Little Harrowden, Orlingbury, Pytchley and Isham Walk

 

Starting point today is outside the Church of St Mary the Virgin at Little Harrowden. It's walk no:134 on the Northamptonshire Walks website. 

The walk will take in four local villages that I am well used to cycling around, but not so familiar with the footpaths. 

There has been an overnight frost but the skies are clear blue and the sun is out. We are good to go!  

Little Harrowden & its neighbour Great Harrowden are the wrong way round, as Great Harrowden is a much smaller village with a population of only 161.The footpath is at the side of the church next to the school. We are soon out onto fields with views towards our next stop Orlingbury. 

As the path goes further downhill the muddier it gets. We just about stay on our feet thankfully.There is still some frost patches in the shade of the hedgerows.

The footpath gradually climbs and we are next to the grounds of Orlingbury Hall. There is a herd of deer visible through the hedge. 

 

Some smashing views looking back! The path takes us into the lovely village of Orlingbury. I've spent a bit of time here previously with the drama group at the Village Hall. It does seem a fun village with a lot going on and a good social scene. 

There seems to be a lot of repair work going on at the moment too. Both the Church of St Mary and the local pub 'The Queens Arms' are both having a serious renovation. According to local folklore, the man who killed the last wolf in England is buried in the church. He is known locally as Jock of Badsaddle.

Sadly there is no trace any longer of the deserted village of Wythmail which formerly lied within the parish of Orlingbury.

We make a small detour around the splendid village green taking in the church. I'm pleased to see another telephone box has been converted into a book depository too. 

We make our way out of the village looking for a footpath on the left that will take us towards Pytchley with any luck.

 

It had all been going well...... We could see Pytchley in the distance, the Church standing proud. However getting to it was a lot harder.

The path split in two directions, the one across the middle of the field was extremely muddy. So we followed the hedge down to the spinney. We could see the stream but there was no way of crossing. So in true Bear Gryll's style we hacked through the undergrowth until a clear path emerged.

It was only looking back from the path that crosses the stream we saw where we should have walked. It was the path through the middle of the field. On the brow of the hill another group og intrepid walkers were carefully navigating there way down the field. 

The drama is far from over as we cross the stile in a field of cows. One in particular that looked nothing like the others tried to make a bit of a name for herself. The cow in question was all white whereas the other cows were a mixture of black and white. 

It was certainly showing us some close attention and had to be shooed away. The next field was just so muddy we ended up walking around the perimeter which was still bad enough. It was a welcome relief to actually get on the hard surface of the  road and into Pytchley.

We walked past the pub 'The Overstone Arms' slightly confusing as we are not in Overstone. A helpful man walking his dog sees me reading the map and offers some advice. Apparently the landowner of the path we wanted doesn't like walkers. There are other choices that lead to Isham. As it is a permissive path I have no qualms sticking to the planned route. 

Thankfully none of the gates we had to pass through were locked and progress was smooth and unchallenged. More horses in the field and some lovely views looking back.

 

It is then a case of crossing two large muddy fields looking for a stile to cross the stream.

 

As you might imagine by now our boots are pretty much caked in mud ..again. Thankfully just before we exit there is a handily place 'boot-scraper'. Very well used too by the look of it , I'm not sure I wasn't actually putting more on than was coming off?

 I think It's a case of keeping mud off the road that connects to some big industrial silos. Probably chickens being kept judging by the stench being omitted. 

More fields and stiles before we reached the backs of some houses in Isham. We follow the path by the cemetery that took us to the main road. We walk along the very busy main road passing the church and a used cars sales operation.

We get off the road at the earliest point and skirt the edge of the field until we find the footpath sign. A much safer option and less noisy than taking the road route. We head towards the spinney in the distance. 

It's something of a leap of faith as there is no set footpath across the field. It is therefore something of a relief to find the the little bridge that crosses the stream. There are a lot of these around these days which can only be a good thing.

The next footpath is much more obvious and takes us in an uphill direction.The sun is shining through one particular avenue of tress and looks quite spectacular. 

A little further on we come across a deserted barn which I believe is know as 'Frisby Lodge'. Looking beyond the old barn there are a number of wind turbines all in a line. They aen't really my cup of tea but on a day like today they look uite spectacular. 

We follow the path all the way back to the road that leads to Little Harrowden and back to the car.

Certainly a challenging walk due to the condition underfoot. Very enjoyable though and a total distance of just over 7 miles.  

 

 

Yardley Hastings and Castle Ashby Walk

Starting point for today's walk is the lovely village of Yardley Hastings. A different route from the one walked backed in June. This time taking in Castle Ashby rather than Easton Maudit. Route 130 on the Northamptonshire Walks site.

Just before leaving home the heavens opened and the skies were very dark. Thankfully it soon eased off and hopefully we were set fair for a good few hours walking?

Starting point is the village Primary school decked with poppies for Remembrance Day.

 

St Andrews Church

There is a lovely brook that runs through the village. My goodness it's running fast and high today after al the recent rain.

We walk up to the church of St Andrew and take a little tour around the churchyard. We head out towards the Old Rectory dated 1701. We find the gate that leads out into open fields and beautiful countryside.

We pretty much follow the hedge line until we are into the Castle Ashby estate.I think we went slightly wrong at this point although it didn't make a whole lot of difference. Instead of crossing the long estate drive we followed it towards the house. It probably cut a tiny bit  of the walk off but no harm done. It did allow for a nice picture of the house though.There is a lovely cricket pitch in front of the house, sadly we wont get close enough to see it today. 

 

 

Castle Ashby House

There are plenty of other beautiful sights to take in though with some lovely scenery around. We continue through the estate grounds over a couple of stiles heading towards the village of Castle Ashby. There are a few other walkers about as well , maybe doing the same route , or perhaps the same route in reverse?

Once over the final stile we turn right towards the rural shopping yard. We try and get a closer look at the house and gardens but it is very much private property. Continuing down the back of the shopping yard we come out by the restored 'Falcon Hotel'. This time we are going in a right direction. 

Over to our left are the fishing lakes. There are three lakes altogether . Grendon, Scotland & Brickyard which all hold a good stock of fish. Scotland pond is a prolific lake (40 pegs 9 acres) with all species of fish: Carp,Tench, Bream, Crucian, Roach, Rudd, Gudgeon, Perch and also large Pike.   

 

Castle Ashby Lakes

 

There is also a nice view of the house from a different angle

 
The house, church, formal gardens and landscaped park are Grade I listed. It is one of the seats of the Marquess of Northampton.

It was begun in the 1570s, with three-story corner pavilions linked by two-story ranges. This was re-modelled in the late 16th century when the side ranges were raised to three storeys, and again between 1624 and 1634 when the east range was doubled in width and rearranged to create a new state apartment and screen across the entrance front.

Our journey continues on the road for a short way. The junction sign shows Grendon and Yardley Hastings. Our destination being the latter. We follow the road again before heading across a very muddy field. At the end of the path there are the remains of a car that has long seen better days. Strangely there is also an old office chair in the verge.

One careful owner ?

We cross the road and pick up the path that takes us all the way back in to Yardley Hastings. A beautiful day and a lovely walk.

We have a little wander around the village before going back to the car. I notice that one of the gardens has a wishing well!

Perhaps given what a shocker of a year 2020 has been I should give it a go?

Summerleys and Titchmarsh Starling Murmuration

The perfect time to visit Summer Leys Nature Reserve near Wollaston n the hope of seeing the mass gathering of Starlings known as a 'Murmuration'.  

This large, ex-gravel pit is made up of a main lake with gently sloping banks, shallow areas of water and ponds, low lying islands, a large scrape and a fringe of reeds surrounded by grassland and wet woodland. This is ideal habitat for wintering birds: Goosander, Wigeon and Gadwall reach nationally important numbers, joined by large numbers of roosting lapwing and golden plover. 

Wading birds use the scrape and the shallow lake margins. Oystercatcher, ringed plover, little ringed plover and Redshank stay to breed, while Whimbrel, Turnstone and common Sandpiper often pass through during migration. Numerous pairs of common tern nest in a colony on the islands.

Time to complete a circuit (just over two miles) before the Starlings are likely to arrive. Some interesting black goats grazing amongst the fallen leaves. There is also a Great White Egret carefully wading around the waters edge. 

The Murmuration happens during the winter months, roughly from October to March. The peak in numbers is usually December to January when more birds come over from Europe and join our resident birds. 

It's basically a mass aerial stunt - thousands of birds all swooping and diving in unison. It's completely breathtaking to witness. It is thought that Starlings do it for many reasons. ... They gather over their roosting site, and perform their wheeling stunts before they roost for the night.
 

As soon as the light starts to fade small flocks of the birds start to arrive. I had taken to one of the bird hides for a better view. I wanted to get a good view over the red beds as that is where they go down.   

It wasn't long before a large gathering of birds had congregated. Swooping and diving in synchronisation  it is an incredible sight. The noise they make as they fly overhead is amazing too. It really does make the old hairs on the back of the neck stand up! After about 10 minutes as soon as one goes down they all go down and it is over.

 

 

 

It's wet and windy but undeterred we head off to Titchmarsh Nature Reserve. Part of the Thrapston Gravel Pits complex, which lies within the Upper Nene Valley gravel pits Site of Special Scientific Interest. The biggest lake is Aldwincle Lake, which provides a large area for overwintering birds, as well as isolated islands to encourage breeding. It is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. We are pretty well wrapped up against the elements thankfully as the weather has taken a turn for the worse. It isn't long before we are sheltering in one of the hides for some respite. The River nene runs through the site as does part of the Nene Way walking route.

We decide to do a circuit of the Nature Reserve , by which time the Starlings should be massing and we will be up by the reed beds. That is pretty much how it played out too and thankfully the rain had eased as well. By the time we got round to the North Hide it was raining again so we made use of the dry but windswept shelter.

Starlings were arriving from all directions and seemed to split into three separate groups. There was far more 'performing' than at Summer Leys earlier in the week. The murmuration lasted for the best part of an hour and it was almost total darkness before they went down to roost. 

 

Although Starlings are not the only birds that do it, a murmuration is a term more specifically used for starling flocks. Starlings use murmuration to confuse predators and to keep warm.

Murmuration comes from Medieval Latin murmuratio (“murmuring, grumbling”). The "starling" sense is probably derived from the sound of the very large groups that starlings form at dusk.

I reckon the must have been a minimum of 10,000 Starlings and what a performance they produced!   

 

 

Great Brington, Little Brington and Althorp Walk

 

St. Mary the Virgin with St. John Church, Great Brington

 

Starting point today is the famous Church at Great Brington(walk no:6) on the Northamptonshire Walks website. Quite a short one, but no less interesting that's for sure. It's a mild and misty morning and the car park at the church is already full. It's remembrance Sunday but sadly all the churches are closed up due to the lockdown restrictions. 

We get a bit carried away walking down the avenue of trees and end up missing the footpath that goes across the next field. No harm done as we backtrack and get on the right path. 

It's a case of following the path until it takes you back into the village of Great Brington.

The Althorp Coaching Inn or Fox and Hounds

 We pass the lovely old pub that dates back to the 16th century and is a listed building. Nothing better than going there when the log fire is blazing and warming up. We carry on uphill turning into a road called 'The Pound' before entering fields again through a 'kissing gate'. It's one of those where you feel you are in the wrong place as there are no formals footpath signs. The directions say to go diagonally so that is what we do. It is with some relief we arrive at the gate that exits the field.

We follow the road for a short way before picking up the path on the left and climbing up the hill. If anything it seems to be getting mistier. Over a couple more stiles and it's into a maize field that slightly reminiscent of a Stephen King novel.

Maize Field

Crossing the maize field we come across at least six Red Kites on the ground, no doubt after worms. Seeing unwelcome visitors they are quick to take to the air. The trees look quite spectacular in the mist and a wee bit eerie.

We follow the trail of telegraph poles and keep the Spire at Nobottle in our sights. 

The path is well defined and we keep going alongside the hedge in the direction of Little Brington. The footpath takes us by a small paddock with some curious sheep.

 The wildlife gets even more 'exotic' as we continue towards the village! 

All that is left of the church in Little Brington is the Spire. It fell into disrepair in the 1940's and and the main body was demolished. At the request of the Air Ministry, however, the distinctive tower with its octagonal spire was spared. It had become a landmark to navigators and likely serves the same purpose today.

 

The route now lies straight across down the side of a lodge, which doesn’t look like a path. It’s actually not a public right of way, but a carriage way from Althorp House, however permission is given to the public to walk along it to find the next path.
It's a nice path and I try to imagine the days of when the Earls and Countess would have taken the carriage to get to the church at Great Brington. It's not easy as there is some massive farming machinery making a hell of a racket and disturbing the ambience.

It then decides it wants to move and starts following us down the track like a scene from some sort of horror movie.  Thankfully it passes without any fuss and we are saved for another day. The trail stops suddenly and we are diverted off to the left through a hedge, a field and back towards the houses of Great Brington in the distance. 

We shortly arrive at a metal gate that takes us back into the village.The walk could actually be cut short here if so required. However instead of going back to the car we opt to turn right at the footpath sign to Harlestone passing down the lane we came up earlier. Following the path downhill past the other tracks towards the wood. This leads to a gate almost opposite Althorp House.Even on a murky day like today the house can be seen. There are even some deer roaming around too.

Althorp House  was built in 1508 and has been the family seat of the Spencer Family for nineteen generations. Currently, it is held by Princess Diana's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, who made headlines after his moving eulogy at Princess Diana's 1997 funeral. The Estate encompasses cottages, farms, woodlands and villages, which combine to give a rich mix of landscapes, habitats and activities.The route back is through the avenue of trees that we mistakenly came down at the start of the walk. Walking under the canopy we soon see the church come back into view.

Grave of the Spencer family

We take a little time to have a look around the historic churchyard. The Spencer's have held Althorp for centuries, and generations of Spencer's are buried inside the church.Nineteen generations of Spencers are now interred in the Spencer Chapel, the earliest being that of John Spencer himself, with his wife, who lie together beneath an ornate canopy. Nearby is the tomb of another Sir John Spencer (d. 1586) Great Brington's church dates to about 1200 and probably stands on the site of an earlier timber church which burned down. 

A superb walk and a fairly short one too at a shade over 5 miles.