Summer has finally arrived and I was looking forward to going out walking early this morning on a familiar 8-mile circular route taking in The Grantham Canal, Denton Reservoir and the old Ironstone Railway track.
I parked on the road next to The Dirty Duck pub at Woolsthorpe by Belvoir and set off following the towpath past locks 17 & 18. The Grantham Canal Society ‘Three Shires’ cruise boat was moored close to lock 18.
The sun was warm on my face and the towpath was clear – wonderful!
I was soon passing under Longmoor bridge which is a fine example of a skew bridge – the bridge does not sit at 90 degrees to the canal and the brick courses under the arch are skewed which gives the bridge greater strength. There are also slots in the roof to allow bats to roost.
Next up was my favourite bridge along the canal- the Casthorpe bridle bridge. I think I like it because it reminds me of the Mathematical Bridge at Cambridge.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_Bridge
As I walked further along I spotted a ‘weed-berg’ floating on the surface of the canal – these could get wrapped around the prop of a canal boat and are best avoided.
I passed four groups of Duke of Edinburgh award students navigating their way along the canal.
As I neared Harlaxton the vegetation along the towpath was crowding in and the sense of openness I had felt earlier on the walk disappeared.
I left the canal at Harlaxton bridge, peering into the murky waters of the canal as I crossed.
A nice walk across fields (I remember the same fields in spring being sodden with mud) brought me to the open expanse of Denton Reservoir – built to supply water (it has a capacity of 60 million gallons) to the canal.
I sat for a break taking in the quiet and the view. Anglers could be seen dotted around the outside of the reservoir.
Leaving the reservoir I passed through the village of Denton and headed up the road to pick up the dismantled track of the former Ironstone railway by a bridge.
It was a nice walk along the track, partially in the shade and no one to be seen.
Passing through the support pillars of a dismantled railway bridge I picked up the Viking Way which brought me back to the canal.
A short walk along the canal brought me back to the car and the end of todays walk.
My solo walk today was 12 miles along the Grantham Canal (currently being restored by The Grantham Canal Society). I parked my car near the canal at Dove Cottage and planned to walk towards Hickling. As you will see, things didn’t go as planned.
It was a fine June morning, but on the chilly side, as I set off along the canal just after 08:00.
Last week I had walked east from Dove Cottage so today I was walking west. This section of the canal is full of weeds and reeds. So much so, that you cannot see the water.
There was a breeze and, as I was walking, I could hear the reeds moving with the wind – this, I find quite relaxing. The wildfowl living in the reeds were quite vocal as I passed – no doubt signalling to others that there is an intruder in their area.
I saw a field where the grass had been cut and bailed up already. That’s early I thought to myself.
I passed a quaint little pedestrian bridge spanning the banks across the canal. I do like a nice bridge! There are 69 bridges along the length of the 33-mile Grantham to Nottingham canal.
The grass on the towpath was definitely in need of a trim – hopefully soon!
Continuing along the towpath I passed old Harby Mill warehouse- still standing proudly beside the canal.
Just pass the old warehouse I spotted Azolla on the surface of the canal. Azolla is a rapid growing water fern that can reduce light and oxygen levels in the canal harming fish and other wildlife.
I continued along the towpath and saw a pair of swans, complete with their large new family, directly in my path.
I slowed down admiring the little cygnets. The male Swan started to hiss at me and fluff up his wings. Naturally he was protecting his family. I had a decision to make – do I press on and upset the Swans or about turn and finish my walk going in the opposite direction?
I decided to leave the Swans in peace and turned around π. I wondered whether they were on the towpath because the surface of the canal was coated with Azolla.
Metal mile markers on the towpath marked the distance from the river Trent.
I passed under an old disused railway bridge that is being reclaimed by nature.
The bridge was from the former Bingham to Melton Mowbray line as this writing on the bridge testified.
I enjoyed the remainder of my walk. I hardly met a soul along the way today.
The 29th June, when I am taking part in a 26-mile sponsored walk along the canal, is zooming up quickly. I have my fingers crossed that it will not be raining on the day. It should be a memorable walk. Hopefully it will be the subject of a future 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.
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.
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/
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/.
After passing IBCC we headed downhill towards 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.
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.
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.
After a short walk by the dyke we met the river Witham and followed the path for about 2.5 miles.
We passed a factory and a passer-by informed us that it is a Walkers crisps factory (that makes Quavers apparently).
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.
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 sunny but on the chilly side this morning as I set off on an 18 mile walk along The Grantham Canal. I would be doing a ‘there and back’ starting in Woolsthorpe- by- Belvoir and going to Dove Cottage Tea rooms near Harby.
Why did I walk 18 miles? -you might well ask. Well, on the 29th June I am taking part in a 26 mile sponsored walk along the canal, from Gamston to the Grantham Canal Society depot at Woolsthorpe, in order to raise funds for the Society. http://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/granthamcanalsociety
The Grantham Canal runs 33 miles from Grantham to the river Trent in Nottingham. With the coming of the railways, sadly, the canal fell into disuse. The canal is gradually being restored by The Grantham Canal Society but there is still a long way to go.
Today I wanted to do a longer than usual walk to condition myself to the longer distance.
It was a perfect walking day – not too hot and a gentle breeze, as I set off from the depot.
I walked past a series of locks that have been restored by the Society.
When I reached lock 13 there was a detour off of the towpath because this is the lock that is currently at the early stages of restoration.
One thing that I did notice is how much the grass and weeds on the towpath has grown in the last few weeks, not to mention the weed in parts of the canal. The wet and warm weather has certainly allowed nature to flourish.
I passed a couple of swans with their three Cygnets – lovely to see!
As I walked along the canal I realised how much I was enjoying it because navigation was simple and there were no worries from traffic. I had nice chats with a number of people who I met along the towpath who were also enjoying a walk.
The highlight of the walk was hearing cuckoos in the distance, its not often you hear a cuckoo and there were a plenty along my walk today.
I passed another Lancaster bomber crash site memorial – so sad.
Along the way I stopped for a break a couple of times. I definitely needed to take on board fluids. Finishing the walk I was pleased that I was feeling strong so that gives me confidence to tackle the 26 miles on the 29th June. I wonder what the weather will be like on that day?
I had enjoyed the walk and achieved my objective for today π.
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.
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!
We followed a grassed trail past the old Croxton Race Course to Bescaby where we passed a fine looking house with a picturesque 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.
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.
In Branston we walked through the pub courtyard to follow the footpath to Eaton.
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.
The next section of the walk was the tricky one with overgrown paths but we battled through.
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.
We entered Goadby Marwood passing Goadby Hall and walked through the village.
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.
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 A6π€£ .
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 π. 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 EdgeThe 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 EdgeView from Curbar Edge
At Frogatt Edge we stopped for a cuppa and a butty enjoying the panorama views.
Angela enjoying the scenerySome 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 EdgeThe 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 π
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.
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 Β£6 for a parking ticket, we set off walking beside Ladybower Reservoir.
Beside Ladybower reservoirLadybower 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 castlesAlport castlesGreat 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.
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 DriftA 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 CreetonCoffee 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 ParkGrimsthorpe Park
One or two drops of rain started to fall but it didn’t amount to anything π. 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 EdenhamCurious 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 lakewalking 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.
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.π
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.
This morning I met up with Mick and we did a walk that we had been trying to do for a few months now. We parked up in the free car park (π) in East Bridgeford intending to do a 12.5 mile circular walk. It was a hot day and we were looking forward to a good stretch of the legs.
Our actual route
East Bridgeford is a charming little village which I had not been to previously so I was enjoying walking through it. We set off across fields heading towards the river Trent where we would pick up a path that ran adjacent the river.
Heading out of East Bridgeford with Stokes Windmill ahead.
It wasn’t long before we met the river and a Marina.
Alas, as we turned a corner to follow the path we came up against a path closure.
The path closure sign
Now, we had heard that the path had been closed last October following Storm Babet but naively assumed that 6 months was plenty of time for the council to address the issue. Wrong!
We now had to check the map to look at alternative routes. The problem was that we didn’t know how far the path closure extended and we did want to walk by the river. We headed along the road to get back into East Bridgeford and then picked up the road to Kneeton, looking for a path that would take us back to the river.
We found a path and walked down it to find the other end of the path closure, so that was good – we knew we were now clear of the path closure. Dropping down to the river we passed a fallen tree – one of many that we would see.
One of the fallen trees.
Pleased that we were now back on track we headed along the river bank path taking in views of the river Trent.
The path by the riverThe river Trent
Continuing along the path we found our way blocked by a fallen tree so we had to climb over / limbo under it to get passed. Not impressed.
Carrying on we found the path getting narrower and narrower with the sides full of stinging nettles. Guess who was wearing shorts? Mick was lucky that he was not in shorts.
We pressed on thinking that we would pass through this area shortly. However, the path petered out into an impassable morass of nettles. Eventually, we could go no further.
My legs were tingling from the stings and we now had to go back through the nettles and climb over the fallen tree once more π. Things were not going as planned!
Consulting the map once more we looked for an alternative route to take us away from the river and on to Kneeton. Heading up the steep embankment we found a good path with nice views.
Rolling countrysideThe river down below.
We met a friendly dog walker who asked about our route and warned us about paths that may not be accessible. I thought ‘we have had our fair share of those already!’
We had a steady walk along a grassy path, which was still very muddy in places. We were pleased to roll into Kneeton and find a handy bench by the church. We were most definitely ready for a break.
A welcome break in KneetonKneeton village
Leaving Kneeton we passed across fields and were heading to the busy A46. The route that we were following took us across the road but this was impossible because access was fenced off. We took a quarter mile walk along a road adjacent to the A46 to cross by a pedestrian bridge.
Our path by the A46The pedestrian bridge across the A46
Crossing the A46 we now had a quarter mile walk in the opposite direction to pick up our planned route!
Crossing fields we passed the architecturally very impressive Flintham Hall. The conservatory at the eastern end of the hall resembles the original Crystal Palace. It is a private house although it does open its doors to the public once a year. http://www.flinthamvillage.org.uk
Flintham Hall
At this stage we agreed to modify our planned route because of the delays we had suffered. We took to the roads and headed for Screveton passing an unexpected sculpture in a field, although it was looking slightly ragged in places.
The unexpected sculpture of a woman tilling the soil.
Close by, there was a nice memorial to the crews of two RAF aircraft who lost their lives in a mid-air collision above Screveton on April 14th 1944. It never ceases to amaze us how many memorials we come across on our wanderings.
We passed through the quiet village of Screveton and headed for Car Colston, passing a tangled root system on a house wall.
The road through ScrevetonWhat a tangle!Arriving in Car Colston
We passed the church in Car Colston and passing the cricket club we watched lawn mowers cutting the grass ready for a game of cricket . Car Colston boasts the largest village green in Nottinghamshire. Following a road aptly named Butt lane we headed back to East Bridgeford and the car park.
The walk hadn’t gone as expected – sometimes these things happen. We had seen some unexpected things (Flintham Hall and the sculpture at Screveton) and had a good stretch (13 miles) of the legs – what’s there to complain about?