Vale of Belvoir Ramblers

Hoveringham Lakes, Thurgarton and Bleasby, 13th September 2026

Val and Dave took 14 members on a 8½ mile walk passing close to two lakes developed on mature gravel pits - Railway Lake and Sailing Lake, which are rich in bird life. From Hoveringham, we headed towards Thurgarton Station across fields and wooded areas and then to the village of Bleasby for lunch. We then went down to the river near Hazleford Lock and along the Trent Valley Way back to the start.

The start next to the river at Hoveringham

Hoveringham Cricket Club Pavilion

First drinks stop

Second drinks stop.
Excellent poster on the platform of Hoveringham Station, designed by David Moore and erected by Friends of Lowdham and Burton Joyce Stations

Thurgarton Beck

Lunch stop in Bleasby

St Mary's Church, Bleasby

Before the building of the first Gunthorpe Bridge in 1875, Hazelford Ferry was an important crossing point over the River Trent and was the main route to Lincoln avoiding expensive bridges at Newark and Nottingham. This location was thought to be the point where King Charles I crossed the Trent on his way to negotiate with the Scots at Southwell

Hazelford Lock Moorings

Reflections on a very still river

Flood protection where Causeway Dyke meets the Trent

Hoveringham Sailing Club

Memorials to the crews of two Lancaster bombers which crashed in nearby fields in January1945 with the loss of all the men on board

The only boat on the Trent on a beautiful afternoon!

And back to Hoveringham

Frisby on the Wreake, Kirby Bellars and Ashfordby, 6th August 2026

Sue led 16 walkers including a few guests from other local Ramblers groups on a 6-mile walk without a lunch stop. Starting from Frisby on the Wreake, we walked on good field paths to Ashfordby, then on to Kirby Bellars passing St Peter’s Church. We finished along the River Wreake and by Frisby Lakes.

Thanks Steve for the photos and description.

Sue's briefing

Our Leader

Over the River Wreake

St Peter’s Church

Frisby lakes

Hungarton and Three Leicestershire Halls, 30th August 2026

Paul's 7.5 mile walk took 13 members and guests from the LDWG across pasture and rolling parkland to three Leicestershire halls, Baggrave, Lowesby and Quenby.

The walk also passed the sites of four medieval villages, now no more than a series of bumps and depressions in fields. There are many such sites in the East Midlands most of which have become deserted through a combination of epidemics and the spread of sheep farming which required fewer workers than arable farming.

Thanks Paul and Don for the photos.

The start near Hungarton Church

Baggrave Hall, an 18th-century Grade II listed country house

Baggrave Pond

Lowesby Hall in the background

Church of All Saints, Lowesby - "mainly constructed of Feruginous Limestone"

Cold Newton Manor

Sculptures in Cold Newton

Quenby Hall, a Grade 1 listed building described as the most important early-seventeenth century

Hickling and Vimy Ridge, 23rd August 2026

Angela led 21 ramblers on a 7-mile walk starting at Hickling Basin. We first walked along Grantham Canal to Main Street, Kinoulton and then along Owthorpe Lane to the track up to Vimy Ridge Farm. A coffee stop was taken as we crossed the canal before we resumed up a moderate climb to higher ground near Kinoulton Gorse. Lunch was taken in a grassy field corner with excellent views over the Vale of Belvoir. Then we crossed good field paths navigating a field of cows and a few stiles before finishing back at Hickling. A few of us had a pint in the Plough Inn, recently voted the No 1 pub in Nottinghamshire.

Thanks Steve, Bill and Rab for the photos.

Hickling Basin - the start

Nevile Arms, Kinoulton

Line of poplars replacing those planted after WW1

Emaciated alpaca (they have small ears compared with llamas)

The original avenue of 184 Lombardy Poplar trees at Vimy Ridge, which runs between Owthorpe Lane and the Canal towpath here, had to be felled in 1998 for safety reasons. They were planted by Sir William Jesse Hind in memory of his son Lt. Francis Montagu Hind who was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The trees also commemorated the 187 other officers and men of the 9th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters Regiment who died between 7th July and 30th November 1916 (the official end of the battle).

Coffee stop near the Grantham Canal

Up to higher ground

Entering Kinoulton Gorse

Distant view looking towards Colston Bassett Hall

Brinsley, Bagthorpe and the Erewash Valley, 17th August 2026

The magnificent, Brinsley Headstocks (shown here in 2022) are the historic, rare, timber tandem winding frames from the former Brinsley Colliery. Dating back to 1842, they became a celebrated local heritage landmark and nature reserve with strong literary ties to the author D.H. Lawrence. The original deteriorating wooden structure was dismantled for public safety in December 2023 after being deemed a risk and are waiting restoration.

From Brinsley Nature Reserve, Scott took ten members on an 7.3 mile walk up to Underwood, Westwood and Jacksdale. After crossing the River Erewash into Derbyshire, the walk took us through the Erewash Meadows and Aldercarr Flash Nature Reserves before returning to Brinsley.

Thanks Bill for the photos.