South Croxton and Lowesby by Janet Long

Sunday, 27th October, 2024
Lowesby Map

This walk, led by Janet Long, is remote and sparsely populated. The steady hum of traffic is absent, and you are unlikely to meet many other walkers. Most of the walk is on footpaths, with a couple of short sections on very quiet country lanes.

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

Cows in a field

As there was not much room for parking in Lowesby, the walk started at the ex-pub (The Golden Fleece ///detective.gasp.subjects) in South Croxton (locally pronounced ‘Crowston’ as in ‘crow’). This is between 15 and 18 miles from Fleckney depending on the route taken (between £3.00 and £3.60 for the driver).

A view of the countryside

At the Golden Fleece, we turned left down the road, continuing for 120 yards until we reached a footpath on the left, between private houses. We went over a small field attached to a private house, then crossed the Queniborough brook. Across four more fields, now walking in a southerly direction, then wewalked through New Covert. There was yet another field before we came out onto a farm road by Waterloo Lodge Farm. We turned left here and followed the signposted public bridleway across the parkland with distant views of Baggrave Hall down the hill.

The stream

At a bend in the road, we continued straight on down the bridleway. Inkerman Lodge, at the western edge of yet another small spinney, boasts the remains of a once-splendid Victorian railway carriage. Its origins are immediately apparent but it is surely now beyond proud restoration. At the far side of the spinney, we crossed the minor road and followed the footpath leading east across fields and down to a narrow combe. At the other side of the combe, we crossed two more fields, now walking in a south-easterly direction to come out onto the very minor gated road at the top of Skeg Hill between Lowesby and Cold Newton.

Picturesque view

To start the walk at Lowesby there is a possible parking space or two about 1000 yards down Skeg Hill and on the other side of the Queniborough Brook (///ushering.astounded.juror).

The hall

We took a break at the church in Lowesby (///spoils.access.battle), where the path crosses the churchyard. The church is low and modest, but very attractively built in the local yellow sandstone. It also boasts some outstanding stained glass windows. We walked through the iron gate at the far side of the churchyard and followed the path across the grounds of Lowesby Hall. At the other side of the grounds, we crossed a minor unclassified road and continued on the path on the other side. This path follows the Queniborough brook. On the other side of the brook, there is a fox covert, one of large numbers in the county. Many of these were deliberately created and distinguish much of East Leicestershire from the agricultural prairie which much of lowland England has become.

The hall

We continued in a general northwesterly direction, crossing another path after about 600 yards, then another minor road above Baggrave Hall. Like Lowesby, the hall buildings were extremely carefully sited by the builders to give the owners superb views while concealing the building from close-quarter views by the general public. Both buildings are architecturally distinguished and historic country houses. Baggrave Hall is the only building in Baggrave, a thriving village in the Middle Ages but now, like many others in the area, little more than a name on a map.

More countryside

We continued to follow the path along the north side of the brook and after 1000 yards arrived at a lily pond on the outskirts of South Croxton. We walked around the south and west sides of the brook to come out onto an unsurfaced lane by a horse paddock (Kings’ Lane). We went left here and continued down to the end of the lane where it came out onto a public road by the Golden Fleece.

A walker

The walk was under 7 miles in length and had some moderate undulation. There were about 4 stiles but these are more and more being replaced with kissing gates. Sadly, there is no pub stop on this walk, but plenty of opportunities to call in a hostelry on the way home.