Gretton, Caldecott, Rockingham

 

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Gretton - Caldecott - Rockingham - Gretton

Thu, 2014 Oct 2 8:36 AM BST

With Gordon and Eddie. Coffee and toast at Rockingham cafe. Fine, warm, cloudy. 8 - 9 miles.

We took the route from Gretton village to the footpath along the Welland, following the path through Church Gap, signposted to Thorpe by Water, diagonally over the field of ridge and furrow, across the railway line and the fields, and then the farm track under the line of pylons to Mill Road and the footpath just past the bridge and Gretton Weir.

The Welland is low just now, and the overflow channel is quite dry.

We passed a couple of fields with cows, who showed little interest in us.

The footpath leaves the riverside to make its way over fields to come out on the road into Caldecott. We walk through the village, and over the bridge with traffic lights. We turn right along the Great Easton Road, and walk along this for almost a mile, turning off just before Great Easton, along the track marked Jurassic Way, past the recycling bins.
We follow the Jurassic Way over the Welland again, and across the road between Cottingham and Rockingham, then into Rockingham, coming out at the tea-shop. Convenient or what? 

From here we go up the hill and turn off to the left at the Forge/Land Rover workshop. We're still on the Jurassic Way, though poor signage helps us go slightly off track at one point. 
Eventually we reach West Hill, and have to tackle the steep climb towards Gretton. Not too bad, since the fields are dry just now.

Look closely at the picture above and you may see Eddie and Gordon coming up the hill.

A view from the top. Five minutes walk outside Gretton