Walk 6 – Frisby on the Wreake to Mountsorrel

We did this section of the walk on Saturday 17^th September, so some weeks after the last walk.  A previously planned walk in August had been called off because the weather was too hot for long distance walking. 

 

Today it was considerably cooler than it had been over the previous week and the temperature had dropped by 15 or so degrees.  This was a very flat walk, in the Wreake and Soar river valleys with only a couple of small hills.  We crossed the Leicester to Melton Railway line 3 times, as well as the main London to Sheffield line.  We also had 3 crossings of the River Wreake and one over the River Soar so a day of railways and rivers!

 

This area is prone to severe flooding during long periods of rain so we wanted to get it completed before any possible future spells of rain which may stop us reaching our target of finishing the round during 2016.

As we arrived at the start, a fine drizzle set in and we had this for the first 2 hours of the walk.  This eventually cleared and although cloudy and dull for most of the time we had good walking conditions.

 

Frisby on the Wreake to Hoby

We left Frisby by the Old Cross Stump firstly through a recently ploughed field, then through fields of cows, sheep and horses. 

Recently ploughed field near Frisby

 

Just before reaching Rotherby, the path turned sharp right and took us over the Leicester to Melton railway line for the first time and then after a short distance crossed the River Wreake across a long narrow bridge. 

Train, with old style carriages, passing at the crossing

River Wreake near Hoby

Footbridge over the Wreake

 

We followed the river for a short distance before climbing a short steep hill into Hoby. 

Hoby is a small village that sits high above the Wreake.  We entered the village near All Saints Church which dates from the 13^th century.  The book said we should go past both the church and the Bluebell Inn – the pretty thatched village pub, but that turned out to be the wrong direction so we did go out of our way a bit before finding the path out of the village. 

All Saints Church, Hoby

 

Hoby to Rearsby

The walk took us over grassland where we could see the course of the Wreake and the railway line below us until the path turned left towards the river.  We passed Thrussington Mill House, which seems to be in the process of renovation and then crossed the Wreake for the second time. 

Thrussington Mill House

 

River Wreake near Rearsby

 

We made a short stop here for a drink and snack.  It had stopped drizzling and we were able to remove our waterproof outer layers.  We walked alongside the river for a short distance before turning towards the railway line from where we could see Thrussington church and village on our right.  

Thrussington Church and village

 

We crossed for the second time and into the village of Rearsby.  From the tracks we could see the former Rearsby Station house and the level crossing on the Thrussington to Rearsby road.  Rearsby used to lie on main A607 road between Leicester and Melton until a bypass was built in 2004. 

Rearsby Level Crossing and former station
from our crossing point

 

We passed through a well kept grassed area with the grounds of St Josephs convent to our right, and made our way towards St Michael and all Angels church.  The walk took us along the side of the church down to a ford over the Rearsby’s Brook, a tributary of the Wreake.  We crossed over the brook by the old medieval seven arch packhorse bridge. 

St Michael and All Angels Church, Rearsby

Packhorse Bridge and Ford, Rearsby

 

Rearsby to Cossington

After leaving Rearsby, we crossed the railway for the 3^rd and final time and then reach the River Wreake for the 3^rd time at Rearsby Mill.  We passed through the mill grounds with the beautiful Mill House and Mill House cottage on our right.  Rearsby Mill is nearer to Ratcliffe on the Wreake than it is to Rearsby. 

Rearsby Mill House

Rearsby Mill Pond

 

We walked down the drive towards Ratcliffe Road.  Before leaving the driveway to the mill the round takes a short cut across the field to the main road which cuts the corner off but we couldn’t get the gate open so walked the extra distance to the end of the drive instead.  The route then took us along a pretty tree lined track where we turned off just before Spinney Farm.

Driveway to Spinney Farm

 

We then crossed a field of sheep then uphill around muddy fields of newly sown crops to the A46.  At this point we had some great views to the east towards Burrough Hill, which we climbed on Walk 5.

Easterly view with Burough Hill to the right

 

Crossing the A46, a very busy dual carriageway, took a long time.  There was no real break in the traffic and we eventually had to make a dash for it when crossing each carriageway. 

Once across we went through a small spinney of young trees into the grounds of Ratcliffe College.  We left the college grounds and continued along tracks, sometimes muddy, until we reached the Cossington to Ratcliffe Road where we crossed the main railway line between London and Sheffield (over a road bridge this time) and into Cossington village where we had a very nice lunch at the Royal Oak pub,

Royal Oak, Cossington

 

Cossington is a small village with a population of 598 according to the 2011 census.  Every alternate Easter some of the villagers open their gardens to the public for “'Secret Gardens of Cossington'” event.  The village church is All Saints dates from 13^th century.  Opposite the pub is a large white house where Lady Isobel Barnett, TV personality and presenter from the 50s and 60s (panellist on "Whats my Line") used to live until she took her life, in this house, in 1980 after being found guilty of shoplifting.

Former home of Lady Isobel Barnett

Cossington to Mountsorrel

The last 2 miles from Cossington to Mountsorrel was delightful as it passed through Cossington Meadows, a reserve owned by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Association.  The lakes in Cossington Meadows are formed from the old gravel works and we saw quite a few fishermen and bird watchers in the area.  It is certainly somewhere to go back to in the future. 

Heron and ducks on gravel pit lake

 

The walk took us out of the reserve and alongside the River Soar which we followed for some distance until we reached Sileby Marina and locks where tpart of the river has been “canalised”.

Sileby Marina

Sileby Locks

Paul taking a rest near Sileby Marina

 

After this the route became a little unclear and we ended up at an underpass.  There was a sign for the Round which would have run alongside the A6 but it looked very overgrown and virtually impassable.  The book tells us that there is a crossing point over the A6 further up but the underpass is an alternative.  After our experiences with the A46 we decided to take the underpass into Mountsorrel.

Mountsorrel village is situated on the River Soar.  It is home to one of the largest granite quarries in Europe and there is an overground conveyor that moves the stone from the quarry to Barrow upon Soar where it is sorted.  The centre of the village is marked by the Buttercross, site of the village market.

Mountsorrel Green

Distance

We clocked up 11.98 miles on this walk but some of this was due to us taking the wrong route in Hoby.  I remembered my pedometer this time and that registered 33,000 steps.

Next Walk

The next walk will be from Mountsorrel to Markfield, hopefully in 2 weeks time.