The Bluebell Walk 2024

Kathy’s Bluebell Walk is always a fantastic one. This year was no exception although the weather pushed us back a week and into Easter Sunday.

With permission, we parked at the top left of The Plough car park (///cloud.deed.curl). We then walked along the lane to Burroughs Wood, wandered through the trees among the Bluebells, and then onwards to Martinshaw Woods. Kathy has a habit of extending the route further into the woods … this year was no exception and she turned the walk into quite an adventure!

Then we crossed the A50 in Groby and went through Lady Hay Wood to the edge of Newtown Linford. We then turned back along the road to go past Groby Pool and through the Dowry Furlong Wildlife Area which is managed as a hay meadow to increase the diversity of plant species. By now we were ready for a drop of refreshment so a pub stop at the Stamford Arms (///folds.raft.snack) was on the cards.

The route back to Ratby was by way of road, footpaths, and part of an old railway track.

The entire walk was between 8 and 9 miles, but there were no stiles along the way and only medium undulation. There was some mud in places though as the ground was still suffering from a wet winter.

When we got back to the Plough it seemed rude not to stop for a drop more refreshment.