The Market Harborough Round (4) Arthingworth & Braybrooke

 

Back on the 'Market Harborough' Round but a little closer to home today. We are starting off in the Northamptonshire village of Arthingworth, and will be calling in to the village of Braybrooke too. I did a similar walk back in June 2021, a much warmer day than today I might add! If anyone is interested the link for that walk is below.

http://peterja-storytellersnight.blogspot.com/2021/06/arthingworth-great-oxendon-tunnel-and.html

We are walking in a clockwise direction towards the old railway line which is now the 'Brampton Valley Way'. This part runs parallel to the A508 MH Road. We pass a large barn full of very healthy looking cattle. A few young calves seem to have escaped and are enjoying a freedom frolic in the field. The strange looking device pictured below can only be described as a home-made cow wash. No wonder then that they all look so healthy.

We have to pass through the Oxendon Tunnel, one of two tunnels  on the old Northampton to Market Harborough railway line. This one is shorter than the Kelmarsh tunnel. There has been talk recently (again..) of the line re-opening. Not a good idea in my opinion and I can't ever see it happening. It would be remiss of me not to post up another photo. You can just see the light at the other end. Half way through is an Air Shaft which always makes for a good photo. 

It's a bit tricky without a torch, but not too bad. Some splashing about in puddles kept us on our toes, literally. I don't think that I've posted up a picture of the full Market Harborough Round before? So here it is (pictured left), all 71.05 miles. The fastest recorded time for completion is 15 hours, 14 minutes and 30 seconds.   

Leaving the Brampton Valley way we take the footpath in the direction of Braybrooke. The fields are extremely muddy though and the walking boots are soon about an inch higher than when starting. This is what it must have been like being a Glam Rocker in the 70's! Well some at least..

Braybrooke is an interesting little village. All Saints Church has a superb Spire, built in the 14/15th century. There is also a Castle! Before you get too excited I should point out that is just an area of earthworks these days. Or, if you prefer any empty field with nothing to see here signs posted.Even at it's peak it was little more than a fortified Manor House, I guess a Castle sounds much grander.     

Who would have known that Northamptonshire had It's own River Jordan? Possibly not quite as impressive as the one that runs along the border between the Palestinian West Bank, Israel and South West Syria I grant you. But nevertheless impressive enough in it's own right. Perhaps people make pilgrimages here to be baptised in the holy waters too? The Braybrooke Bridge has crossed the River Jordan since 1400.built by Thomas Latimer, whose descendants – the Barons Braybrooke – lived in, you guessed it, the extensive castle nearby. Braybrooke indeed has hidden depths. Which you need of course if being baptised in what is no more a stream really than a river.

Leaving behind the excitement of Braybrooke we climb a very muddy slope back towards Arthingworth. Someone has very kindly taken the trouble to dispose of a number of old tyres too. Don't get me started on that subject again. My blood pressure has only just returned to normal levels. The muddy climb is worth it though as some excellent views unfold.

A little earlier we passed the point where the Jurassic Way and the Macmillan way join up.

I always enjoy seeing a 'Trig Point'. Or to give the correct name 'Triangulation Pillar'. This one at Arthingworth is 'TP0130' (147m) A fixed survey point that indicates that you are at the highest point of a mountain or hill. There are around 5,500 still standing in the UK. There is a site for 'Bagging' Trig Points on the internet. You can tick them off as you spot them. 

Not the most spectacular of walks, but always something interesting to find. The total distance covered in this walk was 8.39 muddy miles!
 

Northampton and Moulton Wombles Litter Pick (Boughton Lane)

 

In my last blog write up I mentioned the blot on the landscape that is litter pollution, and fly tipping. That was on a stretch of the 'Shakespeare's Avon Way close to the Vale of Evesham. As a result I decided to do something positive to contribute, a little closer to home.    

I have followed the excellent work of 'Northampton Wombles' on Facebook for quite a while. I hadn't realised that there was also a 'Moulton Wombles in existence too. I noticed a lady out on Boughton Lane last weekend litter picking on her own. A 'call to arms' against the litter was issued.This was the opportunity for me to get involved. Thankfully the weather had calmed, and most of the snow had thawed as we gathered on Moulton Park Industrial Estate.There has been a blizzard blowing the last couple of mornings leaving a white carpet. I'm taking no chances despite the forecast being decent. The sun has even put in an appearance, the signs are good so far. 

Layers and layers of buried of Wood

Things started off nice and sedately. I was given a very fetching orange 'Moulton Wombles Tabard. I just about managed to squeeze it on over the many layers I was wearing. Gradually fellow Wombles, old and new began to arrive on the scene. Armed with my grabber and a purple bin liner I set about picking up various small items. These mostly consisted of cans, bottles , crisp wrappers and fast food outlets packaging. It was quite pleasant and I met a few people I knew already.   Venturing deeper into the undergrowth the picture changed quite dramatically........

The amount of larger items dump was really quite staggering. These included; mattresses, sofas, chairs, doors, office furniture, tyres and all sorts of other rubbish you could think of. All soaking wet, and totally filthy after laying dormant for so long. It became apparent that there had been some heavy duty 'Fly tipping' on a grand scale. Much of which was wood, layer after layer of off cuts. I can only imagine a flat bed truck has reversed up to the edge and emptied it's contents at some stage. It has all got embedded in the mud over time and a nightmare to release. The large items all had to be rolled up a steep and slippy bank to get to the collection point. Myself, and a chap called 'Vijay' undertook this energy sapping task.  

We must have had around 16-18 volunteers and the bags were beginning to mount up very quickly. The purple bags signify that it is an organised litter pick. The council will have been notified and will collect and then dispose of accordingly. From what I can tell there seem to be three types of litter offenders.The first being the lazy types who throw cans, fast food packaging from their cars. I would also include the people on foot who don't bother with bins and dump cans , wrappers and bottles into this category. The second category is the sort of person with a rubbish bag, or a large item they wish to dispose of without going to a council refuge depot. The third culprit is the van owner, maybe work waste? Who then dumps rubbish on an industrial scale. Some of this will be for financial reasons of course. There are costs involved in disposing of rubbish. Skip hire has shot up dramatically over the last few years due to landfill tax rises. This problem isn't going to go away anytime soon sadly. Despite feeling anger towards the 'tippers' I also feel sorry for them in a sense. Particularly those who fall into in the first category. That they should have so little self awareness. No sense of pride in themselves or understanding of the environment. It is not unfair to draw a comparison to how they are in other aspects of life.The 'not my problem' type, leave it for somebody else to deal with. Speaks volumes as to a persons attitude in my opinion. 

The bags and larger items are starting to mount  are also starting to mount up on the lay-by near the road too. Some verge clearing is also taking place. Picking up the litter is something that you can really throw yourself into. Almost literally at times!! The benefits are great, therapeutic and numerous.

It keeps you active, It keeps you present, It makes a positive difference in the community. You are outside in the fresh air. A chance to meet people and make new friends. Contributing to a cleaner environment and helping wildlife is a good feeling. If that's not a boost for Mental Health then I don't know what is! I read somewhere that 2 million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every single day.... Thankfully more and more people seem to be getting involved in helping which is a great thing. Even if you don't want to be involved in a Group, going out on your own is equally valuable.

Heavy Duty  Door

 

Myself and Vijay

Things are looking a lot clearer now.

It has been hard going at times but a very enjoyable few hours. I'm not sure what the answer is to stop litter dumping? Surely it has to start with education, teaching people from an early age that dropping litter isn't acceptable. A change of mindset is needed for sure. You see it everywhere in all walks of life. Challenging someone is difficult, not to say potentially dangerous. In the meantime we will keep on picking it up and Wombling our way through There is still a chance to pick up some more on my walk home..I've actually walked close to 15,000 steps in the process! Many thanks to Sue Almond for organising and to everyone who made the effort to support. A fantastic effort by all concerned!