Starting at Hickling Basin, today's 9½ mile walk explored the hilly ground on the southern border of Nottinghamshire with a short excursion across into Leicestershire for lunch in Old Dalby. A good turnout again, twenty one, in fine weather with good views in all directions.
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| Hickling Basin on the Grantham Canal |
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| Climbing up Hickling Standard with views across the Vale of Belvoir |
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| Clever cows know all about staying 2m away from ramblers |
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| Ladies first. This route would have been tricky in wetter weather due to the many stiles and muddy patches caused by the inquisitive cows. |
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| To an appreciative crowd, John explains the third-rail system on the Old Dalby Test Track ... |
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| ... used in 1984 to test crash a nuclear waste flask |
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| Old Dalby, Leicestershire Wolds in the background |
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| Old Dalby, Belvoir Ridge in the background |
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| Descent into Old Dalby on Debdale Hill |
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| St John the Baptist Church, Old Dalby - lunch stop for some |
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| St Luke's Church, Upper Broughton |
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| Dalby Wind Farm (7.2 MW) in the distance |
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| The end for some ... |
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| ... the Plough for others, opened for the first time this weekend after five recent floods |
Incidentally, in view of the difficulties some (many?) of us are experiencing getting over stiles, you may be interested in this excellent publication from Durham CC, Guidance on stiles and gates. The single most important feature I think is probably the distance between the top step and the top bar which should be no more than 350mm, i.e. about half my inside leg measurement, not slightly more than like yesterday. Ouch!
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