All Sunday walks start with a gathering at Fleckney village car park (///loses.always.huts) at 9:30 a.m.
Mowsley, Laughton, Gumley by John Broadhead
The Grand (Muddy) Adventure
Let’s set off on a cheerful little expedition, beginning in the car park and wandering towards the ever-charming village of Saddington. Our warm-up lap takes us through the Persimmon estate (wave politely at the new builds), where we pick up The Leicestershire Round as it sashays through the fields. A word to the wise: this path can switch from “pleasantly firm” to “bring your snorkel” with only the faintest rumour of rain.
Out we pop onto Kibworth Road. A right turn, a careful crossing, and we’re greeted by a stile and footpath that loop us around Saddington towards Mowsley Road. After the next stile, we turn right and head downhill to a gate that has a long and distinguished career as a mud trap. From there, we follow the hedge to another stile on the right — this one likes to play hide-and-seek behind the bushes, so keep your eyes peeled.
We cross the field diagonally, keeping right in the next one, and hop over a stile that leads us past a small wood. This stretch can get a bit bramble-happy, so watch your ankles — the brambles certainly watch you.
At the far end of the wood, we turn right and follow the field edge to a gate usually held together with twine and optimism. No stile here, so it’s a group effort: untie, shuffle through, retie, pretend it was easy. The next gate is generally more cooperative.
A steady climb brings us to another stile — once broken, now repaired, though the drop on the far side still encourages teamwork. The path continues to a gate with a delightfully wonky stile, then downhill to another stile on the left. A right turn takes us to the bottom of the field, where a few gates may or may not be open depending on the mood of the local livestock.
Soon we reach a double stile and footbridge — a sign that the worst of the awkward stiles might be behind us (no promises). A gentle climb, another stile, a flat field, another stile… you know the drill… until we reach a pond on the left. A short, sharp dip and rise brings us to yet another stile, followed by a proper leg-stretcher of a climb towards Mowsley. Only two more stiles to go — rejoice!
We emerge onto Main Street, turn right past St Nicholas’ Church, then left onto Church Lane. We pass the wonderfully quirky Crook House and enter a field where the eagle-eyed may spot a castle to the left. After crossing Dag Lane, we follow a track past some chicken coops, through a gate, along the field edge, over a footbridge, and into another field. The path dips and rises gently as we head towards Laughton — uphill, yes, but nothing too dramatic.
In Laughton, we turn right by the church, admire the thatched wall around the graveyard, and head to the seat by the still-working telephone kiosk — a perfect spot for a breather and a coffee.
The Return Journey: Choose Your Own Adventure
Option 1: The Shorter Route (7 miles total)
Marked by a red dashed line, this route follows a track, through a gate, and uphill with cracking views back towards Saddington. At the second gate off the track, we take a permissive path (mud optional but likely), emerging onto Mowsley Road. A right turn, then a left just past The Grange, leads us along the field edge to the bottom corner. We turn right beside a brook, cross a stile, and continue to a footbridge — mind the falling tree here, it has ambitions.
Over the bridge, up the bank, across two fields, and out to the road. The final stretch can be muddy thanks to horses who don’t believe in drainage. We cross the road, weave through the stables, turn right, then right again into The Queen’s Head — our official pub stop and spiritual reward.
Option 2: The Longer Route (9.5 miles total)
We head along Laughton Lane and Main Street, through a gate into a field, diagonally across to another gate, over an unnamed road, and across a stile. Four fields and three stiles later, we reach a long field by Gumley Lodge. The path becomes a bridleway, leading us through a gate, over a track, and through another gate.
A steep climb awaits — the sort that makes you question your life choices — but it soon levels off before dropping into Gumley, opposite an old telephone kiosk now moonlighting as the village library. The Bell is right there for anyone needing liquid encouragement.
We continue up the road past St Helen’s Church, rejoining The Leicestershire Round. After crossing Debdale Lane, we enter a field via gates and enjoy some spectacular views.
A descent, a climb to Smeeton Gorse (bench provided for dramatic sighing), then through three fields down to the canal feeder. After crossing the feeder and stream, we navigate a few more gates and return to Saddington Main Street. A left turn brings us back to The Queen’s Head, where we may reunite with the short-route walkers and compare mud levels.
Final Stretch
After refreshments, we take the familiar mile-long section of The Leicestershire Round from Saddington to Fleckney — a gentle cooldown after a day of stiles, hills, and heroic mud avoidance.
This walk covers about 9.5 miles (or 7 miles for the shorter loop), with a healthy number of undulations and a frankly unreasonable number of stiles. Walking poles are highly recommended — if only for dramatic effect.
If you’d like, I can also create a shorter, punchier version for a walk leaflet or club email.
The minutes of the 2025 A.G.M
and the Agenda for the 2026 A.G.M.
(7 p.m. at the Golden Shield on 22nd January)
can be found HERE
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.
This year the majority of the walks will be local ones, no transport required.
We meet at the village car park, by 7 p.m. (///loses.always.huts).
In the event of a walk being cancelled for any reason (usually weather) 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 for the Sunday Walks, or £5 to be a Social Member. Thursday Evening Walks are completely FREE.
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.)