Walk 12 – High Cross to Claybrooke Magna

We did this very short section of the walk on Friday 30^th December 2016.  Now that the remaining sections of the Leicestershire Round are very close to home it is much easier to do shorter walks as it is just a short drive to both start and end points.  Paul had suffered some leg pain on the previous 2 walks and wanted to do a shorter one today to see if bandaging the affected area would help.  Fortunately it did and he was perfectly ok.  This walk was planned to be about 3.5 miles as the official guide book said that the distance from High Cross to Claybrook Parva was 3 miles but it turned out to be only 1.5 miles and then the further half mile to Claybrooke Magna made it just over 2 miles.  The weather was much warmer than the previous day and despite it being sunny for most of the morning and early afternoon, the fog was now starting to form so we could not see the nice views that are normally possible from this high area.

 

High Cross to Claybrooke Parva

After leaving the first car at the end point, we parked the car in the small car park and had a good look at the High Cross monument before starting off. 



There is an inscription on it in Latin.  I found the translation on the internet as follows:

'If Traveller, you seek for the footsteps of the ancient Romans, here you may behold them, for here their most celebrated ways, crossing each other, extend to the utmost bourne'
 










The High Cross Monument

The monument was created in 1712 but damaged by lightening in 1719.  This is all that remains of a once much grander construction.













We then left High Cross and walked a short distance to the end of Bumblebee Lane and then into High Cross Road.  The Victoria Farm caravan and camping site that we saw on the previous days walk (a certified Caravan Club site) was on our left now and we walked close to the beacon in the field. 

One of the Leicestershire Beacons
situated in a camping site field at High Cross

We left the road and started out across some crop fields which were extremely muddy and soon our boots were feeling very heavy with the extra weight of the mud.  Not only was it very misty and dull but we had the noise of the traffic on the nearby A5 together with a couple of barking dogs at a nearby farm or property.  This went on until we had almost reached Claybrooke Parva.

We entered Claybrooke Parva alongside the village primary school.  Opposite there is Sykes Spinney, a small coppice owned by the school where hopefully the children learn about nature.

Sykes Spinney, Claybrooke Parva

The Claybrookes consist of the 2 small villages of Claybrooke Parva and Claybrooke Magna.

Claybrooke Parva, although the smaller of the two villages, is the site of both the church and the village school.  The parish church of St. Peter is thought originally to be part Anglo-Saxon with later additions in Norman and Medieval times.  It has a square tower with a working clock, the tower houses a peel of 8 bells which regularly ring out over the countryside.  The roof beams are fine examples of medieval craftsmanship, but unfortunately have been damaged by death watch beetles.

 

The main street through Claybrooke Parva

Claybrooke Parva to Claybrooke Magna

We walked a short distance along the main street and then turned off across more fields towards Claybrooke Magna.  We passed Claybrooke Hall and grounds to our right but it was too misty to see much of it.  This part of the walk was mainly across grass and was much easier. We entered the village very close to where we had left the car. 

 

The mist forming over fields between
Claybrooke Parva and Claybrooke Magna

 

Claybrooke Magna is the larger of the two villages with a population of around 400 people.  A few of the houses were built in the 1990’s, but others are much older with buildings dating to Victorian and Georgian times, with some half-timbered Tudor houses by the Vineyard.  A little way out of the village is an old water-mill, still in working order, which is driven by the small stream which winds its way through the area. Claybrooke Magna has seven grade II listed buildings.  The village pub is called “The Pig in Muck” and is very popular.

An older photo of "The Pig in Muck" pub. 

Distance

We walked a total of 2.27 miles in less than 1 hour and did about 6000 steps

Next Walk

The next and final walk will be from Claybrooke Magna to Dunton Bassett, planned for New Years Eve - 31st December 2016.