The Leicestershire Round

29th April 2006

Thorpe Satchville - Burrough Hill - Dalby Hills - Somerby - Owston - Withcote - Launde - Belton in Rutland (14 miles)

Thorpe Satchville

After a couple of months restfrom walking, I dusted off my boots and got out there again, getting a bus to where I left off last. Within seconds, I was back in the countryside again.

Burrough Hill Iron Age Fort

It wasn't immediately apparent to me that this was once a fort, but once it had been pointed out, it began to make sense... Now guarded by sheep, the fort stands as a testimony to former greatness.

The Permissive Path

At certain times of the year, the Ernest Cook Trust permissive path is closed to walkers, presumably to stop people worrying animals like pregnant sheep. Or is it the other way round...?

Perhaps the path should be closed to sheep to stop them from worrying the hikers? Mind you, who could be afraid of these little lambs? It was, however, the protective mother I kept a good eye on.

You Are Still Being Watched

If sheep look menacing (?) then cows must surely be threatening (?). Luckily, I didn't make a sound like a blade of grass.

The not too sunny yet not too cloudy day, the birdsong, the new lush growth of early summer and the sound of streams came together to make a truly relaxing walk. Hear it for yourself:

A place to rest and take in the view of the Leicestershire countryside. A place of rememberence of a fond friend. I was certainly not the only person to appreciate this place.

After spending many years of dying out, a number of traditional skills seem to be making their way back in to modern life. Hedgelaying is the art of using living bushes to weave in to a thick, unpassable living fence.

Occasionally I can get lost due to a missing plastic 'round' circle or an absent 'this is where you are supposed to go!'. But with signs like these (presumably one of the old ones), who could get lost?

The day was quite warm, and it was certainly felt when crossing over a large field. Huge clouds passed overhead, casting their vast shadow on the ground. It was great to be in the shadow, very hot when out of it.

It was just as well I had sturdy boots on. Any other footwear would have been sucked from my foot and lost within seconds of attempting this path that led through Owston Woods. The imagination began to take over...

I am always impressed by people who have vision - Tim Smit for the Eden Project, Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his numerous bridges and railways, the headteacher at my school for putting us on the right track... It includes the person who planted these horse-chestnut trees.

What I find very exciting about spring is the way that dead looking plants turn green all of a sudden and cover themselves with an extremely healthy looking green glow. The emergence of a Horse-Chestnut bud is an amazing thing to watch (using time-lapse photography of course!). Year after year, nature never fails you!

At this time of the year, large patches of white can be seen from the blackthorn bushes. Their heady scent taunts the traveller as they pass, capturing their senses.

I needed to pass over the hill seen in the distance. It seemed like an easy task - cross this small piece of ground in front of me just past Withcote Hall and I'm on my way to Launde Abbey. The rivers of slurry before me were deceptive - they looked solid, but the truth was very different...

I'm not too sure if the Horse-Chestnut tree in front of Launde Abbey enjoyed being submerged in water, but it provided a suitable backdrop to the abbey, which looked busy from the amount of people visiting it.

The road to my goal has been met, at least, after being a bit lost for a while, I hope it is the right way home.

Coming off the white road, I found a tarmaced one that led to Belton-In-Rutland. I did notice that many signs led the anti-clockwisers in the right direction, but what about us clockwisers?

After passing a couple who made it clear they enjoyed leaning against their pick-up whilst watching walkers race for the bus (and trying to convince me I was in Braunstone), I found out where the bus stop was and hoped that the bus hadn't aleardy gone.

What else could one do at a bus stop apart from listen to the sounds that were going on around you whilst hoping that a bus was going to turn up? It was another relaxing experience - I recommend to everyone to just sit somewhere and listen to the world around you, thinking of nothing, just being aware of the world around you. How often do we get to do that?