In
line with Ramblers
Association policy on the
COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, all
group walks and socials for our
walking group are cancelled for the
forseeable future. We will post a new
notice when our walk calendar
recommences.
We'll work out on a
case by case basis what we will do
about trips that are already planned.
As well as
organising group led walks, The
Ramblers Association is also involved
in maintaining footpaths and claiming
historical footpaths.
If you’re missing
your ‘fix’ of looking at walking maps,
please join in the ‘Don’t Lose Your
Way’ campaign to search for forgotten
paths. You can find out more here
(this works on mobiles too!): https://dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk/
Sunday 5th January – New
nembers walk Woburn, 11 miles,
figure of 8 walk, walk leaders Tim
and Belinda
A
figure of 8 walk starting from the free
car park on Park Street in Woburn
village (SP950331). A figure of 8 walk
is a walk in two halves, returning to
the starting point at lunchtime and
going on an afternoon walk from
approximately the same location. This
allows people to either walk the morning
loop, the afternoon loop or all day.
Meet
at
10:30am in the car park for the
morning/full day, or in the market
square (by Town Antiques/Loch Fyne) in
the centre of Woburn village at 1pm for
the afternoon walk only.
The
morning walk is 5 miles long,
walking through the historic Woburn deer
park where 10 species of deer roam free.
We pass close by Woburn Abbey, walk
through woodlands and a bamboo forest
before returning to Woburn via the deer
park.
We
will
have a picnic lunch in Woburn village
before finding a pub to sample some fine
ales.
The
afternoon walk is 6 miles long
(see above for starting point), walking
through woods round Woburn, but keep
your eyes peeled for the exotic
wildlife, hopefully we will see
elephants, giraffes, zebras, bears, and
wallabies - as we walk past Woburn
Safari Park. Bring your binoculars!
We’ll
make
every effort to be punctual for the
afternoon start, however please bear with
us if we’re delayed on the morning walk,
thank you.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
January
12th
Sunday 12th January – New
members Walk, Blakesley, 8 mile
figure of 8 walk, leader John H
A
figure of 8 walk starting from the
village green in Blakesley. A figure of
8 walk is a walk in two halves,
returning to the starting point at
lunchtime and going on an afternoon walk
from approximately the same location.
This allows people to either walk the
morning loop, the afternoon loop or all
day.
Meet
on
the village green at 10.30am for the
morning walk and 1pm for the afternoon
walk.
The
morning
walk is 3.5 miles long. We’ll be
heading south towards Slapton and then
on to Bradden. On returning to Blakesley
we’ll eat our lunch on the village
green, before visiting the Bartholomews
Arms for a drink.
The
afternoon
walk is 4.5 miles walk, heading
north across the fields to Seawell Wood
and onto Maidford before heading back to
Blakesley.
We’ll
make
every effort to be punctual for the
afternoon start, however please bear with
us if we’re delayed on the morning walk,
thank you.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
January
19th
Sunday
19th January -9.5 mile
circular walk from Yelden, walk leader Kev
Please meet at 10.30am ready to
walk outside St Mary’s Church, Church Lane,
Yelden, after parking considerately around
the village. The walk will take us across
the fields to Melchbourne, then we’ll head
to Riseley skirting some woodland along the
way. At Riseley, we’ll stop to eat our
sandwiches before having a drink at the Fox
and Hounds. In the afternoon we’ll head back
across the fields to Yelden.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
February
February
2nd
Sunday
2 February -12 mile figure of 8 walk, walk
leader John H
Please meet in the Car Park at East Carlton
Country Park (parking is free) at 10.30am.
Full address: East Carlton Country Park,
East Carlton, Nr. Market Harborough, Leics,
LE16 8YF
This is a figure of 8 walk which is a walk
in two halves, returning to the starting
point at lunchtime and going on an afternoon
walk from approximately the same location.
This allows people to either walk the
morning loop, the afternoon loop or all day.
The morning part of the walk will be 6.3
miles and we will head North out of the
country park across the Welland Valley
towards Neville Holt and Drayton, passing
through Middleton back to the country park
where we will have lunch. If you are
planning to do both parts of the walk please
bring a packed lunch as there will probably
not be enough time to eat in the café at the
country park.
The afternoon part of the walk (which will
be 5.4 miles) will start at approximately
1pm. We will head West across the fields to
Wilbarston over the A427 past Great Caston
Woods and back to the Country Park.
Hopmaster General craft beer pub at Rushden
Lakes, which is in the far corner near the
cinema. We will be there from 7.30pm
on Wednesday 5th February.
February
9th
Sunday 9 February
- 9.5 miles figure of 8 walk, Woodford,
Northants, walk leader Jeannette - cancelled
Please meet ready to
walk at the War Memorial on the village
green (High Street) of Woodford, after
parking considerately around the village.
Morning loop is 5.5
milesFrom the village we’ll head approx
south to the three hills tumulus, and on
towards Rectory Farm. We’ll walk across
the fields towards Shooters Hill (near
Great Addington). After bypassing the
villeage we’ll join the road for the last
section heading back into Woodford.
For those walking all
day, please bring a packed lunch with you.
We’ll eat near the village green and
afterwards head to the pub for a drink.
The pub is dog friendly and has an outside
seating area.
Afternoon loop is 4
miles, leaving from the War Memorial at
1.30pm.
We will head South linking into the Nene
Way. On leaving the Nene Way, we’ll cross
the road and walk through the nature
reserve towards Ringstead. Passing through
the village will head towards Denford,
before heading back to Woodford.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
February
23rd
Sunday
23 February - 9.5 mile circular walk,
Blisworth, walk leader Jayne
Please park considerately around
the village and meet outside the Post Office
on the High Street in Blisworth at 10.30am.
The walk is approx. 9.5 miles in
total. We’ll go across the fields to
Shutlanger then Stoke Bruerne where we may
stop for a drink or just find a bench for
lunch. In the afternoon we’ll head back to
Blisworth via Roade.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
March
Wednesday
6th
Wednesday
6 March - Pub meet
Why not join us for our March pub meet
at The Olde England craft beer pub in
Northampton which is on the corner of the
Racecourse opposite the Picturedrome.
We will be there from 7.30pm
Sunday 8th
Sunday
8 March - 10 mile circular walk, Castle
Ashby, walk leader Peter
Meet at the car park at
Castle Ashby house, closest sat nav is NN7
1LJ, ready to walk at 10.30am. (There is
no charge for the car park. Please do not
park near the shopping yard, as they need
it for their visitors, thank you). Please
bring a packed lunch with you, as there
won’t be time to order food in the pub.
The walk is about
10 miles over varied terrain, going via
Yardley Hastings, Chadstone, Cogenhoe,
Whiston and back to Castle Ashby.
Our lunch stop will be
at about the 6 mile mark with some great
views, where we will have a short stop for
people to eat lunch and then walk another
15-20 minutes to get us to the Royal Oak
pub for a drink and use of the facilities
before doing the last 3 miles back to
Castle Ashby.
Dogs are welcome on the walk, although
please be advised there a few styles,
possible fields with livestock and a little
bit of road walking involved.
<-
Google pin of start of walk
Sunday 15th
Sunday
15 March - 11 mile circular walk,
Asfordby, walk leader Rachel
Meet
at Asfordby Parish Hall, Main Street for a
10:30 start after parking around the
village - please don’t use the Hall’s
carpark as they have a function booked (I
checked!)
The
walk is approximately 11 miles long, and
is mainly on fields (it was very soggy
when we recce’d it midFeb), there are
quite a lot of stiles making it not
particularly dog friendly unfortunately.
There
is a pub stop at the Belvoir Brewery in
Old Dalby for a pint, this is at about
mile 7 so we will stop for lunch before -
we found a sheltered area to picnic in so
please prepare to sit on the floor or
fallen trees!
If
anyone fancied a carvery after, Rachel has
offered to book the Golden Fleece in South
Croxton for about 5pm. It is roughly
20 minutes from the walk start but is back
towards Northampton so not totally out the
way!? Please can people let Rachel know by
end of February if they’d like to eat, so
she can get it booked.
The basics
Walk leaders have to members of the
Ramblers Association, being a member
means you are covered by our
insurance. We expect all walks to be
-'pre-walked' or 'reccied' before
leading the group of people out on a
walk. You will need to let Belinda
our walks secretary know the details
of your walk at least 6 weeks in
advance – so we can add it on to our
website. Ideally she needs to know
the approx location of the walk and
distance as soon as you can.
Joint walks and reccies
Walks can be jointly led – so if you
like the idea of leading a walk, but
are a bit nervous about the map
reading, the responsibility of
checking things out – please ask
someone who has been a member for a
while if they'd like to share a
walk. Again, if you're a confident
map reader, but you'd like some
company on the reccie, please let us
know.
Deciding a route
Inspiration for walks can be found
in the Ramblers 'Walk' magazine,
walking books, plotting out a route
on the map – or checking our 'back
catalogue' of walks on the website.
Many of the local libraries stock
copies of ordinance survey maps
which you can take out on loan (and
sometimes walking books too). Again,
its always worth asking other people
if they've got the map of the area
you're interested in.
The walks can be within
Northamptonshire or surrounding
counties. Usually we suggest a 2
hour drive (from the car-sharing
point at Upton in Northampton) is
about the maximum distance people
will be willing to travel for a day
walk.
Local, national and evening walks
Local walks are classed as within
the boundaries of the county of
Northamptonshire, and national walks
outside the county. Its up to you
where you want to lead a walk, when
you've chosen the date. Its likely
that we'll flag walks further away
as 'national' walks so people notice
when planning to come along. In the
summer months we have extra walks,
twice a month on Wednesday evenings.
These start at 7.30 and aim to
finish around 9pm. If you're
volunteering for an evening walk,
please think about what time its
likely to get dark when planning
your route...
More public transport walks
please!
Finally, it
would be really great to see more
'public transport' walks – either
getting the bus or train in both
directions, or a linear walk between
two places.
th
(click on pin for
start location)