Croxton Kerrial to Waltham on the Wolds

Date: 2012-09-09

From: Croxton Kerrial

Region: Leicestershire

Walk :  Linear

OS Sheet: Explorer OL24

Start Grid: SK 836 291

Distance: 11.1 ml, 17.9 km 

Height Gain: 430 ft, 131m

Height Lost: 361 ft, 110 m

Walking with: Andy

Notes: Road walking at start and finish then a fairly flat walk over fields and along tracks, quite a few stiles and gates, muddy in parts.

Route

These notes are provided to enable the walk to be plotted on a 1:25,000 map.

Take the A607 E, towards Grantham, at the bend keep right into lane, passed track to Tippings Lodge to track (Viking Way) on right heading SE. Follow SE around Airfield to just before a road is reached  take footpath on right W. Follow the path through woodland and part of the old airfield across fields and road to Saltby. Take the footpath from Saltby to Bescaby Oaks and Croxton Park, turn SE along track to Bescaby then take footpath by Racecourse Farm up to the Air Traffic Control Mast and into Waltham.

Journey

This was another Number 8 bus from Loughborough walk and Andy joined me to walk it. With clear blue skies and a gentle breeze it was a pretty much a perfect day for a walk

Viking Way

Apart from the road work out of Croxton to the Viking Way the whole walk was very enjoyable. The Viking Way took us some four K South East, crossing part of a decommisioned airfield on the way The track is broad and is earth and stone with grass verges and hedges. In places it is was scored by deep water filled ruts.

Muddy Ruts

As we approached the Airfield we could hear, then see tow planes and gliders. RAF Saltby was built and was operational during the Second World War and was home to British, American and Polish Air Forces. Among its roles was the dropping parachutists on D-Day and later into Arnhem.

Tow Plane towing Glider

Gliders

It is now the home of Buckminster Glider Club. The gliders are towed into the air by a small aircraft that climbs in broad circles until the glider is released to do its own thing, the plane lands to take up the next one.

Tow Plane

Memorial RAF Saltby

As we walked around the southern end of the airfield we met a large bunch of people standing around or sitting in an array of camp chairs. They were talking, waving papers about, looking at books, holding clip boards, all looking, to us, somewhat furtive and a little embarrassed by our presence.

Being bold we asked ‘what ya doing’.“There is a glider acrobatic competition here this afternoon and we are doing the scorering”. Was the reply. Not a lot we could say to that, so wishing them well we moved on.

NE from Bescaby Oaks

For a walk of over eleven miles it felt easy and seemed to go very quickly. It is not a walk to rave over but is a  good walk through largely arable countryside .

Waltham-on-the-Wolds: St Mary Magdalene