My Walking Journeys

The Joy of the Final Leg in a Long Walk

May 30th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today is a very auspicious day- Mick and I completed The Leicestershire Round!!!

Angela accompanied us on the short 6.5-mile walk from Bagworth to Bradgate Park in Newtown Linford. She had accompanied us on our first leg so it was only fitting that she was there for the last.

It was a reasonable good weather morning as we set off from Bagworth. I think we all felt a sense of occasion as we strode through Bagworth to pick up the trail where we had finished last week.

We passed an old colliery coal tug – a nod to Bagworths Industrial heritage. I am guessing the house owner was an ex-miner.

Shortly, we were passing through peaceful Bagworth Heath Woods. There would be quite a lot of walking through woods today.

Bagworth Heath Woods

At the edge of the wood we descended to reach a railway line and a level crossing. We wondered which one – turns out it is the disused Leicester to Swannington line which was opened by George Stephenson in 1832 – the first public railway in the Midlands. There were plans to reopen the line to passengers as the Ivanhoe line but they came to nothing. Mineral trains still use the line?

We skirted the side of Thornton reservoir and then continued along paths beside Brown Wood.

Thornton reservoir

Beside Brown Wood

There were some slight inclines along the way as we headed towards the M1. The bright yellow buttercups were everywhere and looked fabulous.

A slight incline

Close to the M1

Passing under the M1

After passing through the tunnel under the M1 it was a short walk to reach Markfield. It is a village that remembers its history – there are plaques on numerous building denoting their previous history. We stopped at a handy bench and took a break.

Angela spotted steps in front of what had been a door way but was bricked up now. I wonder why they did not remove the steps?

Leaving Markfield we took an underpass under the A50 – the graffiti artists had been at work!

Underpass on the A50

After passing under the A50 the route took us beside the road for a few hundred metres – the path was overgrown but we forged a way through.

Beside the A50

Eventually we reached open fields and made our way to Newtown Linford.

Close to Newtown Linford

As we entered Newtown Linford we passed the cricket club – the grass was a lush green and a ride-on lawn mower was cutting the grass to perfection. A couple of horse riders passed us riding along the road and said hello. Thatched cottages lined the road – it was all quintessentially English.

Soon we entered Bradgate Park and the Start/Finish point for The Leicestershire Round. Mick and I posed for the traditional end of walk photo.

Angela asked, would we like a coffee?- you know the answer to that question!

Reflecting on our journey

Badge added after completing The Leicestershire Round

It had been a 100-mile journey and you can read more of my reflections following the walk in a subsequent blog.

A big thank you goes to Mick for his good company, bad jokes and banter along the way.

Happy Walking ! 😊🚶
A lovely10-mile walk in the Vale of Belvoir.

May 29th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, Angela and I enjoyed a 10-mile walk in the Vale of Belvoir taking in Easthorpe, Bottesford, the Grantham Canal and Redmile.

It was a very blustery day, but thankfully dry. We have had quite a few heavy rain days this week. We parked near Middlestile bridge (No 56) on the Grantham Canal and set off along the towpath towards Muston Gorse. Immediately we saw a couple of swans with their six cygnets- it was great to see.

After approximately one mile along the towpath we reached Muston Gorse bridge (No 57). Here we left the towpath taking a footpath across fields towards Bottesford. The grass along the towpath had recently been trimmed so that looked neat.

Muston Gorse bridge

There were plenty of clouds in the sky and the sun was making a determined effort to break through. We were aiming for the spire of the St Mary the Virgin church at Bottesford which we could see in the distance.

Our route would take us across the very busy A52 and I was inwardly dreading having to wait ages waiting to cross. As it transpired we arrived and got straight across through a gap in the traffic 😊.

Having conquered the A52 barrier we followed the lane into the lovely village of Easthorpe where we admired the cottages as we walked through.

Angela on her way to Bottesford

Crossing a buttercup strewn meadow as we left Easthorpe we made our way to Bottesford. Walking beside the church we arrived at a Ford across the river Devon. Here we stopped at a bench and took a break.

St Mary the Virgin church at Bottesford

The church is sometimes known as ‘Lady of the Vale’. It has the second highest spire (212 ft) in Leicestershire. The chancel was rebuilt in the 17th century to accommodate the monuments of the Manners family, Earls (later Dukes) of Rutland whose ancestral home is Belvoir castle.

After our break we continued walking through Bottesford, then crossed the A52 again (no problem here!) and followed a road to reach the Grantham Canal towpath where we headed towards Redmile. The Redmile church spire was visible as we walked by the canal.

Along the Grantham Canal towards Redmile

The Grantham Canal at Redmile

A short walk through Redmile brought us to a track which led us across fields away from Redmile towards Muston Gorse. We walked beside what looked like a new road being constructed- I wondered if it was an access road to a Solar farm.

A new road

We reached a small lane and while walking along this were astonished to find a large double decker bus coming towards us. It was a school bus and filled the width of the lane. Being as though there were ditches either side of the road we had very little space to avoid the bus. Somehow we managed to let the bus pass by.

We reached the canal again at Easthorpe bridge (No 56) and joined the towpath meandered our way back to where we had parked the car. The canal is such a tranquil place to wander.

Grantham canal with Belvoir castle in the distance

It had been a lovely relaxing little walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
10-Mile Walk from Market Bosworth to Bagworth on the Leicestershire Round

May 23rd, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today Mick and I completed our penultimate leg of The Leicestershire Round, walking 10 miles from Market Bosworth Country Park to Bagworth.

It was a chilly start as we set off from the car park of Market Bosworth Country Park. We are expecting a week of rain (much needed) starting tomorrow so it was nice to have blue skies today.

We passed some interesting wooden sculptures in the park – can you see the face in the tree stump?

We walked towards the village passing the village sign, passed through the large market square and found our path away from the village.

Cottage in Market Bosworth

Our first port of call would be the village of Carlton. We followed the path through fields to reach the village -it had a very informative information board.

Nice buttercups

We passed the former school (now a private residence) that provided ‘for the education of poor children of the parish AD 1847.

Former school entrance

Leaving Carlton we said hello to some sheep on the way to Shackerstone where we arrived at the Heritage railway known as The Battlefield Line. The railway here opened in 1873 and closed in 1970. It was then bought by enthusiasts and runs as a heritage railway.https://www.battlefieldline.co.uk/.

It runs from Shackerstone via Market Bosworth to Shenton. I think I will have to visit and take a trip because I do like a steam railway 😊.

The Ashby Canal runs close to the railway line and we walked along the towpath for a while before heading off across fields towards Odstone.

The Ashby canal

We followed farm tracks and passed through a long section which would have been diabolical in wet conditions. Thankfully, not a problem for us today.

We passed a very nice property- Odstone Hall. Who lives in a house like this?

Odstone Hall

We soon arrived into Odstone where we found a bench in the small park and had a break – a scotch egg for me and plenty of water as it was turning hot.

Leaving Odstone we passed across fields on our way to Nailstone.

The crops were in desperate need of watering.

Mick on the way to Nailstone

On the way we couldn’t help but notice a huge warehouse in the distance – we wondered who owned it. It looked completely out of context with the environment we were walking through. Further on we saw the ALDI sign.

We reached Nailstone passing by the 13th century church with its fine broach spire.

Close to the church we saw a wonderful cottage with yellow roses growing outside.

Leaving Nailstone, we were heading for Bagworth. We passed fields containing solar panels – the first we had seen whilst walking the Leicestershire Round. Apparently we were also on the Ivanhoe Way trail. This is a 36-mile circular walk beginning in Shackerstone and the walk is in the north west part of Leicestershire. Its called The Ivanhoe Way because The novel ‘Ivanhoe’ by Sir Walter Scott, written in 1819 and set in 12th century England, used the castle at Ashby and the surrounding countryside as its setting.

Solar Farm

An unusual sight in a field we passed through was ‘men at work signs’ and orange cones – turned out to be large holes dug by Badgers and quite deep too. We were glad of the warning.

One of the Badger holes

Shortly after a steady walk uphill we arrived into Bagworth.

It had been a relatively easy walk and this now leaves a 6-mile section from Bagworth to Newtown Linford to complete the Leicestershire Round – hopefully next week.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Embracing the Unexpected on a Woodhall Spa Walk

May 18th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today I was up early and travelled to Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire to enjoy a 6.75 mile circular walk.

Woodhall Spa is known as one of Lincolnshire’s prettiest villages and this was my first visit (and it won’t be the last!). It developed as a small health resort in the Victorian period and came about by accident in 1811, when a man named John Parkinson made several failed attempts to find coal. The enterprise was abandoned after the 1,000 ft deep shaft filled with spring water. It was then discovered that the Iodine-rich water had healing benefits. Spa Baths were built so that visitors could ‘take the waters’ and hotels followed.

As I drove to Woodhall Spa I passed old tractors and vintage cars along the way- there must be an event on somewhere I said to myself. Arriving into Woodhall Spa there were a lot more people about than you would normally find early on a Sunday morning – then I saw a sign and all became clear.

Woodhall Spa

These days Woodhall Spa is a popular golfing resort. During World War 11 the village was home to some 5,000 servicemen. 617 squadron (the famous Dambuster’s) has strong associations with the village. After parking up I visited the memorial for those members of 617 squadron who have died whilst serving their country.

I paused for a while and reflected on their sacrifice.

Heading off I walked through the village and suddenly came across the site of the Woodhall Spa Show – the place was busy. My route along The Viking Way was barriered off so I asked one of the Marshalls, who was directing traffic, could I still use the path. Thankfully he replied ‘ yes, just move the barrier to pass through’. And so I did, the show was setting up in a large field. I stopped for a chat with another Marshall and he said the show is a big event for the village and later on, the fields for parking would be full.

www.woodhallspacountryshow.com

There was even a vintage tractor painted pink advertising the Lincolnshire Ladies Tractor Road Run on 20th July.

After I had passed the show grounds it became much quieter.

This is more like it I thought, the birds twittering in the trees and no one in sight. I admired a field containing Crimson Clover as I walked by.

Crimson Clover

The soil is quite parched at this stage of the current dry spell.

The white flowers on the Cow Parsley were bountiful.

Cow Parsley

I met a woman out walking her dog and we had a chat about the show and where I had come from today. After, I continued following The Viking Way across fields.

I spotted some beautiful flowers on a Horse-Chestnut tree.

Horse Chestnut tree flowers

I passed through a few fields containing sheep with lambs in tow. Bahhhh!

Derelict farm

My route then took me along quiet tree- lined lanes.

As usual whilst walking along I was lost in my thoughts and then I came across a sign for luxury treehouse accommodation. ‘That’s very interesting’ I thought -I will check it out later. http://www.treetophideaways.co.uk

This is what I love about walking – coming across the unexpected.

The final part of my walk was through The National Golf Centre which is lined with golf courses. It was a lovely walk and I am pleased to report that I didn’t get hit by any stray golf ball’s 😊.

There were a few golfers out enjoying a game.

I walked past this bunker and wondered how many golfers had come a cropper in here?

The path was lined with Rhododendron bushes – lovely.

On my route today I came across a number of information boards about Wartime Woodhall – its a great idea I think.

Soon, I was walking back into the village and I popped into the co-op to get a coffee. The main street in the village is lined with cafes (busy!) and interesting shops including one claiming to be the smallest shoe shop in England- it was small!

I had loved exploring Woodhall Spa and will definitely be returning.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Discovering Barwell and Ashby Canal on a Sunny Walk

May 13th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Its completely amazing that the sunny weather continues. I am loving it! Have you noticed how many flying insects are about? My car windscreen is testament to increasing numbers.

So today, myself and Mick took advantage of a glorious day and completed another leg of the Leicestershire Round, walking 9.2 miles from Burbage Country Park to Market Bosworth Country Park.

This leaves us just over 15 miles left to complete our challenge.

After some initial difficulty finding our route out of Burbage Common we headed into Barwell passing St Marys Church and a nice neo-gothic style war memorial.

St Marys Church, Barwell

Barwell war memorial

Continuing through Barwell we entered an industrial estate. It had no redeeming features apart from a mobile café which I took advantage of and was soon munching on a delicious bacon and egg bap. The vendor was able to point out the route we needed to follow – she has seen many walkers pass by apparently.

The route after the Industrial Estate was initially uninspiring and tricky due to vegetation encroachment. I have learnt to avoid wearing shorts when walking at the moment because you are likely to get stung by nettles.

Can you spot the Kissing gate???

After a while we entered more pleasant agricultural fields and the going was easier.

We noted that the lambs are growing fast but still stick close to their Mums.

Soon, we arrived at the Ashby canal where we joined the towpath and took a break at a handy bench whilst watching the boats cruising past. It seems such an idyllic life, puttering about on a boat. More of a summer pursuit than a winter one though.

Resuming walking we were headed for Sutton Wharf. We passed a boat called ‘The Black Pearl’ which had a macabre theme including a coffin on the roof, complete with a skull and a scarecrow sat on top.

The Black Pearl

Most unusual – not your usual narrowboat decor. Further on we saw some ducklings paddling along. It is lovely to see them.

Shortly we reached Sutton Wharf where there were folk enjoying the café there.

Sutton Wharf

Continuing along the towpath past the café we took a right turn and passed through Ambion Wood. It was cooler in the shade of the trees and we enjoyed a brief respite from the heat.

Ambion Wood

After passing through the wood we arrived at the the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. A battle fought near here in 1485 brought Henry VII to the throne when he defeated Richard III.

https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/

We didn’t have time to spend here today but it looked worth a visit at a future date. The mortal remains of Richard III were found under a carpark in Leicester in 2012 – the film ‘The Lost King’ records the efforts of Philippa Langley to persuade academics and historians of her research that eventually led to the discovery.

Leaving the Heritage Centre we had a walk into the village of Sutton Cheney followed by an easy walk to the Market Bosworth Country Park. A good days walking I feel.

We hope to do the penultimate leg of the Leicestershire Round next week- Market Bosworth to Bagworth. I wonder whether it will still be sunny?

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A Scenic 9-Mile Walk Through Lincolnshire’s Landscape

May 8th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Angela enjoyed a 9-mile circular walk starting in the Lincolnshire village of Southrey and visiting Bardney and Tupholme Abbey. It was a grey and chilly start to the day.

We parked by the river Witham close to the site of the former Southrey station, adjacent to the ‘Riverside Inn’ pub.

The platforms and station signs still exist. The last passengers departed from this platform in 1970. Until then it had been possible to travel from this peaceful village to busy Kings Cross station in London in a little under 3 hrs.

A chain ferry, operated by the landlord of the White Horse Inn at Dunston Fen on the opposite bank, carried passengers for the train across the river.

The ferry provided a vital link for many other fenland inhabitants, including children attending Southrey village school and people on their way to work. The crossing took minutes compared to the journey by road over bridges. When not in use the chain lay on the river bed out of the way of passing boats. The ferry service ceased in the late 1970’s.

We headed off through the village, passing the white-painted wooden church of St John the Divine – the church looked as if it belonged more to New England than the edge of the Lincolnshire fens. Its weather vane was quite prominent.

St John the Divine church, Southrey

We passed a lovely old thatched cottage.

Thatched cottage in Southrey

Our route took us along The Viking Way passing Southrey Wood – it was a nice grassed path.

walking close to Southrey wood.

As we approached the village of Bardney we could see the sugar factory in the distance.

Sugar factory in the distance

Arriving into Bardney we stopped at the church for a quick break- Angela was hungry! We found the village sign.

St Lawrence church, Bardney

The propellor, seen on the village sign, is to commemorate the servicemen of the IX Squadron Royal Air Force who flew Lancaster bombers from RAF Bardney between 1943 and 1945. They bombed U-boat pens using ‘tallboy’ bombs and, with the help of Norwegian Resistance, bombed the German battleship ‘Tirpitz’. The Lancaster propellor rests on a plinth incorporating a slab of Norweigan stone.

The Lancaster propellor memorial

We also saw a nice memorial bench.

Leaving Bardney we passed ground that once was held a Benedictine Abbey but we didn’t see any evidence.

Where were the ruins??

We continued walking along easy grassy paths with wide views.

We reached farms and walked along farm tracks, passing a field where peas were growing.

Soon, we reached the ruins of another Abbey – Tupholme Abbey.

Tupholme Abbey

Tupholme Abbey was founded around 1160 by an Abbot and 12 canons of the Premonstratensian Order. The name Tupholme means ‘the island of sheep’ and today there were sheep still grazing in its grounds. This area of the Witham Valley once had 9 monasteries. This was probably due to the high ecclesiastical status of Lincoln and the importance of the river Witham as a trading link for the export of the wool that made up much of their income.

We stopped for a break in the grounds and then pushed on again. We passed some bee hives close to a field of oil seed rape and watched as the bees swooped down to drink from the nearby stream.

Finally, we crossed the last field back into Southrey village. It was still a grey and relatively chilly day.

It had been an interesting walk with plenty of history visible along the way.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Exploring The Leicestershire Round: Frolesworth to Burbage Common

May 7th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, myself and Mick completed another leg of The Leicestershire Round (a 100-mile route around Leicestershire) walking 10.7 miles from Frolesworth to Burbage Common.

After a rocky start, where I struggled to find the meeting up point (Burbage Common Visitors Centre), I eventually found it, and we set off in one car to Frolesworth – the point where we finished our previous leg last week. It was a chilly morning – roll on summer!

Our route was, as usual, across arable land and meadows.

Mick checking out the wildlife

The land was bone dry. We had half the normal rainfall in March and the sunniest April on record and I must say, with my walking hat on, this has been great news. I fear however, that we will pay for the fine weather now with a very wet June and July – I hope that my fears prove unfounded.

Typical meadow

Passing through the small villages of Claybrooke Magna and Claybrooke Parva we were heading for High Cross.

High Cross, at the junction of two important Roman roads, was the geographical centre of Roman England. The Fosse Way (Lincoln to Exeter) and Watling Street (Dover to Wroxeter near Shrewsbury) met here.

We approached a nice street sign just before we came to the old Fosse Way.

A few large boulders (from Croft Quarry) mark the Geographical Centre and it had a bench which we took advantage of for a break.

Boulders marking the geographical centre of Roman England

After a break we followed the very straight Fosse Way towards Sharnford.

The Fosse Way

The route took us through Fosse Meadows where there was a lake and forestry. We paused in a bird hide to peer at the lake. The surrounding wetland was dry. Mick spotted a duck on the lake.

View from the bird hide of the wetland by the lake at Fosse Meadows

I enjoyed the meadows with the bright yellow buttercups sprinkled across the grass and the white hawthorn bushes lining the sides.

Fosse Meadows

A lovely walk beside a stream brought us into Sharnford.

Mick commented that there had not been as many stiles compared with the last leg. A fatal mistake, because subsequently, we had 23 stiles to cross! – quite a few of which were in perilous condition.

After walking through Sharnford we crossed fields to reach the hamlet of Aston Flamville. A very attractive hamlet with houses to drool over.

More buttercups

Shortly, we crossed a bridge over the M69 motorway.

M69 Motorway

Descending steps adjacent to the Motorway we walked beside it for a while then headed off across stiles/fields, touching the edge of Hinckley and towards Burbage Wood. We skirted the outside of the woods arriving into Burbage Common, 200 acres of access land. Clearly a popular spot -there were plenty of people enjoying a walk.

Burbage Common

We arrived back into the car park – the nearby café was very busy. All that remained to do was for Mick to drive me back to Frolesworth to collect my car. It had been a nice easy walk – most pleasant.

Next week we will walk another leg – to Market Bosworth, I am looking forward to it.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Exploring Lantern Pike: A Scenic 8-Mile Walk

May 2nd, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today myself and Angela visited Hayfield in the Peak District, enjoying a 8-mile circular walk during which we visited Lantern Pike. We had some lovely views and met very few people along the way.

Dry stone walls crisscrossing the fields

We set off from Manchester at early o’clock to avoid rush hour traffic. After finding parking we were soon crossing a bridge across the River Sett.

River Sett

We had a steep climb through the village eventually reaching a track leading to Snake Path. A sign reminded us that we are fortunate that we could walk the land we would be walking today because, at one time, landowners prohibited it. The action taken by those protesters changed the course of history.

Looking back as we ascended we could see mist enveloping the valley below. The track became stony so we had to watch where we placed our feet, and after a brief steep uphill walk, we entered open moorland.

In the distance we could see Mam Tor and I wondered how many people would be stood on top today- quite a few I would imagine. We stopped fairly often, taking time to look around, soaking up the beauty.

We came to a junction, close to some huts used for shooting parties on private land, and took the path towards Glossop. The other direction would have taken us to Edale via Jacobs Ladder.

A nice wooden causeway made it easy to cross what would have been a very boggy section.

The path meandered across the moorland and we could see that we were getting nearer to Lantern Pike.

Lantern Pike in the distance

We joined the Pennine Bridleway.

Arriving at Lantern Pike we had a steep ascent to reach a topograph at the summit.

Rewarded at the top by great views we met the first person of our walk who was also taking in the view. It was a steep descent and I nearly slipped a couple of times on the loose stones.

Descending off Lantern Pike

A stone tree-lined track then descended into the valley.

We passed some colourful orange and yellow plants along the way.

We followed the path of the dismantled railway back into Hayfield. Passing by a reservoir (built originally to feed the mill) we stopped at a bench for a break, which was rudely interrupted by a swarm of green fly! There were walkers and cyclists out and about.

The dismantled railway path

Angela liked a flowering Azealia in the churchyard.

We crossed over the River Sett once again.

On the way back to the car we passed a blue plaque recording that Arthur Lowe (famous for his role as Captain Mainwaring in ‘Dad’s Army’ -a classic British comedy) had been born in this terrace.

We had both enjoyed the day out walking.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Stiles, Stiles and more Stiles!

Apr 30th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today myself and Mick completed our leg 8 of the Leicestershire Round, walking 9.5 miles from Bruntingthorpe to Frolesworth.

After enduring the horrendous rush hour traffic around Leicester we eventually positioned our cars at the start and end of the walk and set off from Bruntingthorpe, across green fields, towards Peatling Magna. It was a beautiful sunny morning.

We soon eased into relax mode as we enjoyed the easy walking. After a couple of miles across the fields we arrived at Peatling Magna- a quiet little village.

Passing through, we headed towards Willoughby Waterleys, again, across nice grassed fields.

We were starting to notice that there were stiles to be crossed between fields – more than we had met previously on the walk. As we arrived into Willoughby Waterleys we stopped at a bench, in the shade of the churchyard, for a break and to take on water. It was going to be a hot day!

Mick spotted a couple of unusual metal headstones in the cemetery – we had not come across ones like that before.

Walking into the village we passed a pub called ‘George Elliott’. It looked closed and I wondered about its name. So, I checked when I got home. Apparently, it never opened after the Covid pandemic. The pub was named after George Augustus Elliott (1717 to 1790) who was the victorious Governor of Gibraltar during the Great Siege 1779-1783. There are a number of pubs across the country which honour his name – as I found when I googled it!

George Elliott pub Willoughby Waterleys

Leaving Willoughby Waterleys we set off towards Dunton Bassett. As we came to a gate exiting a field we found that a car had crashed into it and mangled it badly. The car must have been travelling too fast and missed the bend. We just about squeezed through.

Our route took us through private fishing lakes (Holy Farm Fishery) – the owners had kindly trimmed the path for us. The lakes were lined with Anglers.

Path through the fishing lakes

We encountered more stiles on the way to cross over the M1 which wasn’t as noisy as I had expected. Time to apply sunscreen.

Crossing the M1

We arrived into Dunton Bassett and made for a bench in front of the distinctive village hall. Deep gulps of water were taken on board.

Mick heading for the bench in Dunston Bassett

Our next port of call would be the village of Leire. We walked past yellow oil seed rape fields and then past a lake / stream which led to Stemborough Mill – a lovely old building.

Stemborough Mill

The stiles were coming thick and fast now. We reckon that by the end of the walk we had climbed over 30 stiles.

Another stile!

Our path took us through an oil seed rape field. We emerged covered in yellow pollen from the flowers, so at the next field, we skirted around the edges.

Soon, we were arriving into Frolesworth.

We had past through numerous field containing cows and generally they ignored us. Some curious bullocks came over one time to say hello.

It had been a lovely easy walk and the weather was a big bonus. But, oh those stiles! I wonder what the next leg will hold.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A walk by water – most of the time!

Apr 26th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, I enjoyed an 11.4- mile circular walk that took in The National Watersports Centre where I found that there was a lot of activity on the water.

My route

As is my way, I had an early start, parking close to The Grantham Canal at Bassingfield. I headed off along the towpath for a short walk then turned towards the village.

Passing through, I headed across fields to reach the A52. I walked past a field containing yellow oil seed rape – not as common as it used to be. The final field that I crossed was a wheat field and my boots / trouser bottoms got a good soaking from the morning dew. Still, I was hopeful for fair weather, so they would soon dry out.

After crossing the A52 I headed along Sandy Lane into Holme Pierrepont passing fishing lakes which were lined with Anglers – competition day!

Angling competition

I was soon arriving into The National Watersports Centre – on previous occasions when I had walked there, it was like the Marie Celeste, but this morning, it was a hive of activity. I was delighted to watch. Men on bikes, cycling along, shouting encouragement into megaphones, was the order of the day. I stopped at a bench and enjoyed my scotch egg and coffee whilst watching all the rowers.

Rowing is clearly a very popular sport these days. I walked along one side of the lake and then down the other side and crossed a bridge to reach the slalom course.

I walked through the Slalom course, crossing another two bridges. Canoeists were out on the course enjoying the choppy waters. Towards the end of the course I heard drum & bass music – greeting canoeists at the start of the course. I saw some ‘stubby’ canoes – these are playboat kayaks- and youngsters were doing somersaults in them! This is new to me – I think they are used for freestyling.

I moved past the Water Sport centre and joined the banks of the River Trent.

River Trent

Walking along there were rowing boats out on the river and you could hear the Cox shouting instructions – maybe they were warning up for a race later in the day.

I was on the Trent Valley Way.

I passed apartment blocks with a view.

Eventually, just by Nottingham Forest Football ground, I turned into Trent Lock and the start of the Grantham Canal.

Trent Lock

This section of the canal is redundant, cut off by urban development in Nottingham. I followed the remaining sections of the canal in Ladybay, where they exist – some of which were dry.

Dry canal

Dry canal

For a man who likes canals this was hard to see. As I walked further I found that there was water in the canal at Gamston.

Where there was water there was life. New arrivals from the Ducks and Coots were being chaperoned carefully by their mothers.

Soon I arrived back at my parking spot. I had enjoyed seeing all the activity at the National Water Sports Centre – it had made my day!

Happy Walking! 😊🚶