Fleckney, Saddington, Gumley, Laughton
Leader: John Broadhead
As usual, we will meet at the village car park (///loses.always.huts) by 9.30 a.m.
From Fleckney we pick up part of the Leicestershire Round over the fields to Saddington and then over Smeeton Gorse – yes that big hill! Continue along the Round all the way to Gumley. There is a library in the telephone box here if anyone has books to swap or fancies a read.
Take the bridleway that is more or less opposite the telephone box. Go through a gate and head along a long narrow paddock to the far end. The next field descends steeply to a gate, it can get a little muddy here. The bridleway continues through fields and onto a track. Cross the track and keep going with Gumley Lodge on your left until you reach a stile. Here, the bridleway strangely finishes and continues ahead as a footpath.
Continue straight ahead over three more stiles and four fields until you reach the road. Take the path opposite that leads diagonally across the field. There is a new gate here that avoids having to go through the woodyard. Turn left after the gate and head for the seat by the telephone box – with a working telephone in it. This is a great place for a rest and a coffee.
When everyone is ready take the road opposite and go past the scenic little church on the right. Take a close look at the interesting thatched wall running around much of the graveyard, it is made of mud! Head right past the church to come out onto a track and turn left. Go down the track, through a gate, and then uphill for a short while. Enjoy the view! You are now heading back towards Saddington so take the second gate off the track that you come to. This is a permissive way (can be a bit muddy in places) and exits onto Mowsely Road.
Turn right onto the road, and just past ‘The Grange’, take a path on the left. Follow the left edge of the field down to the bottom corner, then turn right, following a brook on your left. Cross a stile and continue alongside the brook to reach a footbridge. Watch out for the falling tree here! Cross the footbridge and go right up the bank into a field. Follow the hedge on the left across two more fields to reach the road. The last section of this field can be very muddy at times as there are a lot of horses kept here. Cross the road and take the path through the stables, turn right onto the road and then right again into The Queen’s Head – the designated pub stop.
After refreshments, it’s the well-known mile-long trek along the Leicestershire Round from Saddington to Fleckney.
The walk is about 9 miles long and has a fair amount of undulation and a few stiles. Walking poles would be very handy on this walk.
Header photo – Laughton Church (Leicestershire and Rutland Churches)
General information:
The Fleckney Walking Club meet every other Sunday for a walk of about 6 to 9 miles with a pub stop somewhere along the route.
What3Words is used to pinpoint start and other relevant locations for the walks.
We leave Fleckney village car park at 9:30 a.m. (///loses.always.huts).
For these walks you are advised to wear good quality walking boots and carry weatherproof clothing.
We suggest you also bring refreshments as a coffee stop and/or a picnic stop is also usually on the cards.
For those who are car sharing to walks outside of Fleckney, passengers are requested to subsidise their driver by the amount of 20p per mile (one way). For example, if the start of the walk was 10 miles from Fleckney the fee would be 10 x 20p = £2.
If you fancy leading a walk, there are plenty of ideas for walks here.
During the summer months we also have Thursday evening walks of about 4 to 5 miles in length.
These generally start and end at a not-too-distant village pub!
We meet at the village car park, by 7 p.m. (///loses.always.huts).
In the event of a walk being cancelled due to inclement weather (or any other reason) the walk leader will communicate the cancellation to club members by email and be at the start meeting point to advise anyone who turned up regardless.
The annual cost to join the Fleckney Walking Club is £10 (Sundays and Thursdays) or £5 (Thursdays only) payable on your first walk.
You can find The Fleckney Walking Club Group on Facebook. This is a private group but you are welcome to apply to join us.
If you would like to join this walk then please fill out the form below and press the Submit button.
(If you are reading this message in an email, please click on the RSVP Now! button directly below to take you to the form.)
RSVP deadline is past