Walk 7 - Mountsorrel to Markfield

We did this section of the walk on Sunday 2^nd October and this was a very scenic and relatively easy walk, with quite long stretches on tarmac roads or gravel tracks.  After heavy rain the day before we went prepared for mud and wet conditions which was needed for parts of the walk but we did have a lovely sunny day which started at a cool 6 degrees centigrade but warmed up to a lovely 20 degrees towards the end.  We encountered a great many runners today, even in the muddy areas, something that has not happened on previous walks.  Maybe parts of this walk are popular running routes.

 

Mountsorrel to Woodhouse Eaves



War Memorial - Castle Hill

We left Mountsorrel at 8.30 am  and from the Buttercross walked up the hill, with Castle Hill on the left and the War Memorial cross at the top.  Further on we passed the remains of former granite quarries on the right. 

The Buttercross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We crossed a railway bridge from where we could see the new Mountsorrel Railway station.  This is a spur line of the Great Central Railway, which we were to see more of later in the walk.

Looking down to Mountsorrel Station from Bridge

Before long we had views of Swithland reservoir, which was built to provide drinking water for the city of Leicester.  This reservoir is very picturesque and has the Great Central Railway viaduct running across it.  This railway is a major tourist attraction in the area and steam and diesel trains run from Loughborough to Leicester stopping at Quorn and Rothley with some also going to the Mountsorrel spur, the station for which we saw earlier.

Swithland Reservoir - Great Central Railway Viaduct

Swithland Reservoic - Pumping Station

Swithland Reservoir

Shortly after leaving the reservoir causeway, we crossed the main line of the Great Central Railway.  It was only 9.30 and we thought it a bit early for trains to be running.  Up until this point the walk had been on tarmac roads or gravel paths, but we then turned into a field and found conditions underfoot going from one extreme to the other.  We walked through several fields of very high unharvested maize or sweetcorn, not sure which it was and from the previous days rain the ground was very wet, muddy and slippery so our pace slowed down a lot. 

Paul on footpath between fields of Maize

We eventually moved into grass fields with many dairy cattle grazing.  We heard the whistle of a train and looked across the fields to see the engine and carriages as they went under the bridge that we had walked over some time earlier.

Train on Great Central Railway

We continued across more fields to the village of Woodhouse Eaves which is a very attractive village at the side of Beacon Hill with a lot of very old character cottages and houses.  This makes it one of the most expensive villages in the county of Leicestershire.

Stone cottages in Woodhouse Eaves

It has several pubs and the village church is the Church of St. Paul, built in 1836/37.  There was a scarecrow event going on when we arrived and many of the villages had been quite creative with their scarecrows.

Scarecrow exhibit

Scarecrow exhibit



Woodhouse Eaves to Newtown Linford

As we left Woodhouse Eaves, we entered the south east part of the National Forest which is an environmental project started 25 years ago to create more woodland in the centre of England.  The remainder of this walk and much of the next is through the National Forest.

The walk bypassed Beacon Hill which is a pity as that is another very nice country park in the country with superb views from the summit.  A beacon has been lit on the hill many times over the centuries to give warning or to commemorate an important national event.  Many times over the centuries a beacon has been lit near the summit to give warning or commemorate an important national event.  During the Second World War the site was occupied by the Ministry of Defence and was used for training operations and the storage of munitions.  In 1947, the site was purchased by Leicestershire County Council to protect its value as a public open space and later was designated as a Country Park and has now become one of the premier visitor attractions in Leicestershire at the gateway of the National Forest.

The walk instead took us across Lingfield Golf Course, where we had to be very careful to avoid golfers teeing off as the path often crossed the fairways.  There were many people enjoying a game of golf and by now the weather was warming up. 

Lingfield Golf Course

We continued through Rough Hill Woodland, a National Forest site before arriving at one of the northern entrances to Bradgate Park.

 
BRADGATE PARK was first enclosed as a deer park around 800 years ago.  Extending to 830 acres of publicly accessible countryside the Park has a wild and rugged aspect that is rarely found so close to the city with dramatic rocky outcrops and gnarled old oak trees, many of which are well over 500 years old  The River Lin runs through the Lower Park and is a popular spot for picnics or just watching the deer.   

Old John Tower

We walked the short steep stretch from the park entrance to Old John Tower which is an 18^th century folly sitting at the highest point of the park and is one of Leicestershires most famous landmarks.  We sat on the ledge around Old John for a rest, drink and snack before making our way down the hill. 

View towards Swithland Reservoir to Mountsorrel and beyond

On the way down we saw a large herd of deer enjoying the sunshire to our left and a few smaller groups further down.  As we neared the tarmac road that runs through the lower park, we could see the ruins of Bradgate House, one of the earliest brick-built country houses in England and the birthplace and childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for Nine Days in 1553.

Deer in Bradgate Park

Deer in Bradgate Park

We reached the path running through the park and walked along to the main entrance at Newtown Linford, seeing several more groups of somewhat tamer deer on the way. 

Deer in Bradgate Park

Instead of our normal pub lunches, we decided to stop at the Post Office Tea Rooms today where we sat in their gardens in the sun with a slice of cake and a drink.

Post Office Tea Rooms

Jean having well deserved rest in the sun

Newtown Linford is a linear village with the River Lin flowing through.  It has many old cottages with lots of character.  The village's name originates from the relocation of people when the Ferrers family of Groby turned Bradgate into a deer park. The people who lived within the estate were moved to the "New Town" - or hamlet as it would have been then. The village was first documented in 1293 and was previously known as "Lyndynford".   The villagers were all tenants of the Ferrers family, and later the Grey family

Thatched cottage in Newtown Linford

Water Pump in Newtown Linford

Newtown Linford to Markfield

We walked along the main road through Newtown Linford passing two pubs and some very old houses.  We left the village across a couple of fields and reached an area of fairly new woodland where much of the walk was along a shady path with trees either side.  This led to Johns Lee Wood, a local Scout camp and activity centre.

Tree Lined path between Newtown Linford and Markfield

We were nearing the end of the walk when we made a mistake.  We passed Tanglewood Farm Stables.  Although safely enclosed behind large gates, 3 very noisy dogs barked loudly and aggressively as we passed the gates and continued to bark as we walked along footpath on the side of the property.  We hurried to try and get out of their sight so that they would stop barking and we think we missed a sign where the Round turned sharp right.  We went straight on and walked along the left side of a large paddock of horses whereas the Round would have taken us to the right side and up to the A50.  We eventually found the path again on the A50 and completed the last part of the route to find out car which was waiting for us at the edge of Markfield Village.

Horses at Tanglewood Farm Stables

Markfield is a commuter village and dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest.  It is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name Merchenefeld with just 2 small households in 1070. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 5681.   Markfield has a long association with the quarrying industry and has a particular type of granite, microdiorite named after it. The granite stone (microdiorite) 'Markfieldite' is a very hard granite found in the local area and used in roadstone and railway construction.

Distance

We walked a total of 11.36 miles and I clocked up 31,000 steps on my pedometer.
 

Next Walk

The next walk will be from Markfield to Shackerstone 9.5 miles or Market Bosworth 13 miles but this is unlikely to be until November as we do not have any free weekends in the coming weeks.