Vale of Belvoir Ramblers: Tugby and Hallaton, 5th March 2023

Paul's 9.3 mile took 12 of us from the Village Hall in Tugby across rolling Leicestershire countryside to Hallation and back using parts of the Macmillan Way and the Leicestershire Round.

The start, Tugby Village Hall

Still socially distancing - coffee stop

Trig point bagger - 170m

Macmillan Way/Leicestershire Round

Crossing a stream which like many in this area is heading south to the River Welland

Approaching a bridge over the former Melton to Market Harborough railway line

Approaching Hallaton

Hallaton Village

Water pump

The Hallaton Sentinels - one hundred oak trees have been planted in Hallaton parish, each dedicated to a named soldier from Hallaton who died in the two great wars

Hallaton Buttercross - lunch

Plaque on nearby wall

Hallaton bottle kicking

This ancient custom is a contest between the villages of Hallaton and Medbourne. Each Easter Monday after a service at the church, the hare pie is presented to the Rector to divide and distribute. A procession accompanied by a local band then collects the decorated bottles, small wooden barrels, and proceeds from the Fox Inn to Hare Pie Hill where the pie is thrown to the crowds. This is the starting point of the contest which involves each team trying to get the bottle over the defined boundary. There are few rules and the result is based on the best of three such contests. The beer from the bottles is then drunk by the victors at the Buttercross.

This plaque was provided in 1977 by Harborough District Council and Hallaton Parish Council 1952 1977 commemorating the Silver Jubilee of the accession of HM Queen Elizabeth II.