Sunday October 13, 2024 09:30

Sharnford, Aston Flamville, Sapcote

Leader: Kathy Kilsby

Sharnford Fields Map

As usual, we will meet at Fleckney village car park (///loses.always.huts) by 9.30 a.m. and car-share to the start of the walk.

The drive to the start of the walk is about 14 miles (14 * 20p = £2.80 for the driver). We park up in the free car park at Fosse Meadows Car Park 2 (///tolerates.lovely.tacky).

You need to read the instructions from bottom to top as we will be walking the route the other way round!

From the car park head through the gate by the kiddies area and then diagonally across that field. Then it’s through another gate and left onto the track in the woods. Those who know Kathy know that she likes to get lost in woods! We should eventually emerge from the woods onto The Leicestershire Round and head towards Sharnford. The path runs parallel with Soar Brook for quite a way before we leave it via a gate by a bridge. Don’t go over the bridge but carry on in the same direction and head for the main road (Leicester Road, B4114).

Follow the road to the junction with Aston Lane and then take the lane for about 85 yards (77 metres) then go over a stile on the left to stay on The Leicestershire Round as far as the edge of Aston Flamville. Here we leave the Round via a gate onto Lychgate Lane, turn right onto the lane, and follow it to the first of two lychgates on this walk.

St. Peter’s Church in Aston Flamville is a historic church dating back several centuries, with elements of its architecture reflecting various periods. The lychgate at the church is a notable historical structure with a rich past. A lychgate, traditionally, is a roofed gateway to a churchyard, where the coffin was placed before the burial service. The term “lych” comes from the Old English word for a corpse.

If we’re true to form we may have a short break here to have a coffee, admire the architecture of the church, and gaze at the size of the tree in the churchyard!

Moving on, continue along Lychgate Lane and then turn right onto Sharnford Road. There is no footway here so take care as the occasional vehicle does make its presence known. Upon reaching Manor Farm head through the gate on your left and follow the bridleway to the far end of the field and then take the footpath northeast where the bridleway splits to the north and the east. Six fields later and you will emerge onto Park Road in Sapcote.

Follow Park Road until you reach the primary school on your right then take Church Street on your left. This will lead you to the second lychgate of the walk. This one belongs to All Saints Church at Sapcote and is our designated lunch stop.

The walk continues back to Park Road and left along it until the end of the primary school car park. Here, there is a narrow footpath that is not particularly well-signed. It leads around the back of the school before heading due south (down the map), over a stile and across four fields to another stile and a longer field before reaching the busy B4114. The path through this last field may be difficult to follow as you approach the road and it can be a bit boggy in places. We targeted a large concrete pipe blocking the gateway to the road, but we think we missed the actual exit route and should have come out on Coopers Close.

Once on the B4114 there is a pavement on the opposite side of the road and a grass verge on your side leading to it’s own pavement heading into Sharnford. As we walked towards the centre, we noticed that the intended pub stop, The Sharnford Arms, was up for sale by auction. Hopefully, by now, it will have new owners and not be yet another lost pub! We decided to continue along Leicester Road to The Bricklayers where we enjoyed refreshment in very comfortable surroundings.

After refreshment, head back along Leicester Road (B4114) and turn down the narrow road before the MOT garage. At the end of this road you re-join The Leicestershire Round to take over a few fields and circumnavigate the Three Fields Plantation of Fosse Meadows. Hang a left before the pond and through the gates back to the car park.

The entire walk, including diversions (!), is less than 7 miles. There are a few easily manageable stiles and the undulation is hardly noticeable.

 


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.
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