This is actually walk no:87 on the Northamptonshire Walks site. The official starting point is in the village of Upper Harlestone. For this walk though we are actually starting from outside the Garden Centre opposite Harlestone Firs.
Leaving the Garden Centre we take the first turn on the right into White’s Lane. There are new houses on the left and our path is on the right.Jack Frost has been busy overnight and there is a low lying fog as well. It really is very cold!
We stay on the path following the edge of the field into the next field. The trees are full of frost and make a wintry scene. Lots of bird-life too as we cross into a small wood. Long tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and a lovely little Treecreeper.
The wildlife kept on coming with several Pheasants and then as we passed by the quarry a Muntjac Deer made an appearance.
Sandstone’s been quarried in the area for several centuries & still is. Much of the stone was used in building, both locally & across the country.
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It's a lovely area and one that I have biked around many times in the past. Thankfully all the recent development hasn't spoiled the ambience too much.
Turn left we follow the road back to Upper Harlestone and should have taken a path on the right. This would have gone past the horse paddocks and provided nice views of the village. Although given the fog there wouldn't be much to see today. Instead we carried on along the road before meeting up with where the path would have come out.
We take the path that continues the other side of the road past a lovely stream to the 'official' starting point in Upper Harlestone. It's always good to see the Dovecote Laundry building which dates back to 1320. This grade II listed dovecote is perfectly round,and was reputedly once a public house.
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| St Andrews Church Harlestone |
It's a lovely part of the County even on this murkiest of mornings. We walk past the village Green and pick up the footpath on the left.Walking slightly uphill we arrive at the Village Institute, where there is a memorial marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. There is also a walled cricket ground just behind which I recall playing at at least once. The path eventually takes us across Northampton Golf Club. A hardy foursome is just arriving at the first tee for their round of golf. We then arrive at St Andrews Church, built of locally quarried stone, is mentioned in the Doomsday Book .It is looking very Christmassy today!
We pass down the side of the church passing Harlestone Manor and check our bearings. We take the path through a field of horses and the old bake-house up the hill in to Lower Harlestone. We walk past The Fox and Hounds pub , a well known Northampton landmark.
There is a lovely holly bush which is growing from someones garden onto the verge. I was intending to forage some suitable materials for a Christmas wreath for the door.The holly was perfect, with it's red berries so I discretely cut off a few stems.
I'm hoping to get the majority of the foraging completed once we get into Harlestone Firs.The path is on our left and winds down to an entrance through the trees. We put the guide to one side at this point and set off on our own trails mainly around the perimeter. Just the odd dog walker otherwise a scene of peace and tranquility. It's not too boggy either and plenty of foraging opportunities.
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| Harlestone Firs |
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| 'The foraged door wreath' |
We meander through the woods , passing the sawmill back to the main entrance and where the car was parked.
It has been cold but another great walk for sure. A nice distance at not much over 6 miles and plenty to see and enjoy along the route.
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