No walking career was ever conceived in the county of Leicestershire, I grew up in the county and can count on my fingers the number of walking excursions made during my first 18 years, it simply does not have the drama of Landscape and the scale of terrain that can be found in most parts of the country outside of the Midlands. Plainly expressed, the majority of Leicestershire is gently rolling countryside which can prove interesting on the smaller scale, does not offer the changing vistas and viewpoints of the higher lands which would appeal to the walking soul. There are a couple of notable exceptions however, and one of these is Charnwood Forest, an area largely covered in the remains of ancient woodlands and sited atop the remnants of even more ancient volcanoes, at over 560millon years old forming some of the oldest rocks in England. So when the time comes for a week away from home and absorbing my parents' hospitality, my first walking destination in the Old Country has to be in the heart of North-West Leicestershire's Granite Country.
The Peaks of Charnwood Forest: Old John, Beacon Hill & Bardon Hill. 13.8 miles
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| Old John Hill |
A 10am start then, dropped off by my Dad in Newtown Linford at the gates of Bradgate Park, an area that should be known any resident of the county, indeed it is one of the most popular public country parks in the country, an estate that has been unenclosed for over 800 years and gives as good an example as is possible of what the landscape looked like in the early medieval period, and donated to the county in perpetuity by Charles Bennion of British Shoe in 1929, from the days of when entrepreneurs had a social conscience. It was also the ancestral home of Lady Jane Grey, famous as the Nine Days Queen of 1553, installed in attempt to prevent the accession of Mary I, and subsequently executed or High Treason, and Bradgate House is one of the earliest examples of Tudor construction in brick. None of that information is strictly relevant to my walk, but as this is such a significant locale to my childhood it deserves some moments of attention, so onwards to the trail, hitting the ascending path along the western boundary before taking the route through the bracken to Tyburn Spinney, and from here we get the first good view of the whole parks and its mix of bracken, coppices and Granite outcrops. Then we can head towards the most distinctive landmark in the whole county, namely Old John Hill, standing only some 212m tall, but being the most visible and prominent of the hills of Charnwood Forest, standing in front of its higher brethren when viewed from the city of Leicester. First objective is the ascent to the Leicestershire Yeomanry War memorial, along the broad track amongst the freshly mown bracken to encounter some of the deer which have been resident in the estate since its foundation, making them genetically distinctive. Rise between the Precambrian outcrops of ancient volcanic material to the memorial and then head on through the enclosed plantation to meet the folly which is assumed to give the hill its name, namely the tankard shaped observation tower that is so immediately obvious from so many point in the county. Built in 1784 by the Earl of Stamford for watching the horse races around the hill, it gained its 'handle' two years later after the accidental death of a family retainer, who wasn't the 'Old John' of legend, as the name predated the incident by over 40 years. This is a hill I have walked up many times, after Sunday dinners at one of the local restaurants, but usually approached from the north as the southern route was judged as 'too far', and as a viewpoint it is one of the best in the area, offering views to the east over the city as far as Burrough Hill and Billesdon Coplow, the anomalous high hills of east Leicestershire. The western and northern aspects offer further views over the wooded hillsides of Charnwood Forest, with our next destination, Beacon Hill, rising beyond the ancient forests of Swithland Wood whilst our ultimate destination of Bardon Hill is largely obscured by the hill of Copt Oak with its prominent radio masts. Head onwards down the path to the car park at Hunt's Hill, probably my most well-trodden country path in the county and start my circuit in earnest, and hopefully the remaining walk will not have me feeling so loquacious.
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| Rough Hill Wood |
So a just over a mile into my day, and the weather has taken a turn away from the changeable Summer look towards a much clearer and warmer feel, and so a layer is shed as I take the path alongside Benscliffe Road before taking the turn off into Rough Hill woodlands, this is a plantation created under the auspices of the National Forest, planned to create a massively increased cover of mixed woodland through NW Leicestershire, and the southern parts of Derbyshire and Staffordshire. A noble enterprise, to be sure, and one that creates woodland that is much more interesting than long lines of conifers. Tree identification is immediately beyond me, but the wild undergrowth shows up lowering and fruit bearing plants in great quantity, as well as clouds of butterflies and bees, if you like Peacocks or Small Tortoiseshells, this is the place to be. A decently broad track keeps the going clear, and it's a nicely remote feeling to be had as I go, one that is soon lost when the path enters Lingdale golf course and sterile and overly-manicured grass take over, and as I've already shared my thoughts on that game and the people who play it, I'll just tramp onward, wondering just how many fields this course is going to cover before I finally emerge into a field of young cows near Maplewell farm, and make for the main road on the edge of Woodhouse Eaves. Only a few houses are passed on the way into the town before I join the path into Broombriggs Farm Country Park, a working farm donated to the county in 1970 for entertainment and edification, and the walk follows the long boundary of a wheatfield and all those weeks on the High Moors has had me forgetting what arable land looks like, indeed the dominance of livestock in Yorkshire has me realising that Leicestershire is quite a different rural beast. Don't get sight of the farm itself before I've departed the grounds, but do have to dodge the trotting horses out on the circuit and from the driveway onto Beacon Road, and that means the next hill ascent isn't far away.
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| Beacon Hill |
Onward into Beacon Hill country park, following the direction which take you away from the bridle path around the park perimeter, and instead meet the footpath which leads into the heart of the plantation. A slightly older woodland this, and easily identifiable as being made up of Birch trees, a pleasant glade that takes away some of the increasing heat of the sun, a shady walk that isn't really long enough as soon the cover lapses and the surroundings, especially to the east turn a whole lot rougher. A noticeboard explains that the mission of the park rangers is to return the surrounding land to the condition that it was in some 3,000 years ago, which means the elimination of species of alien plants, especially bracken, the felling of large trees and the reintroduction of older breeds of sheep. That's a scheme that is at once admirable and crazy, but an increasingly popular one in conservation circles, and one that will make this an even more interesting landscape, as it is taking the path over the moor gives a good look at the enclosure ditches which surround the southern edge of Beacon Hill, dated as bronze age, and its a steady ascent beyond there to reach the broad top of the hill itself. An altogether squat 248m but the second highest point in Leicestershire and offering views of over Loughborough and the valleys of the Trent and Soar , with Ratcliffe Power Station as the obvious landscape feature, only showing two of its eight cooling towers as it was profiled that way so as not to spoil the view from here (true story) and other points of interest are the wrinkles of the Vale of Belvoir in the distant east, a look at the Mountsorrel Granite quarry a little closer and a decent look over to Bardon Hill in in the west, with its own microwave tower, and the relative lack of size of Old John Hill is made obvious as the intermediate Brownbriggs Hill almost obscures it. A good spot to pause for lunch, and for a bask as I recline against the rock strata, it seems that this day is going to keep getting hotter and at only a quarter of the way round the planned circuit, I'm going to have to pick up the pace in conditions that aren't ideal for speed. Anyway, from the summit it's a short way down to the notice that explains the formation of these ancient volcanic sedimentary rocks, as well as illustrating the rock profile of 'the Old Man of the Beacon', and then there is a route to be taken away from the hill down through more exposed rock out crops before hitting another wooded trail that leads out to Deans Lane and on to Shepshed Road.
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| Wetton Wood |
It has taken a while to get to field walking after the miles of paths and tracks, and the first modest ascent to Charley Road is straightforward enough, with only an excess of undergrowth between the stiles, but the second to ascend around the Cattens Rough spinney is knee length green grass and unusually heavy going, but at least offers a good view back to Beacon Hill and a view forwards to Bardon Hill, before descending through another rough field to the B591. Beyond there, there had been some debate about whether the next stretch would be field or wood as the various maps showed different profiles, but I find that the National Forest's Wetten Wood plantation has taken over a dozen fields of Vale Farm and tracing the permissive path through it is going to be a challenge. It might hang close to the perimeter but the new growth trees offer no sight lines at all, and the undergrowth of long grass and shrubs stands waist high so picking out your footfalls becomes challenging, even on relatively level ground. Add in the many insects, especially those that make a constant buzz like an electric razor, and the lack of breeze and it soon becomes no fun at all. The sound of the M1 keeps my sense of direction focused, but following the edge of it, below an embankment and a hawthorn hedge, is no fun as no sight lines means I lose sense of distance travelled, and I'm going at a virtual crawl because of a heavy undergrowth of nettles and brambles. Passing through a hidden ditch puts me on my arse somewhat messily and the sultry heat soon has my enthusiasm diminishing, and I swear the heat is caused by all the plants breathing out at once. It may have been only a half mile in total to traverse, but I'm deliriously cheerful as I emerge on Charley Road and water beneath the M1 bridge. I feel I need to pick the pace up a bit and a farm track up to Rock Farm offers easier going for a while, but then we hit a field ascent in blazing heat through long dry grass to enter Burrows Wood. The temperature drops as I enter but the undergrowth covers offers me few views of the ground, and care has to be taken with foot placement again, and shoulder height seas of bracken are no fun at all. Arriving at the other side and the track leading to Charley Mill Hall brings relief again, but watering time has me finishing the second of the three litres of water that I'm carrying and I start to wonder if I'm actually going to complete the circuit that I had intended to follow.
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| Bardon Quarry |
Determined to not be beaten, I press on to Warren Hills Road, and find that a plantation has largely remodelled the landscape around Kellam's Farm and the footpath has been rerouted around the field boundary and that provides more rough going to frustrate and scratch the passing walker. The going improves after a while, and a bit of cross-country takes us past an odd circular earthwork that may be an antiquity, before passing the farm and crossing Bardon Drive, the access road that leads to the nearby quarries, which I will not be taking as a short cut as it is a Thursday and I'm not going to run the risk with any big trucks. So stick to the PROWs to take the long way round to get to the ascent route to Bardon Hill, which I haven't actually had sight of in a while (such is the problem of the relatively low hills), and that takes me back across Bardon Drive and through the lorry mustering area which is completely devoid of life, but signs still warn walkers to stay off the hill in the event of blasting. The ascending path is very scratchy, lots of dry grass and shrubs, and I'm not used to having tree cover on my hill walks, so going is slow as I rise through the low trees and outcrops of rock, unsure of my route but continuing up until I get sight of the microwave tower and then pressing on with an eye seeking out the trig point, knowing that I can't go too far in the wrong direction as Bardon Quarry has devoured half the hill. Being only 278m tall, the top of the county appears suddenly, but you still get a feeling of immense height as the terraced edges of the quarry below are mere feet away so you feel like you loom much higher over Coalville and its associated villages than you actually do, and from this edge of granite country the western Midlands looks as flat as the earlier eastern views, but I guess the city in the distance is probably Coventry rather than Birmingham and the distant hills could well be Shropshire. Having had the trail to myself for hours, I'm surprised to find two shirtless teenage lads up on the summit, and they are equally surprised to find me there and immediately take more of an interest in me than I am comfortable with, asking where I have travelled from and why I'm out walking on a day that has apparently reached 31 degrees C. I'm honestly not sure why I'm still going, but they put me on edge and soon leave them to their basking and beat a hasty retreat down the alternative path that follows the much more easily traceable access road to the microwave tower and then it's only a short detour to get back to the path to Bardon Drive and the path back towards my start point.
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| Bardon Hill |
The end of the loop is still miles distant, and an ascent is needed along the edges of the barley fields associated to the Rise Rocks farms which provide easy going until the field transitions prove to be utterly horrible with slipperiness and nettles in abundance. Hitting the access road, I drain another half litre of liquid and start to wonder when I'm going to bail as I'm about to meet the A511 and that feels like it might be a good place to stop, but instead I start to edit the route that I had been following, choosing to not ascend to the viewpoint on Billa Barra hill (sounding oddly Australian?) and instead taking a shortcut along the main road to cross by the Flying Horse, annoyingly a pub that is now a restaurant only and not available to provide extra drinks, and taking the path across the fields and past a equestrian centre to rejoin my intended route on the track around Cliffe Hill Quarry. It's clear going for a while until a gate marks the transition into another sea of brambles and nettles for more slow going and you'd never think that such a wide track could get so heavily overgrown, and I'm glad that getting scratched and stung doesn't hurt so much when you are an adult. Cliffe Lane is clear going but doesn't have a good verge for walking, and the path that leads over the fields to cross the M1 again is easily missable, but it's a steady field walk until a brook crossing provides an almost impassable fence, and the overgrown steps up the motorway embankment provide another tricky surface. Ascending the field and undergrowth to Hill Lane, I am amazed that Leicestershire has provided me with such difficult walking conditions, clearly this summer has encouraged massive plant growth and the one day heatwave has proved to be more than a match for me, I sit by the road and finish my last bottle and receive a call from my Mum, expecting me to be on the last leg by now. Honestly, I'm on my last legs, still three miles from Newtown Linford and an hour behind schedule, so I arrange for a pick up from the top of Markfield, the town that is only a field and a path distant, so miss out the Hill Hole quarry site from the trail and instead make my way into the town, via St Michael & All Angels church (another one?) and an alleyway that leads out onto the Main Street, and I'm ridiculously happy to find a branch of the Leicestershire Co-operative who can sell me a 1.5 litre bottle of Volvic, and flavoured water has never been appreciated as much as it is in this instance. Stroll my way up through the town, a quiet dormitary town like so many in the county, but with many houses attractively built in Granite with brick accents, and arrive at the top of Main Street at 5.20pm where I can deposit my exhausted self on a bench to await rescue by my parents. It's a huge relief to see them arrive, and though I kid myself that I could have pushed on for the last two miles of this 16 mile tour, it's probably been wise to leave this circle incomplete.
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 747.3 miles
(2013 total: 282 miles)
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