Tag: hiking

Scenic Countryside Adventure: Exploring Osbournby, Aswarby, Swarby, and Aunsby

Jul 10th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

My eyes opened at 05:40 this morning and I thought to myself ‘ I will get up in a minute’ and then Hypnos (Greek God of sleep) must have said – not yet! – because it was 07:00 when I next opened my eyes 😊.

I had planned a walk for this morning so I got a shift on and headed to Osbournby, Lincolnshire. The walk was recommended to me and found in a book by Clive Brown, who has written many such excellent books.

The 7-mile route would take me from Osbournby to Aswarby, Swarby and Aunsby before returning to Osbournby. I wondered why a lot of the villages in this area ended in ‘by’ – turns out, we have to thank Viking settlers who first settled the land, its the basic Norse word for a farmstead or small village.

I parked by the church in Osbournby where there was plenty of parking.

Osbournby Village

St Peter and St Paul church in Osbournby

Finding my way out of the village I followed a path uphill passing fields of what looked like wild flowers .The purple crop was striking.

Heading out of Osbournby

I used my ‘Seek’ App which told me it was Lacy Phacelia.

Screenshot

The path was wet from the recent rain and, because the grass was long, my boots/trousers were soon pretty wet. It took me past woods to reach the A15.

Heading towards the A15

A short stretch along the A15 led to the turning for Aswarby and a nice tree lined lane leading to the church which was unusual in having many windows.

The lane into Aswarby

St Denys church, Aswarby

I took a bridleway past the Aswarby sawmill and then found a path across a large open field.

Heading out of Aswarby

After crossing a dyke I followed the Dyke along an overgrown path to cross the A15 again. Walking along that path there were dozens of small butterflies fluttering hither and tither which was wonderful to see.

Overgrown path by a dyke

After crossing the A15 I followed a lane into Swarby village, passing the church – St Mary and All Saints. A small building resided on a green by the church- maybe an old well?

Arriving into Swarby

St Mary & All Saints church Swarby

Old Well in Swarby

The next part of the walk took me across farmland and I was pleased to see clear paths across the crops. One field containing wheat also contained daisy’s and I though this must be planned ?

Daisy’s mark the path across the field

More Daisy’s

I stopped on one of the many wooden bridges crossing ditches to have a scotch egg (my favourite walking snack) and a drink. Refreshed I continued on passing wheat fields where I stopped, mesmerised, watching the wheat wave about in the breeze.

Soon, I arrived at Aunsby and the route took me swiftly away across more fields. At one point I entered some boggy ground and, with no way around, ploughed through and got some wet feet! Not a happy chappy.

Leaving Aunsby

I was now on my last leg of the walk heading back towards Osbournby. I had not met anyone on my walk – not surprising really.

Panoramic views heading for Osbournby

Arriving back in Osbornby I admired the nice houses thinking what a nice village but then I realised I had not seen a pub, so maybe not such a desirable village?

It had been a lovely walk, definitely one to do again sometime.

Happy Walking!😊🚶‍♂️
Grantham Canal Sponsored Walk: 27.5 Miles Challenge and Restoration Fundraiser

Jun 30th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Yesterday was the sponsored walk along the Grantham Canal from Tollerton Lane Bridge to Woolsthorpe Depot 27.5 miles. It was a cracking day out.

The day began at 05:00 with an early breakfast and final check of my walking kit. Angela then drove us to Woolsthorpe Depot where we picked up fellow walker Anthony and headed, via the back roads, to our meeting point at Tollerton Bridge. (Our planned route via the A52 was unavailable due to a helpful road closure in place).

At 07:00 at Tollerton Lane Bridge we met the other walkers – from Greenfields Countryside Ltd. The Company had organised the walk to raise funds for the Grantham Canal restoration.

The walkers at the start of the walk

The sun was shining but there was a chill in the air as we set off along the canal. The walk had two planned stops ( 8 mile and 17 mile) where we would meet the Grantham Canal Society caravan and cold drinks, cakes, teas would be dispensed 😊.

Just leaving Tollerton Lane bridge

The youngsters in the group set off at a fast pace, 3.2 mph – I wondered whether we would have a case of the hare and the tortoise. The towpath was built of solid material and it was easy walking at this stage.

The group headed for Cropwell Bishop Country Park

As we approached Cropwell Bishop Country Park a couple of Rangers from The Grantham Canal Society were stationed to warn us of approaching traffic from a blind bend on the road. After crossing they cheered us onwards.

Skinners Lock keepers cottage Cropwell Bishop Country Park

It felt like a surprisingly short time before we arrived at our first planned stop.

Arriving at our first stop

After cold drinks, a butty and delicious cake I set off for leg 2- our next stop would be after further 9 miles near Dove Cottage, Harby.

Soon we were passing through the dry section of canal.

Oldblokewalking by a dry section of the canal

I was lucky walking with Anthony who has been a volunteer on the canal for almost a decade. He has a wealth of knowledge to impart and was proud to point out areas / projects where he had worked.

We came across a fallen tree which we had to limbo under.

Arriving at Hickling Basin the sun was strong but we were doing great.

Leaving Hickling basin on good towpath

Oldblokewalking at Clarkes Bridge

We had a short stop just past Bridge 37 and waited for everyone to re-group.

As I met people along the route I stopped to chat to them and explain why we were walking along the canal. I enjoyed these chats but unfortunately it did mean that I had to work hard to catch up with the group!

I was ready for a cold drink by the time we arrived at our stop near Dove Cottage . We were surprised when The Red Arrows flew past – always impressive to see.

Screenshot

Planned Stop 2

Planned Stop 2 near Dove Cottage

At this stage we knew the hard bit was to come. The towpath was grassed and overgrown which would make the walking harder.

Leaving our second stop

I was bitten by a horse fly which seemed abundant in this final section. One of the walkers dropped out due to a very bad blister. Other walkers were feeling the strain. Thankfully, I was doing ok

I saw a walker coming towards us that looked familiar – it was Angela 😊and a sight for sore eyes. A boost to keep us going on the final few miles.

I witnessed people digging deep to finish even though they were suffering. I received phone calls from folk checking on our progress – all was good. This final section was a tough one.

As we walked the the last half mile towards the depot at Woolsthorpe (our destination) we heard cheering and clapping from the canal side – Those younger hares had beaten the tortoises on this occasion but they were cheering us on – they knew how tough it had been.

The tortoises arrive at the depot

Walking down the lane into the depot we received more rapturous applause – I found it very moving.

A BBQ awaited us and a cold drink. I noticed that quite a few of the young walkers were limping around and had their boots off. Yes, I thought, it HAD been a tough walk.

The group celebrates at the end of the walk with support crew

It had been an amazing day out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and helped towards raising £1500 for the restoration of the canal.

Happy Walking! 🚶‍♂️😊
Beautiful 8-Mile Circular Walk from Barnby in The Willows, Nottinghamshire.

Jun 26th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today’s walk by the Three Amigos was an 8-mile circular walk from the Nottinghamshire village, with the wonderful name of Barnby in the Willows.

Our walk would take us across the county border into Lincolnshire passing Fenton, Stubton and Claypole.

It was a misty start to the day that had been forecast to be the hottest of the year so far – it didn’t take long before the temperature started to rise. We had all come prepared with plenty of water and sunscreen.

I took great delight in pointing out to Chris that he was last to the meeting point again. Its the simple pleasures in life that give satisfaction 😊.

We began our walk from All Saints church passing through the cemetery and crossing a bridge over the river Witham into open farmland.

All Saints Church in Barnby in The Willows

Crossing the River Witham

Mick and Chris following a well mowed path with cloudy sky overhead

It was a cloudy start to our walk as we followed a recently mowed path that took us to Fenton Village. After a friendly quick chat to one of the locals, who was interested in our walk, we headed towards Stubton.

Chris and Mick On the way to Stubton

Our walk would take us across many fields, most of which had good pathways across.

Nicely drilled crop

We passed by a large bird box- maybe for Owls?

Our conversation at this point was covering why the England football teams performance consistently disappoints, the lack of credible choice in our impending General Election and why our water pollution is out of control while water companies pay shareholders large dividends. All frustratingly annoying issues but good for a natter 😊. The miles slipped easily past.

Walking along a road towards Stubton we wondered what the spheres attached to overhead power lines were for – turns out they are for the safety of low flying aircraft!

Spheres on overhead power lines

We passed Stubton Hall just before the village- a very impressive looking hotel, and then took a footpath across numerous fields towards Claypole.

Stubton Hall

Some of the grass fields had just been mowed and it was surprisingly difficult walking through them. They reminded me of earlier in the week when I was volunteering by the Grantham Canal and making mini haystacks by lock 18.

Me hard at work!

mini haystacks by lock 18

We were looking for somewhere to take a break as we were 6 miles into our walk and it was getting close to midday. Crossing the East Coast mainline railway line we found a nice sheltered spot to sit and take a breather. The expression ‘Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun’ sprung to mind.

East Coast mainline train

A nice shady spot for a break

After our break we took a circuitous route passing Claypole community park which looked a great facility, and crossed the railway line again at a different point to head on a bridleway towards Barnby in The Willows.

Nice Blue Sky

The bridleway disappeared after a while and we were then crossing bean fields. I think we were all loving the walk and in particular the beautiful weather – its been a long wait for it to arrive! A memory to store away for those long cold winter days ahead.

We arrived at the river Witham and followed that back to the bridge that led to the church yard that we had left from.

Walking along the bank of the river Witham

It had been a wonderful walk, in beautiful weather, with great company – what more could you want?

I am really looking forward to the 26 mile sponsored walk that I am taking part in this Saturday to raise funds to help restore The Grantham Canal. It will be a challenge but I suspect it will be immensely enjoyable. Look out for that blog!

Happy Walking 😊🚶‍♂️
Scenic Lincoln Circular Walk: Cathedral, River Witham, and Common Views

Jun 11th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Chris met up in Bracebridge Heath, near Lincoln and we enjoyed a 9 mile circular walk that gave fine views of Lincoln followed by a scenic perambulation along the river Witham. Amigo Mick was not on this walk so it was a ‘Two Amigo’ walk today. Chris was keen as mustard for the walk because, for the first time ever, he was first to the meeting point!!

Leaving the car park we walked through a housing estate to reach a field where we started to get fine views.

View over Lincoln

Following our route we found that a landslip had taken away our path so we checked our maps and found a detour. Crossing the A607 we entered a field containing beans and followed that around until we could drop down on to our intended path. My legs got very wet from the long grass on this path.

The path by the bean field

We had arrived on a path above South Common and were rewarded with lovely views of the Common and Lincoln Cathedral sat majestically on the hill. https://lincolncathedral.com/

South Common

Lincoln Cathedral

The cathedral is very impressive and well worth a visit. Lincoln is a historic and beautiful city. We could see the Keep of Lincoln castle situated close to the cathedral.

We passed the International Bomber Command Centre. We didn’t visit today, but I had visited earlier in the month – hence the photos below. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/.

The IBCC – the sculpture represents the food drops that were carried out in post war Germany .

Memorial spire and wall of names

View from the base of the Spire looking upwards.

After passing IBCC we headed downhill towards South Common.

Chris on South Common

Looking back we could see the Spire on top of the escarpment.

Chris informed me that the height of the Spire was the same as the wing span of a Lancaster bomber!

Horses were grazing on the common which is a lovely open space.

Horses grazing on the Common

South Common

We passed across a bridge over the site of an old railway line – I said to Chris that it was the Melton Mowbray line (most old railway lines seem to me to pass through Melton Mowbray) but Chris did some research and found that it was, in fact, the Lincoln to Honington line!

We saw a handy bench and stopped for a cuppa. Refreshed we found our way to a drainage dyke that led us to the river Witham.

Chris viewing the drainage dyke

At the weekend myself and Angela had visited Easton Walled gardens which is about 5 miles from the source of the river Witham. The river runs through the gardens under a lovely ornamental bridge. It was coincidental that I was by the Witham again today.

The river Witham in Easton Walled gardens- 5 miles from its source

Easton Walled Gardens

After a short walk by the dyke we met the river Witham and followed the path for about 2.5 miles.

river Witham

Chris walking on the river bank

We passed a factory and a passer-by informed us that it is a Walkers crisps factory (that makes Quavers apparently).

Walkers Crisps factory

We stopped for another break at this bridge

River Witham in the background

As we were walking along the river we were deep in conversation about the SAS when I suddenly realised that there was no longer a river – we had missed our turning and were following a drain! Oops. We back tracked to pick up the river – I don’t think we would make the navigation grade for the SAS! It was a funny moment.

Crossing another bridge, further on past the sewage works, we walked through an urban area to pick up a path that led back up the escarpment.

Our path back to the escarpment

As we neared the hilly section Chris set off like a rat up a drainpipe and whizzed up the hill.

Reaching the top it was a flat walk along the escarpment back to the cars enjoying the distant views along the way.

It was a good and enjoyable walk today.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Charming 11-Mile Circular Walk from Waltham on the Wolds

Jun 5th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning the Three Amigos met up in Waltham on the Wolds and did an 11 mile circular walk taking in Branston, Eaton and Goadby Marwood. It would be an undulating walk and difficult in sections where nature had reclaimed the footpaths. We would have lovely views. I had done the walk last year with Angela but it was a new walk for Mick and Chris.

Our starting point by the church

It was a cool summer morning when we began, but the sun soon made an appearance warming us up.

We headed out of Walton passing a NATS (National Air Traffic Services) radio station and just when we were looking at the station The Red Arrows flew past in formation – fantastic!

NATS radio tower

We followed a grassed trail past the old Croxton Race Course to Bescaby where we passed a fine looking house with a picturesque lake.

The Old Croxton Race Course

Geese on the lake

It was nice to see the crops growing in the adjacent fields. We would cross many fields on this walk.

Following Mary Lane on the way to Croxton Kerrial we turned east and headed past Old Wood and then up Windmill Hill – a steep hill with very nice views.

Nearly at the top of Windmill Hill

Having reached the top we followed a trail downhill towards Branston, stopping for refreshments on the way. The fields were carpeted with yellow buttercups – they were very colourful.

Heading into Branston

In Branston we walked through the pub courtyard to follow the footpath to Eaton.

The pub courtyard

We saw hares, a red kite and a buzzard. Crossing the river Devon we took another break on a handy bench before walking through the village to find our path out towards Goadby Marwood.

Eaton Village

The next section of the walk was the tricky one with overgrown paths but we battled through.

An overgrown path

We came across a memorial to the crew of a Lancaster bomber who had crashed nearby. Chris did some research and came up with a link that tells the story of the search for the crash site http://www.goadby-marwood-history.co.uk/lancaster-r5694-em-f

It was particularly poignant coming across the memorial because its the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings tomorrow. As always, the crew were very young which makes it all the more tragic.

Continuing on we crossed a field containing cows. It was interesting to see the cows run away from us. Usually, being curious animals, they make their way towards you.

The cows ran away from us

crossing another field

We entered Goadby Marwood passing Goadby Hall and walked through the village.

Flowers growing in the wall

Goadby Marwood

We found our path out of Goadby Marwood crossing a number of stiles through fields containing friendly horses.

Stiles continued to be enclosed in nettles and weeds.

Nettles galore!

In places no path was visible and after reaching the sewage works we decided to take to the road for the short section back into Waltham on the Wolds.

Arriving into our destination.

This was a walk of two parts I think, with the latter being a bit troublesome due to the terrain. Still, we had enjoyed some fine views and had a good chat along the way.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
An Edgy Peak District Walk

May 31st, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Todays 9.5 mile walk began in Baslow. As per usual, myself and Angela did an early start to avoid the crowds but we were delayed by being stuck behind a refuse lorry collecting bins on the busy A6🤣 .

Arriving in the car park at Baslow I had lost all signal on my phone and guess what, it was not a cash payment car park but a pay by phone – very handy when its in an area with poor mobile reception. We parked on the road instead!

Our walk today would visit the southern gritstone edges of Baslow, Curbar and Froggatt then climb to the overlying escarpment of White Edge before heading back to Baslow.

Climbing out of Baslow we got some lovely views.

In the distance we could see Chatsworth House which is where myself and Angela went on our first date many years ago 😊. https://www.chatsworth.org/

On another hillside we could see ‘E : R’ clearly marked in the bushes.

It was quite breezy and it was a cool 12 deg C. We would have liked it a little warmer but at least there was no rain!

Heading towards Curbar Edge

The start of Curbar Edge

We kept on meeting small groups of youngsters who were doing Duke of Edinburgh Award walks – I think this is a good thing and its nice to see them out enjoying the outdoors. We followed the stony path across Curbar Edge and then on to Froggatt Edge where we saw that it was a popular rock climbing spot.

Exploring Curbar Edge

View from Curbar Edge

At Frogatt Edge we stopped for a cuppa and a butty enjoying the panorama views.

Angela enjoying the scenery

Some rocks on Frogatt Edge

Leaving Frogatt Edge we headed down to Hay Wood passing many climbers, complete with ropes, walking in the opposite direction to climb from the top. After the woods we crossed fields passing the Grouse Inn and headed up towards White Edge.

Angela heading up to White Edge

The escarpment of White Edge on the left

Reaching the top of White Edge we followed the rocky path enjoying the views and the quiet. A few hardy runners passed us.

On White Edge

It was a long walk along the escarpment and towards the end we saw a Trig Point and decided we must visit it – are we becoming trig Point baggers ? I wonder 😊

Making our way back to Baslow Edge we visited a monument to the Duke of Wellington – its a celebration of his victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Built by a local man who felt it necessary to counterbalance the memorial dedicated to Admiral Nelson on nearby Birchen Edge.

Duke of Wellington Monument

It was an easy downhill walk back into Baslow and the car. We had enjoyed our walk – it had splendid views.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Fairholmes to Alport Castles Circular Walk: Scenic Hike in Peak District

May 27th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

It was an early start this morning as myself and Angela headed to The Peak District to enjoy a 9.6 mile circular walk from Fairholmes car park (by the Derwent Dam) to Alport Castles (a remarkable landslip feature).

On the way the rain was tippling down, and driving through Snake Pass, visibility was reduced because the clag was in. We both looked at each other wondering what we had let ourselves in for. Angela put the car fog lamps on!

Having parked, and paid £6 for a parking ticket, we set off walking beside Ladybower Reservoir.

Beside Ladybower reservoir

Ladybower reservoir

Because it was early there were very few people about. Leaving the reservoir we followed an ancient bridleway that led up through forest to high, open pastures on a broad ridge.

We could hear, and then see, a curlew calling with its distinctive song as he flew around us. We could see the distinctive Mam Tor ridge in the distance and later Hope valley with the cement factory chimney billowing steam.

The Great ridge and Mam Tor in the distance – mist rising from the forest.

Hope valley in the distance

The rain had stopped and we were getting glimpses of blue sky. Things were looking up but there was a cool stiff breeze on top so we were not feeling warm – Angela put on her gloves.

After climbing we crossed wet bog-land. Large stone slabs had been laid across the bog and quite a few had sunk – not unexpected!

Walking across the bog

Before long we reached a lovely viewpoint above the quarry-like, craggy landscape of the landslip known as Alport Castles. Some of the topological features within this landslip bear some resemblance to castle ruins.

Alport castles

Alport castles

Great view at Alport castles

It was very blustery at Alport castles as Angela’s hair can testify!

From this airy spot above the deep, narrow valley of Alport we descended steeply passing Duke of Edinburgh student’s doing their gold award.

We passed a lone tree that just begged for a photo to be taken. We were headed to Alport farm.

Alport farm in the distance.

Just before the farm we crossed a solid wooden bridge over a stream.

It was nice in the valley, the sun was generating heat and there was little wind. We walked along the valley bottom on a good path and crossed over the river Ashop at Rowlee Bridge.

Crossing the river Ashop

Our path now took us across the A57 and along a short section of Roman road before re-crossing the river and road ( this was to avoid walking on the very busy A57).

On the Roman road.

The route then led us uphill to Lockerbrook and then downhill through the forest along a muddy path (in places) to Fairholmes car park.

Arriving into the car park it was full with cars circling like vultures above prey, looking for cars that are leaving. Car parking in the Peak District is an issue because once the car parks are full people have a tendency to park anywhere and stupidly.

We had enjoyed the walk. It was new territory. Driving back to Manchester the heavens opened and the roads were awash with water. We both felt very lucky to have had dry few hours for the majority of our walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Discovering Dunham Massey: National Trust Gem Near Manchester

May 25th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

After a few days of yet more rain (when will we get a more settled period of weather I ask myself??) today is a rare dry day. Unfortunately, although we would have liked to have had a trip to the Peak District, morning commitments meant we had to stay put and so in the afternoon we decided to visit Dunham Massey – a local National Trust property close to Manchester that we regularly visit-for a 5 mile walk. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/dunham-massey

We were hopeful that the park would be relatively quiet because Manchester United and Manchester City were playing in the FA Cup final at Wembley ( United won 2-1). It turned out that the park was quiet so that was a good call.

A quiet pathway in Dunham Park

Entrance into the stable block

Myself and Angela had a walk around the park footpaths, looked at some deer and enjoyed the sun on our faces. It makes a world of difference having nice weather.

Angela suggested a walk around the gardens so we did that and admired all the wonderful shrubs and plants growing there.

The old Orangery

The house viewed from the garden

‘Do you fancy a coffee?’ asked Angela. Most certainly, so we visited the café and relaxed outside with our coffees watching the world go by.

After coffee, a visit to the second hand books section was productive with myself buying three interesting books. I find that I am always lucky with finding good books here.

I have 2 peak District walks planned and I am hoping that the opportunity to do these will arise this week. The first is Alport Castles and the second Cubar Edge / Froggatt Edge. Fingers crossed for relatively dry days.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Exploring Grimsthorpe Castle Estate: A Picturesque 10-Mile Walk

May 21st, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Following a very wet start to the day the rain eventually stopped and myself and Mick were able to enjoy a lovely 10 mile circular walk.

We drove down the A1 and ended up stuck in a traffic jam for about a mile – the A1 is a notorious accident prone road through Lincolnshire. Parking in the Lincolnshire village of Swinstead our walk would take us to Creeton, Scottlethorpe and Edenham. A good deal of the walk today was across the Grimsthorpe Castle Estate. https://grimsthorpe.co.uk/

What was particularly nice about the walk, for us, was that we weren’t expecting a large estate with castle and so this was a pleasant surprise.

Grimsthorpe Castle

Leaving Swinstead we took paths across fields and reached a valley with a small stream running through it which we crossed via a wooden bridge.

We were pleased that there were no wet crops in the fields – we had got quite wet on our last walk .

We headed up Gorse Hill towards The Drift (a long distance track). The Drift runs parallel to the East Coast Mainline Railway and so, we watched numerous trains passing us -its a busy line!

Along The Drift

A short train passes us

We reached the small hamlet of Creeton where we happened upon a bench and took time to enjoy a cuppa.

Arriving into Creeton

Coffee time

Leaving Creeton Mick spotted a small herd of wild Deer in a field. Finding wild deer is definitely becoming more commonplace in England.

Along the way we would find numerous notices warning that shooting of deer was taking place, although we didn’t hear any munitions today.

A great job of making the footpath clear.

We passed through some nice wooded areas in the Estate and Mick thought he had spotted a wood-pecker.

Grimsthorpe Park

Grimsthorpe Park

One or two drops of rain started to fall but it didn’t amount to anything 😊. Our route took us through the small hamlet of Scottlethorpe and we were soon walking into the village of Edenham where there were roadworks occurring.

St Michael and All Angels Church- Edenham

We walked through the village , past the pub (looked nice) over a bridge across the river , through a field containing well behaved cows and another containing sheep.

The East Glen river in Edenham

Curious sheep

Shortly, we could see the large lake belonging to the Castle and then the castle itself. Our route took us around the outside of the lake.

The castle and lake

walking close to the lake

The castle is the home of Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. Grimsthorpe has been the home of the de Eresby family since 1516. The park is 3,000 acres and is 5 miles across at its longest point. Apparently the castle was a filming location for the latest series of Bridgerton.

We were enjoying the views of the castle and lake. At this stage we had walked 9 miles and not met a soul.

It wasn’t long before we were walking back into Swinstead.

Swinstead

Arriving back at the car we both agreed that it had been a cracking walk. It had been quite undulating so we were feeling it in ours legs. I am sure we will be doing this walk again.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Exploring Hough-on-the-Hill and Normanton-on-Cliffe: A 9-Mile Walking Adventure

May 17th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

As the rain poured down from the heavens all day yesterday, myself and Mick both had the same thought – are we going to be able to walk tomorrow morning?

Fortunately, the rain moved away overnight and we had a warm sunny morning for our walk. The walk would take us on a 9-mile circular route from Caythorpe to Hough-on-the-Hill then Normanton-on Cliffe before arriving back into Caythorpe.

Todays route

Parking in Back Lane, Caythorpe we set off on our planned route and were soon crossing a field of wheat where previous walkers had carved a path through.

Unfortunately for us the crop was very wet from the rain and by the time we had crossed the field our feet/trousers were soaking wet! Not a good start.

Wet legs /feet

Undaunted, we carried on and found that some of the paths were overgrown and so, also wet. Our feet /trousers were getting a soaking. Soon we came to an open field containing sheep and were relieved to be out of the long grass.

Crossing a field of sheep on the way to Hough-on-the-Hill

We could see Hough-on-the Hill in the distance as we strolled onwards.

Mick heading for Hough-on-the Hill

Hough-on-the Hill is a small village – it only had a population of 399 in 2011. The word Hough is Old English for enclosure and yes, the village sits on top of a hill. After arriving in the village we decided to walk around it and view the big houses.

The church in the village is called All Saints and dates back to the 11th century. It is built of ironstone and limestone. Mick spotted a bench in the church yard and we headed up to sit and take a break and allow our trousers to dry in the sunshine. As I munched on my scotch egg Mick had a perusal of the gravestones which although old (c1875) were in very good condition.

All Saints Church Hough-on-the-Hill

Leaving the church we got talking to a cyclist who was on a 70 mile day trip – it amazes me the distances cyclists cover in a day. In the village we spotted a few small old metal gates and wondered what their purpose was ?

Hough-on-the-hill

Leaving the village we crossed a field containing an old Foden excavator which was unexpected and interesting to see.

After leaving this field the path took us along the edge of the adjacent field which was overgrown with vegetation. Our trousers which had started to dry out soon became even wetter than previously!

Our path was straight through this overgrown section.

Reaching the end of the overgrown section we could not follow the defined pathway because the landowner had fenced in the route. This was not helpful but we did find a way around. We were feeling at this stage that this was proving a troublesome route.😒

We continued to cross fields and at one point we could see, in the distance, the point of entry into the next field which looked like it contained oil-seed rape. Our hearts sank – we have previous experience of not being able to cross oil seed rape fields because the farmer had not restored the footpath after planting the crop.

However, we were pleasantly surprised to find, when we entered the field, that the oil seed rape we had seen was only remnants from a previous year and the farmer had sprayed a path through the new wheat crop. Maybe our luck was changing.

We followed the yellow stripe path, crossed the route of a former railway line and entered Normanton-on-Cliffe. After a short walk along the main street we turned off and headed along a road that headed uphill giving nice views over the surrounding countryside.

Having reached the top of the incline we crossed a field where the farmer had placed cones at the entry/exit point but we didn’t realise this because they were not on the defined pathway. Oh well.

Having walked up the hill we were soon walking down the hill and looking for the footpath. This was not to be found so we decided to abandon trying to follow the footpaths and follow the lanes instead, back to Caythorpe.

Arriving in Caythorpe we passed a bright yellow flowering tree which I think is Common Laburnum / Golden Rain.

Back at the car we both felt that, for whatever reason, the walk was tougher than the 13-miler we had done last week. Maybe it was the blocked paths, although we had that last week too. Despite this, it had been nice to be out in the sunshine and explore new territory.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️