After driving to Leire, Kathy started this walk from Oak Avenue in Leire (///safety.cheeses.detective) as there is plenty of space there and it’s close to the start of the walk. Just after the large turning circle on Oak Avenue, we join the Leicestershire Round and head west (turn left) and cross the disused railway line then head over three fields before exiting onto Leire Road opposite Hill Crest Farm. We turn right on this narrow country lane and head into and through Frolesworth.

At the centre of the village is St Nicholas Church. The church commands the highest ground in the village; its tower is a local landmark when approaching the village during the day and at night when the church is lit with amber lights. We pass the church and look out for a white house on the right. Opposite this house is an ungated, unstiled access to a continuation of the Leicestershire Round. This section leads us up and over a small hill before crossing Frolesworth Lane. Shortly after this point, the Leicestershire Round is joined by a bridleway. We stay on the ‘Round by bearing right and then right again where the bridleway ventures off to the left. 

We barely touch Claybrooke Magna as we dog-leg south and head towards Claybrooke Hall. For those who may not be aware, Claybrooke Magna is the home of the Pig in Muck where Kev Featherstone, the current licensee, brews his Pig Pub beers in a small brewery behind the pub and also cooks the food, which is extremely popular, especially the Sunday and Wednesday carveries—just saying!

Keeping Claybrooke Hall on our left we head through a kissing gate onto Main Road. We turn left and head along the pavement with the hall still on our left. We stay on this road leaving Claybrooke Parva behind us as we venture off to Ullesthorpe—noted for its historic background with a mill, disused railway station and traces of a medieval settlement evident on the edge of the village. Luckily for us, there is also a choice of pub stops: The Swan at Ullesthorpe and The Chequers County Inn. What bliss!

The last leg of our journey starts with a trip along a dismantled railway line. To get there we stroll (or stagger) along Main Street till we reach the cul-de-sac known as Green Gardens. Just up to the right is a gate and steps leading down to the track. We leave the track around Frolesworth Road (or Ashby Road depending on which map you happen to be looking at). We cross the road and trek along a footpath, through some fields and over some stiles to reach Leire once again – or we could just stick to the old railway line. Then it’s onto Leire Road, turn right and then left onto Oak Avenue and back to the cars.

This walk is in the order of 6.5 miles, with moderate undulation and some stiles. There is a fair bit of road work, thus avoiding some muddy tracks. There is also an option to extend the walk by continuing along a footpath out of Frolesworth until it reaches Fosse Way, the old Roman Road. Turning left, this route would head southwest along this old road until reaching High Cross (not the shopping centre). Then it would join the Leicestershire Round taking us to Claybrooke Parva where it joins the original route. The extension would add a mere two miles to the walk. In case anyone was wondering, magna and parva are the Latin terms for “great” and “little” respectively.