We are a small friendly group who go for a leisurely local walk of up to 5 miles. We sometimes stop to admire the view, identify wild flowers or explore a little old church. There is an opportunity for revival after the walk with a lunch stop at a nearby pub or cafe, but this is optional. We try to share transport whenever possible.

Why not join us on our next walk and give it a try?

You may also be interested in a new programme called SWANS - short walks and no stiles. This will be an easy walk of 2 to 3 miles taken at a leisurely pace. It will be mainly on pathways and tracks with no muddy fields, or stiles or hills to climb. The walk will be followed by refreshments at a nearby cafe when possible. More detail here.

Venue

Various

Timing

Monthly, normally first Tues of month

Calendar

Tue Feb 7th Rose will lead the walk from Stanton under Bardon (approx 5 miles).

Tue Mar 6th Melbourne led by Elaine and Martin.

Tue Apr 3rd Albert Village led by David.

Tue May 1st Bluebells in Holly Hayes Wood led by Carole.

Tue Jun 12th Osgathorpe led by Roger Note date change due to Queen's Jubilee bank holiday.

Tue Jul 3rd Markfield led by Fran and Pete.

Tue Aug 7th Summer outing, location to be decided by Ann.

Tue Sep 4th tbd, led by Rose.

Tue Oct 2nd tbd, led by Valerie.

Tue Nov 6th Ashby and Blackfordby led by Pearl.

Tue Dec 4th tbd, led by Sue.

Contact

Ann Potterton on

Please note that as an anti-spam measure e-mail addresses on this site are NOT links, but should be manually copied

Pictures

Below are some pictures from February's Short Walk

Pictures from the other walks are in the gallery.

February's Walk

In spite of the cold temperatures and overcast skies, ten members of the Short Walks Group met in Stanton under Bardon on Tuesday, 7th February for a five mile circular walk. Our leader was Rose Westram and amongst our number were members joining us for the first time.
As usual, the walk led us to unexpected places of interest and terrific views as the clouds cleared away. Our first pause was at one of the six Noon Columns of the National Forest.This one is on the slopes of Billa Barra Hill. Given the right conditions, at noon each day, the sun shines through a slot carved in the oak column. With its dry stone walls, pine trees and gorse bushes, Billa Barra Hill is typical of the rugged scenery found in the Charnwood area.
After crossing the A511, we followed footpaths on the snow-covered lower slopes of Bardon Hill where we took our "banana break".
Continuing, we came across Old Hall Farm with its frozen moat. This is the site of the original Bardon Hall and is very picturesque, particularly with glistening snow and blue skies. The upper part of the River Sence flows by on its journey to Hugglescote and beyond. We followed the river, crunching through the snow, towards Bardon Church.
Hurrying by the busy A511 and through the edge of an industrial estate, we came upon fields once more. Cliffe Hill Quarry and its environs was now the major feature. We passed several frozen ponds with stands of bull-rushes and climbed uphill. We had a panoramic view of the landscape around us and a clear view into the huge quarry itself. Our route was then downhill back to Stanton under Bardon.
Everyone was ready for a warm lunch. We drove to the Charnwood Arms where we ate, relaxed and chatted for quite some time.