Paul led seventeen of us on this 8-mile walk from Castle Bytham south across fields to Pickworth Great Wood, west through the wood to pick up the Rutland Round to Clipsham and onwards to Addah Wood and Little Haw Wood.
The area, on the border of Rutland and Lincolnshire, is well known for its many limestone quarries.
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| Castle Bytham was well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 and was known by the ancient name of Westbitham. The original motte and bailey castle probably dates back to the Domesday Book which was compiled in Lincolnshire in 1085. The castle was destroyed in 1220, rebuilt, fell into decline, used as a quarry for building material and only the motte now remains |
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| The start at St James’ Church |
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| St James’ Church |
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| Clipsham stone is a Lincolnshire oolitic limestone described as coarse and shelly. It is widely accepted as one of the hardest Jurassic limestone in the country |
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| Notable historic projects include Canterbury Cathedral, The Houses of Parliament, Ely Cathedral, Windsor Castle and Oxford and Cambridge colleges |
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| Stone saw - not the sort available at B&Q |
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| Viper's Bugloss, a long-flowering wild flower of wasteland and seashore - "always teeming with Burnet Moths" as seen here |
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| Some of the quarries date back to the eleventh century |
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| Entering the final (working) quarry on the relaligned Rutland Round. (Note that the on-line OS map is out of date as the waymarked bridleway has now been diverted to the east of the main quarry workings) |
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| St Mary's Church, Clipsham - lunch |
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| The return to Castle Bytham under brooding skies. Quarries, woods and fields of oats, barley and wheat characterise excellent this walk |
