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.