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It's been a sharp overnight frost, temperatures plummeting to -3 degrees. It's not likely to get much warmer either. Starting point is the privately owned 'Midshires Covert. ' A small wood planted mostly in 2009. I met the owner on a different walk during the Summer, and he told me to check it out. We followed the Bridleway along the Western edge and part of the Midshires Way. We then pick up the Brampton Valley Way and the first of the Railway tunnels heading towards Arthingworth.
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If anything it is getting colder and there is a mist in the air. One tree in particular is full of Rooks, a Rookery, making the distinctive caw or kaah sound. We continue into the village of Arthingworth . There are many varied footpaths to choose from , I think I've pretty much walked all of them over the years. We pass the Church of St Andrew's on our left.
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It was at this point things started to go a little bit wrong. Crossing the old bridge over the River Ise visibility was very poor. It's a simple route to Harrington on a clear day.One I've walked several times, today we got lost in the fields. Instead of coming out opposite the Village Hall we missed the village completely! We cross over the busy A14 passing the Aviation Museum, passing through Blue Covert. This stretch of the walk has become really muddy into the bargain. Lots of Pheasants and a few Red Legged Partridges enjoying the grain that has been scattered. We've also seen a few Fieldfares and Redwings feeding on the hedgerow berries.
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We reach the small village of Draughton, pronounced 'Draw-ton' I'm reliably informed. I came out this way on my bike during the week. It was a lovely sunny day, albeit a bit slippy in places. The photo on the left shows the junction where I parted company with the bike. Not particularly steep but a hidden patch of 'black ice' caused my downfall. Thankfully I wasn't going particularly fast. A passing van driver saw my fall and kindly stopped to make sure all was OK.Thankfully no damage was done to rider or the new bike. We climb a stile next to a large country house that I've always really liked. We are walking downhill towards the Brampton Valley Way passing a small pond on our right hand side. No sign of any life today though, perish the thought.
We join the BVW by the 'orphaned iron bridge. I always think it looks quite striking. The long abandoned bridge would once have crossed over the former Market Harborough to Northampton railway line. We follow the path for about half a mile, before turning off onto the Midshires Way and back to our start point.
Despite the poor weather it is still a great walk as always. Due to a few wrong turns we ended up walking 11.5 miles.
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