of disappearing quite quickly!

I noticed large wind turbines in the distance and it wasn’t long before I was passing close to them. I hadn’t realised quite how noisy they are – before I got close I thought the noise was from a plane overhead.

Noisy wind turbine

Leaving the Wold I walked up an incline to join The Yorkshire Wolds Way.

Heading to join The Yorkshire Wolds Way

On the Wolds Way I walked by some more wind turbines – its an ideal place for them because it is very windy here. There were views across the Vale of York in the distance.

More wind turbines

The Wolds way took me on a path steadily upwards to reach the high point marked by a trig point which has been adopted by a local walking group.

A little further there was a bench which I made use of for a cuppa. it had a lovely view, so I sat in the sun enjoying the moment.

The Wolds Way continued downhill.

On the Yorkshire Wolds Way

After a while I entered Swin Dale. A freshly ploughed field lay to my right which I crossed ( it was dry!) and entered the woods. The path rose through the woods to another field.

Swin Dale

Heading across the field to the woods

Up through the woods I go

After crossing the field I reached a road which took me back to the village.

Heading back to Newbald.

It had been a lovely little walk – plenty of undulation to make things interesting.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A 10 mile circular walk from Hotham.

Mar 23rd, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Todays walk began on a sunny day, however, a bitterly cold wind made it unpleasant when walking into the wind. Just when we thought spring had arrived, with temperatures rising, Mother Nature had a surprise for us!

Hotham is a pretty village situated on a Jurassic escarpment between the Yorkshire Wolds to the east and the Vale of York to the west.

I headed out the village along a tree lined tarmac road.

War memorial in Hotham

Leaving Hotham

Dropping down from Hotham Hill I continued along tarmac road till I hit a bridleway into which I turned. I passed a farm called ‘Windy Acres’ – given the amount of wind about I thought that it was aptly named.

Bridleway through open fields

Bridleway through a small wood

It was nice walking on the bridleway – dry and mud free. This soon led to a farm track and I joined this passing arable farmland along the way.

Farm track

Farm track

I had not met a soul so far. I was walking with a drainage ditch on my right and I found the route taking me over a cute bridge – far too grand for a drainage ditch!

The grand bridge

As I followed my route I came to a waterway that looked suspiciously like a disused canal. I hadn’t realised that there was one in the area. I am a canal enthusiast.

The canal

I turned right and followed the path beside the canal. After a while I came to a old lock that had a bench nearby so I stopped for a much needed cuppa.

My stop by the lock

It turns out that the canal was the old Market Weighton canal and I was on part of the 11.5 mile walking trail from Market Weighton to Weighton Lock at the river Humber. https://www.mwct.org.uk/history/explore-the-rich-history-of-the-canal-and-surrounding-regions

I particularly enjoyed this section of the walk – it is nice to come across something unexpected. Leaving the canal I followed my route to a field but found myself unable to follow it because the field was bog.

The boggy marshland

I found my way around it and then had a number of challenges with locked gates, flooding and poor sign posting. It was getting quite stressful and not such a straight forward walk as I had hoped.

Eventually however, I was making progress and was walking in easier territory with nice views of the Wold’s in the distance.

Wolds in the distance

I passed a field of oil-seed rape that was beginning to flower – that’s early?

Early blooming oil-seed rape

I was soon entering back into the village, passing the church.

The church in Hotham

I was glad to get indoors and warm up. I was pleased that it didn’t rain and chuffed to have seen the canal.

Happy Walking😊🚶‍♂️
A 9- mile scenic walk near the former Clipstone colliery, Nottinghamshire.

Mar 19th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today’s lovely 9 mile circular walk began in Vicar Water Country Park which was once part of Clipstone Park, a popular royal hunting retreat set deep within Sherwood Forest.

Vicar Water Country Park was created in the 1980’s from the spoil mounds of the former Clipstone Colliery and Vicar Ponds, a fishery that served the nearby Welbeck Abbey estate of the Dukes of Portland.

Passing the former colliery winding heads at Clipstone

As myself and Mick were driving to the Country Park the rain was chucking it down. Thankfully, it had stopped by the time we parked up the car.

Setting off we walked beside Vicar Pond and a striking sculpture of a golden hand.

Vicar Pond and local residents

The Golden Hand sculpture

There were quite a few anglers around the pond which was going to prove a theme for the day when, later on, we passed other ponds on this walk – there was competition fishing going on.

We followed a good path towards the village of Kings Clipstone passing the old colliery workings. We could see the remains of the former grand hunting lodge, King Johns Palace, named after the Plantagenet king and nemesis of the legendary local hero Robin Hood.

On our way to Kings Clipstone

Clipstone colliery

Portrait of the Kings palace

Walking through the village we spotted a handy bench and decided to have a quick coffee stop.

Coffee stop in Kings Clipstone

Leaving the village on a tarmac road (squires lane) we passed a grand house – Cavendish Lodge – that had some intriguing old wooden horse carriages in the stables.

On the way to Cavendish Lodge

Cavendish Lodge

The wooden carriages

The sun was shining and it was warming up – Mick removed a layer to cool down. It was so nice to feel spring in the air!

Our path next took us through Cavendish wood towards the river Maun.

Walking through Cavendish Wood

The river Maun

Arriving at the river we found a sign telling us that the footpath ahead was closed. We wondered why? After consulting the map we retraced our steps through the wood and found an alternative route around the restriction joining the river Maun once again.

We met a couple of walkers and asked them why the path was closed -apparently a storm last year had washed the path away.

Walking along the path the river was on our left and large ponds on our right. The banks of one pond was lined with Anglers. I asked if there was a competition on and an angler replied yes – that would explain the serious looking faces!

Fishing ponds

Our walk next took us up a hill ( We could hear Chris, who was missing this walk, saying ‘I am just saying – there is a lot of up on this walk!’ and myself and Mick smiled to ourselves) where we walked along a path with the river Maun visible below nestled beside the lush green wood.

Along the path we go

We stopped for another cuppa taking in the view before heading off towards Spa Ponds Country park. We headed downhill, crossed the river Maun and then headed uphill again through Spa Ponds Country Park.

Spa Ponds Country Park

There were numerous paths through the park but thankfully we didn’t get lost😊 . Leaving the park we walked through Clipstone village towards our final destination.

Navigating was again tricky but we eventually found the path that we wanted and it took us up a hill towards a couple of viewpoints where we could see the pit winding heads clearly in the distance.

The gorse was a joyful yellow, flowering brightly beside the path and we were getting nice forest views. It was great to see butterflies enjoying the sun. Spring has definitely arrived.

View from the hilltop

Descending from the hill we soon reached the carpark and the end of today’s journey.

It had been a lovely walk in the sun and no mud!

Happy Walking ! 😊🚶‍♂️
The Three Amigo’s walk along Lincoln Edge.

Mar 13th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today ‘The Three Amigo’s’ did a 9.6 mile circular walk starting at the Lincolnshire village of Wellingore and visiting Navenby, Boothby Graffoe and Coleby. These attractive villages lie along the three mile limestone ridge of Lincoln Edge.

The route descends from the ridge at Navenby, continues across fields at its foot, climbs back up to it at Coleby and then follows the Viking Way along the ridge back to the start. There were extensive views west from the ridge across the plain of the river Trent.

It was a relatively mild and breezy morning when we met in the car park of Wellingore Memorial Hall. We were anticipating a muddy walk because we have had a few days of continuous rain. Gaiters were donned. Leaving the car park we were soon walking along the slippery, muddy footpath along the ridge.

Leaving Wellingore along the ridge heading towards Navenby

A loud plane could be heard and then, suddenly, WOOSH, four planes swept past – it was part of the Red Arrows display team 😊. They are based in Lincolnshire and were obviously having a practice day. They passed us numerous times during our walk. It was great to see them!

The Red Arrows display team.

The Red Arrows

Leaving the ridge at Navenby we headed down a narrow path, passing a house displaying some old modes of transport. There was also a large very noisy dog barking at us – I was glad he was behind the wall!

Memorabilia

Path off the ridge

Reaching a tarmac road called The Smoots we followed the road along the plain. Chris was happy because we were now out of the mud and, although we did have to contend with vehicles using the road, the consensus was that this was better than slip-sliding on muddy paths. Its an unusual name for a road and I wondered where it originated?

An unusual road name

A mud free walk along a tarmac road

We crossed a bridge over a disused railway line.

The disused railway line

Soon, we were in sight of Somerton castle – built in 1281 by a bishop of Durham but only a tower survives from this medieval building which is incorporated into the present 17th century farmhouse.

Somerton castle tower

We left the tarmac road following a farm track across fields.

As we walked along there was all manner of discussions going on and the current state of the country lamented. I was navigating to ensure we were on the right side of the numerous ditches in the fields. Leaving the fields we reached a tarmac road once again.

We met the disused railway line at another bridge and stopped for a break on the bridge – there was a distinct lack of benches on this walk. Refreshed we headed up the hill towards the village of Coleby.

Heading towards Coleby

Reaching Coleby we joined the Viking Way and walked along the ridge enjoying the views and the Red Arrows!

Along the ridge we go.

Some sections of the ridge were very muddy leading Chris to exclaim ‘The mud’s not done with us yet lads’!.

Apparently, on a good day you can see Sherwood forest and the Peak District but visibility wasn’t great today.

Soon, we arrived back at the cars. We all had very muddy boots. It had been a nice walk and we could definitely feel it in our legs.

Till the next walk,

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A delightful walk!

Mar 8th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog!😊

Todays little adventure took myself, Mick and Chris from the market town of Bingham in Nottinghamshire to Radcliffe -on -Trent. From here we caught a bus back to Bingham – we all delighted in using our OAP bus passes 😊.

It was a 9 mile walk that took us past the old RAF base at Newton, through the village of Shelford and then, adjacent to the river Trent, along its banks and cliffs to reach our destination at Radcliffe.

Our route

Chris had not done this walk previously whereas myself and Mick had – in fact, it is a walk that Mick particularly likes, so he was relishing it.

Leaving Bingham we passed a group of women running followed by another, larger group, riding bikes – someone mentioned that today is International Women’s Day so maybe they were out celebrating the day?

Leaving Bingham

It was quite a chilly start but thankfully as the morning wore on the sun came out. We crossed the busy A46 via the pedestrian bridge followed soon after by a level-crossing on the railway line from Nottingham to Grantham (and beyond). We just missed two trains passing which was an indication to us that we were safe to cross.

Pedestrian bridge over the A46

We ambled on at a fairly slow pace and soon we were passing close to the former RAF base Newton with its iconic building. A competition had developed between Mick and Chris over who could tell the worst joke – Mick won hands down 😊.

Heading to Newton

Grazing sheep

Iconic building

The RAF station officially opened in July 1940 to accommodate two squadrons. It used grass as the runways. The first operational aircraft to use the airfield were Fairey Battles but soon the twin engined Vickers Wellington arrived. From July 1941 bomber aircraft were gradually moved to other bases and Newton began its new role as a training station. In particular Polish airmen serving with the RAF trained here. Later the station was used for RAF police and police dog training. Newton closed as an RAF station in March 2001.

There certainly were a lot of sheep grazing in the fields close to the former base. Next, we were off to the village of Shelford. Along the way we took a stop by a bench with a view and enjoyed a break.

Bench with a view

From our viewpoint we could see that down below the fields looked very wet so we did a detour around the worst of it and eventually arrived in Shelford

There is a very nice looking church in Shelford and, curiously, on the clock tower, the roman numerals on the clock faces for 4 are incorrect. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I seem to recall this was done by the clock maker to distinguish his work from that of others.

Passing gardens full of daffodils we headed towards the river Trent.

Atmospheric clouds

River Trent

On reaching the Trent we walked along the embankment enjoying the views of the river and headed for Radcliffe.

Along the embankment of the river Trent

We had a short uphill section to climb above the cliffs along the side the river. Chris was not looking forward to the uphill but it wasn’t as bad as he thought! Looking through the trees we could still see the river below us.

It wasn’t too long before we reached the bus stop in Radcliffe and caught the bus (they run every 10 mins which is superb) back to Bingham.

Everyone agreed that it had been a good walk and we look forward to the next. Maybe, the quality of the jokes will have improved by then? We live in hope!

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A morning walk at Dunham Massey.

Mar 3rd, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

The extremely wet weather persists here in the UK. This has unfortunately resulted in the curtailing of my walking. We have now entered meteorological spring so I am hoping for some drier weather – fingers crossed.

The forecast for today was dry so myself and Angela got out early and drove to the National Trust property at Dunham Massey close to Manchester. It was a grey chilly 2 Deg C. This is a regular haunt of ours but it can get busy.

Dunham Massey house and stables

Deer in the park

The park has numerous good paths through wooded areas so is a good place to avoid boggy footpaths.

Empty footpath at Dunham

Nice empty footpath at Dunham

Dunham Massey is also a deer park and the deer roam around freely which is nice to see. Today, there were a few joggers taking advantage of the park.

Some more Deer

Angela said ‘Can you hear that? it sounds like a woodpecker’, I replied ‘No, its not a woodpecker, that’s my teeth chattering!!’ Well, it was a cold morning😊. However, it did indeed turn out to be a woodpecker and we actually saw it high up in a tree.

Angela trying to locate the woodpecker

We saw two herons close to a pond but they flew off when we approached- unexpected but great to see. A couple of noisy geese flew over honking as they passed over.

The flying geese

The sun was burning off the cloud and blue skies were in evidence.

Barriers surround the tree trunks to protect them from the deer.

‘Time for a coffee?’ suggested Angela. ‘Most definitely’ I replied and we headed to the nice café in the main building and enjoyed a couple of large Lattes.

It had been a nice 6 mile walk and a good way to begin our day.

Happy Walking ! 😊🚶‍♂️
A bog-trotting 12 miles in the Vale of Belvoir.

Feb 23rd, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Mick did a boggy 12 mile circular walk beginning in Branston and taking in the villages of Eaton, Eastwell, Hose, Stathern and back to Branston.

It was a sunny and slightly chilly morning when we met outside St Guthlac’s Church in Branston. It was great that it wasn’t raining – we have had plenty this week.

We set off by a path adjacent to the village pub and it wasn’t long till we saw Eaton in the distance. Mick pointed out a red kite circling in the blue sky overhead . We stood and watched.

Eaton in the distance

Dropping down via an unusual set of metal steps we headed for the village.

Mick descending the steps

Arriving in Eaton village

Eaton is a pleasant little village – narrow lanes and quite hilly. We walked through the village and left via fields for Eastwell. The fields were very boggy as expected.

A boggy path with Eastwell in the distance

Very boggy here

At one stage in the field we stopped for a moment to chat and when I tried to walk again my feet wouldn’t move and I nearly fell flat on my face. It was a strange feeling and took some effort to free my feet from the suction of the mud – lesson learnt, keep moving and don’t stop!

Arriving in Eastwell we stopped for a cuppa in a handy bus shelter next to a nice coach house.

Time for a cuppa

The Coach House

Leaving Eastwell we had a little difficulty finding our way through a field which had been divided up into horse pens but we managed it. We picked up the Cross Britain Way and followed the path down a hill through a wood.

Mick heading downhill on the Cross Britain Way

Leaving the woods we had a nice view over the Vale of Belvoir.

View across the Vale of Belvoir

The wooded escarpment (Harby hills) now behind us.

We passed across a dismantled railway line and headed for Hose.

The dismantled railway line looking left

The dismantled railway line looking right

We skirted around Hose and followed a very straight track for quite a while . We couldn’t help noticing some leaning telephone poles.

I wonder when it will topple over?

Eventually we reached the end of the path and found our way barred by an electric fence placed there by an unfriendly farmer. We managed to climb over it without getting a shock.

After the boggy walk we had just had we were glad to do some road walking and sat on a handy bench for a break. The weather was on the turn.

The road to Stathern

We walked into Stathern, past the library and hit the track taking us uphill to the escarpment.

The village sign in Stathern

Village library

track up to the top of the escarpment

The track continues.

We were feeling quite tired at this stage. Slip sliding through muddy fields is quite tiring and our walking pace was much reduced. From the top of escarpment we picked up The Jubilee Way and made our way towards Branston.

On the Jubilee Way headed for Branston

The walk had one more steep climb for us to land us back at the church in Branston.

Arrived back in Branston

The walk had felt quite long and having to concentrate on where you are placing your feet, to try and avoid slipping over, did mean the chance to just chill and walk was reduced. Still we had walked some new sections so that was good.

We also chatted about walking the ‘Leicestershire Round’ when the weather improves – this is a 100 mile walk around the county of Leicestershire which can be done in stages. I am looking forward to this walk – it should make for some interesting blogs. https://www.lfa.org.uk/leicestershireround

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Along the Grantham Canal for a 10 mile jaunt.

Feb 18th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Yesterday, myself and Angela took a walk along the Grantham Canal on a section that Angela had not walked before. She is gradually walking the full length of the canal (33 miles) in stages. After all the muddy walks this week, I was keen to do a walk where I knew we would have decent paths.

The previous day we managed a short 5 mile walk as the weather threatened rain. The clouds were very moody looking but it was surprisingly mild.

Rain clouds with a shaft of sunlight stealing through

A bonus at the end of our walk was a magnificent double rainbow – one of natures wonders.

There was no rain forecast for our new walk 😊. We parked the car near the A46 and walked along the towpath through Cotgrave Country Park to reach Tollerton bridge. We then returned taking a different path through the park to reach a high point with a view towards Nottingham.

On our way to the Country Park we passed a couple of derelict locks that are awaiting restoration.

Some parts of the canal were dry and reedy. Others held water. The path was dry 😊.

Entering the Country Park we passed a new lock then crossed over a bridge to visit a coffee vendor that we had spotted.

The coffee vendor whose business is named ‘Ginger and Blue’ (she has ginger hair) was selling from a blue van with a steady stream of customer arriving. https://www.gingerandbluecoffee.co.uk/

The coffee van

Inside the coffee van

The coffee served was excellent and we will definitely visit again.

Enjoying the coffee

On our way out of the park now, we passed another derelict lock and a nice lock-keepers cottage.

Another derelict lock awaiting restoration

Skinners lock-keepers cottage

There were quite a few water fowl living on the canal- mallards and coots as well as swans. Some mallards looked as though they were nesting.

Can you spot the female mallard ? – she is well camouflaged

Friendly Swans

The tranquillity beside the canal was broken as we continued along the path. We were passing by Tollerton Airfield which had helicopters and small planes continually taking off and landing. The helicopters were particularly grating – they seemed to be buzzing around like flies. We stood for a while watching the small aircraft coming in to land.

Watching the planes land at Tollerton Airfield

Plane on approach to Tollerton Airfield

Further along the canal we saw a spot where some reinforcing had been put in place to protect the bank from breaching.

Metal sheets piled into the bank to prevent it from breaching

At this stage Angela was looking for a bench to sit on whilst having some lunch – alas, there were none. We reached Tollerton bridge and turned around. It is interesting how things look different when you come from a different direction.

At the Country Park we left the towpath and followed signs up through the Park to a high point hoping for a good view. We got a view across Nottingham but it wasn’t clear because the sky was dull/cloudy. There were, however, four benches so Angela was happy!

We came off the hill and re-joined the towpath and eventually were back at the car. We were a step closer to Angela’s goal.

Happy Walking 😊🚶‍♂️
Mud, Mud and more Mud!

Feb 15th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today myself and Angela did a 12.5 mile circular walk beginning in Walton-on-the -Wolds and taking in Croxton Kerrial, Branston, Eaton, Goadby Marwood and then returning to Walton.

It was a surprisingly mild day (15 deg C) and we had no rain. We parked by the church in Walton-on-the -Wolds.

Walton-on-the -Wolds

After a little trouble finding our route we set off across fields to reach a military (?) radio station.

Heading out of Walton-on-the-Wolds

The radio station – a military installation?

We passed by the radio station and walked beside horse gallops.

We then took a detour into the hamlet of Bescaby where there was a nice house and ponds to view.

The walking was good at this stage and we hadn’t encountered the dreaded mud.

A nice path to follow.

Soon after leaving the good path we were into very boggy fields and by the time we reached Croxton Kerrial we were pleased to take a break. Slip sliding through muddy paths/fields saps your energy.

We visited the village shop in Croxton Kerrial and got ourselves a coffee. Angela said that the owners had given her a warm welcome.

A hot-cross bun at Croxton Kerrial

The excellent village shop

Angela enjoying a break

Heading out of Croxton Kerrial we were on our way to Branston. We passed a house with a very impressive entrance.

The paths to Branston were good and the sun had made an appearance which was very welcome. We were feeling quite chipper. Leaving Branston via a route new to us we headed for Eaton. At one point we had to climb down a metal ladder which I thought was quite unusual.

Descending an unusual ladder

We could see Eaton village in the distance.

Arriving on the outskirts of Eaton village we had another coffee stop sat on a bench enjoying the sun on our faces.

Arriving into Eaton village – another hill to climb.

There was quite a lot of undulation on this walk which we were savouring. Eaton is a very picturesque village and we enjoyed walking through it. Leaving across fields we headed towards Goady Marwood.

leaving the village of Easton

The footpath turned muddy again and the going was difficult. Sadly, we passed a memorial plaque to the fallen crew of a Lancaster bomber – I have lost count of the number of these I have seen and again, we noted the crew were so young.

Memorial plaque for crew of a Lancaster bomber which crashed near by

On the way to Goadby Marwood

On the way to Goadby Marwood

On the way to Goadby Marwood Angela needed a plaster for a cut to her finger from a thorn bush by a stile- she will survive😊. We arrived in Goadby Marwood to find that the footpath signposts may have been pointing the direction of the path but, after following the sign and going up someone’s driveway it was clear they had closed off the path – most irritating.

We did a detour past a grand house Goadby hall.

Goadby hall

Walking through the village we looked for the path away from the village.

Goadby Marwood village

The path back to Walton-on-the Wolds was tedious (mud and numerous stiles) and we were glad to reach the car. Perhaps the mud clouded our view of this last section?

Overall we had both enjoyed the walk apart from the mud. The difficulty is, right now in the UK, there is nowhere you can walk without encountering the dreaded mud. So, we best get on with it!

Happy Walking ! 😊🚶‍♂️
A 12.6 mile Valentines day walk

Feb 14th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Angela decided to take a walk along a section of the Grantham canal ( a canal under restoration after years of neglect) that Angela had not walked before. The forecast was rain towards late morning but we decided to get out early and chance it – turned out to be a good decision.

Parking in a layby by Dove Cottage Tea Rooms near Harby we headed west along the towpath.

View of the canal from bridge by the start of the walk.

The towpath was quite muddy to begin with and gradually got worse as we made our way towards Harby. After roughly a mile we reached Harby and the towpath was much improved. It is just as well because we were quite deflated by the condition of the towpath.

We passed an old warehouse that would have been used in the canals heyday. The remnants of a windmill were also visible.

Old warehouse and remains of a windmill

There was some interestingly coloured algae on the waters surface – normally green this variety was reddish in colour.

Unusually coloured Algae.

Heading along the canal towards the village of Hose.

It was the usual people- free walk along the canal. The water level in the canal was high after months of rain- there were plenty of waterlogged fields to see and we wondered how they will recover.

Flooded fields adjacent to the canal.

The swans were friendly and paddled across to visit us.

Along the section past the village of Hose and on our way to Hickling, there were a number of nice swingbridges to explore.

Swingbridge

Close to Hickling we passed under a bridge that had been restored in 2006. I do appreciate a nice canal bridge.

Clarks bridge near Hickling

A little further we passed a restored lengthmans hut – a lengthman was an employee of the canal company who maintained a particular length of canal and its towpath, cutting back vegetation and watching for potential breaches.

Lengthmans hut – duck to enter!

Chimney was rebuilt

The Canal and River Trust have done a good job on this hut. A little further on we reached the canal basin at Hickling – it was bustling with people.

Myself and Angela found a bench, enjoyed a cuppa and watched the world go by. Heading back on our return leg now the rain clouds were gathering.

We were lucky to only encounter light rain. At the end of our Valentines Day walk we were planning to visit the tea rooms close to where we parked, but predictably, when we got there the car park was full – maybe next time.

It was certainly a good stretch of the legs.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️