Yelvertoft, Elkington, Winwick
by John B
So, it’s off to Yelvertoft for this walk by John Broadhead. This is an excellent 8-mile walk with few stiles and just a little undulation.
We’re aiming to park near the Knightly Arms on High Street (///august.states.hypnotist). This is a very charming and welcoming pub to come back to after the walk.
Initially, we head down High Street away from the pub until we come to Wards Lane on the left. We follow this road until it peters out to become a footpath. We cross several fields and negotiate three stiles before exiting onto Yelvertoft Road. We turn right on the road, over a bridge where we cross the Grand Union Canal before entering the settlement of Elkington. We take the right fork at the triangle in the road and wander towards Manor Farm. Just after Portly Banks (it’s a house) is a footpath leading to Honey Hill. The climb is well worth the effort – not really much of an effort – and the view from the top is excellent.
We then end up on the Jurassic Way. After less than half a mile, we join a road where we can go left or right to head through Winwick, a shrunken or “lost” medieval village, with earthworks and buried deposits providing insight into the former settlement. It is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book and was once held by the Abbey of Coventry. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Winwick was known as the “Gretna Green of Northamptonshire” because runaway couples could marry there without the usual residency requirements. As we’ve now covered 5 or 6 miles, Winwick may be an ideal spot for a coffee/lunch break at the war memorial.
Next on the agenda is Church Lane, which takes us past the lovely little St. Michael and All Saints Church and the old Manor House. If we were doing the “short” version of this route, we would take a footpath on the same plane as the canal and therefore flat that leads to an unnamed road, which in turn leads to the canal.
The penultimate leg of the walk is along the canal towpath, crossing under Yelvertoft Road three times before reaching Crick Bridle Road. Here we leave the canal and stroll into Yelvertoft for a well-earned respite in the Knightly Arms.
TuesDay Walks
These walks are longer than average and range from 8 to 13 miles.
Walks starting from the car park will be at the earlier time of 9:00 a.m.
Information about trips by Bus will be posted on the website and the WhatsApp group.
Provisionally, walks are planned for alternate Tuesdays.
This list will be updated from time to time.
26th May - Yelvertoft by John
9th June - T.B.A.
23rd June - Hallaton by John
7th July - T.B.A.
21st July - Youlgreave, Derbyshire by John
4th August - Kinder Scout, Derbyshire by John
18th August - Cranoe by John
1st September - T.B.A.
15th September - Twyford by John
29th September - T.B.A.
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