All Sunday walks start with a gathering at Fleckney Village car park (///loses.always.huts) at 9:30 a.m.
Glen Parva, Crow Mill, Everard’s Meadow
Leader: Daft Dave
A Miracle in Mud Season – A Walk So Clean, It’s Almost Cheating!
This week, we bring you the impossible, the unthinkable—the mythical mud-free walk, courtesy of Daft Dave. While other footpaths in the area resemble the trenches of World War I, this route remains miraculously firm underfoot. No need for snorkels, waders, or emergency rope rescues—just good company and a splendid stroll.
We set off from The Manor car park (///seat.rare.took), hopping over a stile (gracefulness optional) and meandering through Glen Parva’s Moat Land and Allison’s Acre, where an intriguing lump of old post demands a moment of puzzled admiration—said to have been put up by Joseph Knight who occupied the manor house in the 1860s but nobody knows why it is there. Soon, a footbridge whisks us across the River Sence, where we pick up a track leading us to Mill Lane. Left here, then onwards to a bridleway, and before you can say “is this really mud-free?”, we reach Crow Mill Bridge.
After a brief flirtation with Countesthorpe Road—which, with luck, will not resemble Venice—we hit the canal towpath. This scenic stretch runs for about three miles and delivers historical buildings, open spaces, and a glorious slice of Glen Parva Nature Reserve, before depositing us at the promised land: Everard’s Brewery.
Here, you can reward your heroic efforts with a well-earned lunch, a coffee, or something stronger. Those who insist on finding mud will be delighted to know there’s a boot cleaner by the entrance—though, frankly, you probably won’t need it.
Refuelled and re-energised, we retrace our steps briefly before crossing both the Sence and the canal again, then heading due south on a bridleway. A zig, a zag, another canal crossing, and a reassuringly sturdy railway bridge later, we bear left into Blaby’s northern fringes.
Yes, there’s a bit of pavement involved, but before you start groaning, we turn onto a delightfully named footpath—The Jitty—which magically delivers us back to The Manor car park. A well-earned cuppa (or something stronger) awaits.
At seven and three-quarter miles, this mostly flat route should take about four hours, but thanks to its near-supernatural resistance to mud, you won’t spend half that time scraping your boots with a stick. This is the walk you need right now—because dry socks are a precious gift.
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