Welton - Braunston - Ashby St Ledgers - Welton

Led by me, with Barry. Fine, sunny, warm to hot. Quite up and downy. Good views. 8.5 miles - the last two miles were in the car, when I'd forgotten to switch the machine off.
Welton is one of those villages set back from the main road - you need to be make a deliberate effort to go there. The main part of it is on the hill near St Martin's church and the White Horse pub.

St Martin's church from the rear

Pub and church - above the pub door are the words "Abandon hope all ye who enter . . ."

We take the path by the pub, going downhill through grassland and a field to the road. Over the road we cross meadow land with cows and calves, sheep and lambs.


A short uphill stretch and we reach the canal, where we cross the bridge and turn right towards Braunston.

A narrowboat emerging from the Braunston Tunnel

We have to leave the canal and walk over the hill. The tunnel's a good mile long.

Braunston lies ahead

An air shaft for the tunnel

Bicentenary plaque

We stop for an ice-cream at the canal shop before leaving the water and taking the Jurassic Way to Ashby St Ledgers.
We walk up to Braunston village, and take the road just by the Wheatsheaf - Ashby Road which goes to the right. We follow it until it bends to the right. At this point the old road is now a track leading straight ahead - towards Ashby St Ledgers.The track narrows to a path, and climbs up to a minor road, with great views behind. At the highest point, we turn right along the road, and very soon left, at a Jurassic way marker in the same direction as previously. The path goes downhill to the A361. We cross, pass the Old Coach Inn, and walk through the village, until a road junction just before the church.

the old stables

Church and the gatehouse to the Manor.

We take the road to the right, past a Co-op farm and a building labelled the Old Dairy. When we reach a junction our path goes slightly to the left, cutting off a long corner of the field. Then it's through a series of fields where rapeseed is just starting to show yellow. The path is clear and easy to follow up hill towards Welton. It comes out between houses on Ashby Road. All we have to do is work out where the church is and we can find our way back to the car.
There's some kind of treasure hunt going on - people with sheets of paper wandering around in groups - and cars driving slowly around.

Hunting for the answer - what happened to John?

We're lucky enough to arrive at the church just as one of the churchwardens opens it - it's normally kept closed.The sad story of what happened to John is answered by this gravestone - poor little lad.
I wonder if this is "starved" as in "frozen" - a northern use of the word. My grandmother used to warn us we'd "be starved to death" if we didn't put our coats on in winter.

Whoever erected the stone seems to be making a big point about the neglectful parents . . .

Other walks touching this one:

Ashby SL, Braunston, Barby

Jurassic Way: Charwelton to Braunston

Jurassic Way: Braunston to Winwick