Walk 10 - Sutton Wharf to Aston Flamville

We did this section of the walk on Boxing Day, Monday 26^th December 2016.  As there are no pubs or cafes on todays route, we took mince pies and a flask of hot mulled wine for our lunch stop.  It was a glorious day with bright sunshine throughout but as we were walking south, and the sun is very low in the sky at this time of year, it was constantly in our eyes.

 

Sutton Wharf to Barwell

We left Sutton Wharf at 9.30 am and the first part of the walk was along the Ashby Canal Tow Path which was quite muddy in places.  There were a lot of narrow boats moored near to the Wharf and some others making their way through but soon the canal was completely still with only ducks and moorhens disturbing the still water.



Ashby Canal from bridge where we left
to follow route to Barwell

 

We then left the canal and walked through fields of winter root vegetables, including parsnips and swedes and other newly ploughed fields which were extremely muddy and made it a bit slow going.  There were a couple of grassy fields before reaching Barwell so we were able to clean our boots a bit before walking on the village pavements.

 

Field of root vegetables, possibly parsnips

We only passed through a small corner of Barwell so didn’t see much of it.  It is a large village and suburb of Hinckley having a population of around 9,000 at the 2011 census.  The name translates as "Stream of the Boar" and is said to originate from a boar that used to drink from the well near a brook in the village.  Its originally name was Borewell and the brook is now called the River Tweed, a tributary of the River Trent.

Barwell and neighbouring Earl Shilton were the site of a meteor event when, on Christmas Eve 1965, the villages were showered with fragments from an object about the size of a Christmas turkey. No one was hurt, although some minor damage to buildings and property occurred.  One meteorite went through the front of a car, destroying the engine. The insurance refused to pay out as it was an "Act of God" so the owner went to the priest of the local church and asked for the repair money, saying "If it was an Act of God, the Church should pay for his car." but this claim was not successful either.  The fragments were confirmed to be from a chondrite, a stony, non metallic meteorite. Locals were asked to hand in any further specimens to the local police station.  A piece of the meteorite is on display at the Herbert Museum in Coventry.
 

Barwell to Burbage

We left Barwell going straight into a grass field with quite a few white shire horses and foals.  They were standing so still they looked like statues from a distance. 

White shire horses in Barwell

Friendly horse near Barwell

 

We then crossed the busy A47, Leicester to Hinckley road and made out way to Burbage Common and the Hinckley Golf Club grounds.  There were a large number of families and dogwalkers around the common and quite a few enjoying a game of golf.  We had a pleasant walk through Sheepy Wood, where we had some respite from the sun before crossing under the Leicester to Hinckley railway line. 

 

Sheepy Wood

 

Shortly after crossing the railway we saw a sign to a farmhouse who were advertising “light refreshments”.  This was Mays Café at Woodhouse Farm, Burbage Common.  We could see some picnic tables in front of the café so made our way over to have our lunch.  The café was closed so we sat down and poured our mulled wine and opened the bag of mince pies.  Other walkers saw us and must have thought that the café was open so made the short detour only to be disappointed to find it closed.

Robin who probably cleared up the crumbs
from the mince pies

 

Mulled Wine and Mince Pie lunch

The walk took us along the side of Burbage Wood and on into the outskirts of the village of Burbage.

Burbage Common and Wood is a country park run by the borough council. Its history as a grazing area dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 and is now a 200-acre (0.81 km²) park popular with birdwatchers, walkers and horse riders. It is free to enter and is open from dawn to dusk every day.

One of the many entrances to Burbage Common and Woods 

View of part of Burbage Common

The village of Burbage, another suburb of Hinckley and somewhat smaller than Barwell, was given to Coventry Abbey in 1043 when it was valued at two shillings. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, its value had risen to £4. At that time 20 villagers held two smallholdings, with two slaves and eight ploughs.

 

Burbage to Aston Flamville

The final leg of todays walk took us through a small residential part of Burbage and into fields of cattle towards the noisy M69 motorway and on to Aston Flamville. On either side of the M69 we saw a few Alpacas enjoying the sunshine. 

Alpaca farm near the M69 motorway

We crossed the M69 and walked into the village of Aston Flamville passing some lovely houses to our left and an 18th century dovecote to our right, near the church.  We found our car which we had parked outside St. Peters Church. 

St Peters Church, Aston Flamville

18th century dovecote next to church

Aston Flamville is a small picturesque village with a population of 311 at the 2011 census.  It is situated on the eastern side of the M69 motorway and unfortunately the traffic noise can be heard throughout the village.  The name comes from 2 words, Aston – meaning Eastern Farmstead or settlement and Flamville – the family name of a Norman nobleman (of William the Conquerer) called Robert de Flamville who owned the Manor House of Aston, built in the 1500’s.

Distance

We walked a total of 8.64 miles and my new Sports Activity watch, that was a Christmas present from Paul, showed a total of 22,000 steps.

Next Walk

The next planned walk will be from Aston Flamville to Claybrook Parva, planned for New Years Eve 2016.