Valentine Day Walk 14-02-2014 Starting and finishing at Whetstone. Approx 4.5 miles.

Well, it was DAMP to start with and WET at the finish! 

Ten hardy walkers set out to blow a few cobwebs away as the saying goes. We did not travel far, only to Springwell Lane, Whetstone and parked the cars. The route is shown on the map also stats for the walk.

 

We started off and immediately came across a site which must really annoy farmers and anybody who loves the countryside with all its beauty. FLY TIPPING. The local tip is only 2 miles away and amazingly people do this but, all credit where it's due,  on the way back the local council workers were there clearing it all up. We're advised if anybody sees fly tipping happening to take the registration number (not to get involved with the perpetrators) then pass that number to the local council. Hopefully the total cost for clearing it all up, plus a fine can be passed on to the guilty party.

But on to more enjoyable  matters - walking in the damp countryside!

 

There was much merry making and  banter going on as we made our way along the lane.

Other natives were quite happy with their surroundings.


When you are on a walk, signs take on a different meaning or maybe it is our weird sense of amusement!

 We kept going, walking up through a local farm where we had the farmer's permission to walk and back on to the lane we had originally walked. The rain started to come down a bit heavier but by wearing the right equipment it only dampens the event and does not spoil the enjoyment of the walk.

We  got back to the cars and after a quick change of wet gear we set off for the local cafe at Cosby for a well earned cuppa and a slice of cake.

See you all next week - hope it is a dry day.

Don't forget the 28th February is an away day at

 Launde Abbey -  see the blog article for details.

P.S. Willie and Sheila didn't come out in the rain - they decided to do press ups at home instead.

Planned walk on the 28th February 2014 .

Snowdrops at Loddington

Loddington to Launde Abbey Walk (weather permitting)

Friday 28^th February 2014 – 10.30am from Cosby

We expect this walk to take a little longer to get to and from i.e. one hour there and one hour back. The walk itself including Loddington Church and refreshments at Launde Abbey (please bring your own if you prefer) will take approximately 3 hours so we don’t expect to be back into Cosby until 3.30/4.00pm at the earliest.

Directions:

Cosby village hall car park to Countesthorpe , Kilby, Wistow, Kibworth.

At Kibworth turn right on to A6 then left at sign post for Tur Langton and Carlton Curlieu. Travel ¼ mile then turn left for Carlton Curlieu and Three Gates.

At the B6047 turn left heading for the A47 sign posted Billesdon and Melton. At the A47 turn right for Peterborough, Tugby and Skeffington.  

Continue for 3.5 miles to East Norton, turn left at sign post for East Norton

¼  mile and Loddington 1 ½ miles.

Continue to Loddington and park outside Visitor Centre on road to Launde

Friday 7th February 2014.walking from Mowsley to Gumley approx 5.5miles.

The weather was grim at 7 o'clock. The difference from then until we met at 10.30, well, it was positively south of France. 

Seventeen walkers assembled at the Cosby Village Hall car park eager to soak up the sun. We set off for Mowsley and it promised to be a good day for walking.

 Mowsley village has under 100 dwellings, a pub and no school. 

 We walked out of Mowsley and headed for Laughton  keeping to a small lane as the the fields are just not walkable at present.

 We came across an unusual sight - the dog with little blue wellies made us all smile.

The countryside can be so beautiful at this time of the year, you have just got to get out and see it.

In  Laughton we stopped to admire the snowdrops. They were the first large show that most of us had seen this year.

We left Laughton as the time on the sun dial showed that we should be making tracks.

About 10 past 11

Laughton village green

Heading for Gumley by a gated road we had some great views of Leicestershire as we were quite high up.

Spring lambs were evident in some fields and other people were out on horseback.

After all this walking we headed into Gumley towards the local hostelry where we received a very warm welcome. They were serving delicious plates of lunch and some of us made a mental note to come back and try it for ourselves. 

 

After our break we all got ready for the walk back to Mowsley. All seventeen of us bade farewell to mine host and promised to return as soon as possible. 

We took a picture of Gumley Church on our way out of the village.

Some of the party came across a very apt van down one of the lanes.

We really enjoy our retirement. 

The cap only gets turned in the wind.

Well, it was a great day, everybody enjoyed the walk and we all hope next week is as good weather wise.

On Sunday Willie and Sheila went for a walk to spot snowdrops and aconites and they also spotted a robin and lambs. No doubt we will hear more about their expedition next week