Walk 8 Market Bosworth to Bagworth

25th August 2012

Greetings all.  Your roving newshound Stanley here with his paws on the pulse of all the news that is fit to print about walk 8.

And then there were three...

 Saturday Morning Under The Plastic Palm Trees

Well, four including the photographer (OWP) of course.  Rob and Ev meanwhile were lying in the sun in the Med.  Even so, it would turn out that our happy, if small, band would also soon be feeling the heat themselves; they just did not realise it to start with.

Setting off from Bosworth was a fraught affair.  First of all, Gillian had to learn how to use her new "bum bag", which had nearly all of us crying "the bells Esmerelda" as we walked through the town.  Then we had to pass the cake and bread shop, then Gillian needed tissues because of hay fever, then all the humans had to use the public convenience en-route.

 Sun and sheep

But finally we burst out of the confines of Bosworth and into some glorious countryside.

The GB triathlon team in action

With only the odd stile to cross on the way.  You will already note that Gillian has taken her coat off.  Of this more later.

To coat or not to coat

Blue skies, warming up and a good surface underfoot.  An excellent start to the day, and there were even some puddles to have a drink from.

Bosworth in the sun

The route took us down past some horses and then on to the golf course.

A model roll

But before that Gillian has to have a lesson in the correct use of her new pack, and in particular how to roll your coat up and fix it to the bag.  Above Jane models the correct way; below Gillian gets in a mess.

John always did his own roll-ups

John shows Gillian his supple wrist technique for doing roll-ups.

The 'insert it here' technique

John shows a disinterested Gillian his insertion techniques.  Meanwhile, another tissue is used up.

John, it's fallen out...

John's insertion technique proves to be all talk as it slips out after a few steps.

More blue sky thinking

Meanwhile it gets hotter and hotter ...

Hangin' around

... and the rest of us stand around and wait.

The party just had to wait

And then we walk straight past the sign for a birthday party. I thought the humans liked cake as well...

Home before bedtime

At least I then got the opportunity for a quick dip and a drink in the stream that ran along the side of the golf course.  Soon I was refreshed and ready to go again. And then on up towards Carlton.

This way?

At least it looks as though we are on the right route anyway.

All ploughed up

As far as I can remember, this is the first ploughed field we have seen in quite a long while on the Walk.  Carlton is on the horizon.  If you look over your shoulder at this point and hold your tail straight up in the air, the great pyramid of Nuneaton should be in perfect alignment.

Oi!  No parking

Here we are ignoring the no parking signs in Carlton.  Stick a ticket on that if you can.

 Countryside I

Countryside II

Through Carlton and out into open countryside again.  All the humans thought that this was one of the best bits of the walk so far, giving it a whopping five muddy paws; me - I thought it needed more mud.

Stile is everything

Here's Gillian getting to grips with the Leicestershire Round.  And me, I have become a stile expert on this walk, passing through them like the wind through a thin pair of walking trousers.

 Sheep in tow

More corn fields

Now on our way towards Shackerstone and an (apparently) well-earned drink.  Difficult for me to comment because they do not seem to have done a great deal yet.  Ah well, time for a bit of a sleep I suppose.

The walk comes to a sudden stop

But wait a cotton-pickin' moment.  What is this...Leicestershire shut?  I get the humans to read the notice.  It would appear that the footpath shut about one year ago because of a dangerous bridge (hey guys, if you are listening - what about the one just before the railway line near Market Harbourough??).  Anyway, the notice (dated September 2011) said work was going to take six months.  Now, doing the maths on my paws, I have either fallen into the past or that six months was optimistic.  

Anyway - what now for the pint and a kip?

It seems we need to turn left, down the lane and do a small diversion.  Actually for anyone doing the walk I would suggest ignoring the proposed diversion.  Walk left down the lane, cross the railway ...

That's not a steam train

... and go to the canal, then walk up the tow path.

Time for a swim?

And, before you know it, this will be the scene that you see:

Nastro Azzuro

Although, of course, without Gillian and Jane in the picture.  And then you come to ordering food - Jane is a bit stumped by the menu - but if you order correctly you might see this:

Hot beef, melted cheese et al

or this - although again without Gillian:

Ham and cheese, or should that be cheese and ham?

Anyway, the humans spent a good hour eating and drinking and said it was 'very good value'.  I had a sleep as I knew there were at least 6 more miles to go.  I am told that The Rising Sun got nine chips out of ten in their rather arbitrary pub marking system.  Full results will come at the end of the walk (next year!).

The Do Little Bros & Co. van

All good things come to an end though, and I finally managed to get them up.  Although, as we started the walk again, we passed a van that could well have applied to my human followers.

Taking a leaf out of the humans' book

Suddenly everyone was calling "Stanley" and they wanted me to pose for a picture.  No idea why, it was almost as if they did not want this walk to end (or as if they had eaten so much food that they could not actually walk).

A leaf for a hat

Oh I see. Yes, very funny...

Ivanhoe appears without horse

Ha, ha, ha.  Oh excuse me, I am still laughing at the leaf on the head photo.  Oh dearie me, my sides might split.

We are now at the point of the walk where the Leicestershire Round joins the Ivanhoe Way.  You might have thought that being on two "named" footpaths would make the going much better.  If you do think that, then shake it from your mind as 1 + 1 does not equal 2 here.

Odstone Hall (that's why he walks funny)

When the going gets tough, the tough get sunscreen.  Or something like that.

Sunscreen to ward off the rain

By this point in the walk the heat was beginning to tell. There were also the tell- tale rumbles of thunder to go along with flashes of lightning that was beginning to suggest that our mood might darken at some point soon.

Right turn ahead

If you look closely at the photograph above you will see the path turns slightly left near the trees on the horizon.  If you are walking this way you would be well advised to take note of the footpath marker lying down in the hedge bottom at that point.  Although we did not see it, this marker was telling us that the Leicestershire Round went right, across the field, not up into the next field.

Stormy Saturday

As we tramped around the potato field looking for a footpath, dark clouds slowly rolled up behind us.  Not so much time for sunscreen as full waterproofs, we thought.

Clouds to the right of me, jokers to the left.  Here I come.

That only lasted for about two minutes though; after about four spots of rain it got so hot, they all complained about "getting wet from the inside out".

 Spot Gillian

And so we yomped across the fields towards Nailstone.  If you are doing the Round, beware of the footpath at Nailstone as you cross the A447 - lethal is one word for the headlong dive you have to take onto the main road.

 Don't turn around

Still the storm rolled along behind us, and to our right.

The National Shrub

And then we reached the National Forest, although at this point it could not even be called the National Wood.  Still I suppose there was a grant for it, and this one won a prize!

Running up that hill

And then all that was left was a gallop up the final hill and we were back at the car in Bagworth.

Really this was a walk of two halves, Brian.  First half they played a blinder and got five muddy paws, second half they just went to sleep, let the opposition creep up behind them and nearly paid the price so two muddy paws for that bit.  In my dog mind that makes a mark of about 3½ muddy paws for the total walk.  There were, naturally, zero caches in the register, although we are due a recount on Monday.

And as for cake?  Well, I was in the car having an ice bath to keep my muscles in trim and the suchlike.  The humans, however, went back to Market Bosworth where once again they pigged out on cake and tea/coffee.  It's a dogs life...

So for those who are into the stats side of the game, that was 10.41 miles (including the detour around the potato field), which brings the total up to 70.6 miles completed.

Download the GPX file here (actions - export).  Please use a virus checker.

Next time: Bradgate Park (if we make it), Thornton Reservoir for a spot of fishing, the M1 again, and no doubt several pubs.

Walk 7 Burbage Common to Market Bosworth

5th August 2012

Greeting from your roving newshound reporting on an almost dog-astrophic wet walk from somewhere Common to somewhere Royal(ish) with lots in between.

Prodded early on in the walk, this is now against the SRL rules

As unimpressed as I am to show this image of the abuse of your faithful newshound, I have to report that even before the walk began I was prodded to within an inch of my skin by a walking pole.  A rule change has been introduced for future walks that limits proximity of me to walking poles and vice-versa.

Anyway you will notice that the original group is back together.  A little like most reunions we will never be as good as we once were but needed the money.  So welcome to the backside of Leicestershire to Ev who managed to catch us up by stoically walking from Claybrook Magna to Burbage over the last few days (or possibly by getting in a car with Rob and travelling down the A14).

To say that the weather was not set fair would be an understatement.  Indeed Rob dressed in waterproofs is most unusual; is that something he might regret?  Read on to find out.

So we tee-off the walk, completely ignoring the cafe at Burbage Common which was actually open as we departed.  For the first (and not for the last) time, the challenge was to actually find the route.

Unlucky for some

Fore!  Oh, he really is a deaf as a post these days.  Anyway it would appear that the route goes around the edge of Hinckley Golf Club.

Out of bounds

So off we stomp through the rough towards Burbage.

Stiles pose no problems to a dog of many talents

Crossing the main road, and descending into the edge of what turned out to be someone's garden.  Anyway, the signs were pointing us in the right direction, so across a stile into a very wild field and to the first cache of the day.

Time to get lost

This was also the one that almost caused us a problem, as the two people with GPS stayed behind whilst the main group including I, Stanley, leader of the pack, wandered aimlessly around getting lost.  This despite the fact that we had a map. Dohh!

And they had a map

Rebooting the Stanley-GPS after a few telephone calls quickly locates the the path again.  Now I have to say that, for the most part, the walk has been really well signposted, but this bit across to Market Bosworth is hopeless with hardly any signs.  So if you are doing the walk, turn sharp right after the bridge, cross the field with the hedge to your left and then go through the hedge at the end of the road to

Ev does the walk in her sleep

the main road, where you will find two signs (really helpful those).  A thought does enter our heads at this point that we are actually doing the walk the wrong way round; odd that the signage seems better if we were going anti-clockwise.

Anyway enough musing, onwards to Burbage. The Las Vegas of the Midlands.

You are welcome to Burbage

Burbage.  What is there to say about this jewel in the crown of Leicestershire? 

OK.  So we went through Burbage.

Still on the right track then.

Ah, that's more like it.  Wide open countryside and maybe a hint of blue sky if you close one eye and squint.

 Jane spots "The Naked Rambler"

No idea what is going on here.  Nope...absolutely nothing to report.

Fetch the stick, nice doggie

Here I am, waiting again while the humans attempt to cross stiles and bridges.  We are actually getting quite warm by this stage.  It feels as though the sun might peak through the clouds anytime soon.

What an Odd House, thinks Rob (SP 425 971)

And when the sun does come out, the going soon hots up.  Note Rob out of waterproofs by now.

One man and a dog

So as "the light was good", the official walk photographer (OWP) took a few snaps.

A photo with no caption

If I remember right we were somewhere near Odd House Farm at this point

It's this way

It would appear that the OWP was experimenting on us again, this time with 1:1 format photos (whatever that means??).

Bull Rush

And then it was time for some beans.  In fact a lot of beans.  Head high beans, tail high beans and other more tender bit high beans.

Beans, beans, beans

Beans, beans, beans.  I like beans.

Dog on a stick

Here I am liking my beans (although I do suspect the OWP was taking the micky at this point).

Happy Dog

It is at this point that the totally unexpected happened. Having been already told the story of sowing his grass seed (I am pretty sure he said "grass") on the verges of Cadeby, John stunned us all by admitting that he had never heard of the village we were approaching.

John wants proof that Dadlington exists

 

So we can only assume that the poor people of Dadlington were at some point last century up to their necks in grass as the council mower drivers ignored them completely. Either that or it could be in the Twilight Zone as we were still struggling to find the route round Dadlington.  It looks as though at this point the actual path differs slightly to the OS maps we have.

So, being possibly lost, the humans decided that it was lunch.  A liquid one (as usual) but no beer as far as I could see, and also no chips.  I'm not sure what the world is coming to....

I'm not talking to anyone

John tries to see Dadlington

Lunch time

Well they all look as if they are enjoying their rest.  So after a quick paddle in the brook for me we were off again, heading towards the Ashby-De-La-Zouch canal and Sutton Wharf.

The Ashby Canal and a slight hint of beer in the air

They seem to be in one heck of a hurry for some reason.

The Ashby Canal

The reason why they were in a hurry becomes clear as we reach Sutton Wharf.  Obviously the smell of beer and chips has a real "speed up" effect on the humans.

Giant cocktail

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit

And once Gillian has finished her beer, we can set off for the most exciting bit (so I am told) of the walk - Bosworth Field... Which was actually a bit of a disappointment, mainly because the humans suddenly decided to take a look behind them to see what the weather was doing.

Jane tries to grab the gate opener while thunder rumbles and John vanishes

To say that it did not look promising for the last part of the walk would be an understatement, and so the humans basically walked as fast as their little legs could carry them, in the (possibly) vain hope of getting to Market Bosworth before the rain arrived.

Rain?  What rain?

 
And they walked over (small) hill and dale towards Bosworth, while to the left of them it was getting darker

Oh that rain...

 

and to the right of them it looked beautiful

No rain

 
Unfortunately the weather was coming from the left.  A huge thunderstorm was brewing over Coventry and Nuneaton and we were all staring at a soaking (unless of course they put their waterproofs on, but no-one wanted to do that, so....)

Pond life

 
While this was all going on the OWP just kept mumbling about "the light" as if he was some kind of "Artist".

Soon the thunder (and steam train whistles - but that is a story for another day) was rumbling all around us and we entered the woods of Bosworth Park.

Bosworth Park 1

The OWP could not decide which of these photos to put in the blog, so you have two of the same tree.

and 2

The woods were rather muddy in places as Jane nearly found to her cost over this little bit (below).

Mud facial

And then, quite suddenly, we were at the end of the walk.  We had not got wet (yet) and we had had a great walk.  Shame that we could not have had more time to explore Bosworth Park but those clouds did look threatening.

The end.  Mind that stick...

When I say we did not get wet, we had parked in the town square in Market Bosworth. Just as we arrived at the car, the heavens opened so yours truly got dumped in the car while the humans went and had tea.  Meanwhile I was left with some warm water in a bowl and no biscuit.

Oh, a lump of chocolate cake

Happy faces all round

Looks like they had fun anyway, so that's nice isn't it?

Some of the basic information on the walk.  The cache register stood at fourteen, so Rob has improved his average a little. The GPS tells us that the walk was 9.73 miles. And the muddy paw mark?  Well, taking into account the paddle in the brook and the muddy paths towards Bosworth, I'd say four muddy paws.  It would have been higher but the poor signs really let this part down - and then there was Burbage...

Download GPX file here (actions - export).  Note we did get a little lost on this one, so just avoid the big circle near the start.  Please use a virus checker.

Next time: Steam trains.  And, if we ever get John past Shakerstone station, we walk along the Ivanhoe Way, have a look at Odstone Hall and also pass a few pubs.

c. Stanley The Dog 2012