During today’s BBC Countryfile programme, there was an interesting feature on Edgar Brown - a man who enjoys walking in the countryside with no shoes and socks on.

Now this captured my imagination - as a child I loved nothing better than walking through the fields around our house barefoot, taking in all the sensations and feelings. Even to this day, I enjoy walking barefoot through dry grass and across sandy beaches.

I also am currently suffering from athletes foot after the last couple of wet walks - a problem solved by not wearing shoes and socks. According to Adam Goldman on the Ramblers Forum:

About a year ago I took up barefoot hiking. Not only do I no longer suffer from blisters, sweaty feet, fungal infections and so on, I do not suffer from the pain in my knees or lower back which previously would affect me after a couple of miles in any kind of footwear.

Now your first thought would be that perhaps walking barefoot would be painful and that you would suffer injuries - well shaggy from the USA (again on the Ramblers Forum) adds that he as not suffered anything worse than a stubbed toe or minor scrape. Your next thought might be that perhaps barefoot walking is only suitable for short distances - well Adam has hiked 13 miles in Sussex, on a mix of roads, rough paths, grass, and mud (although obviously you need to toughen up your feet over shorter distances first), and knows a fellow barefoot walker who has hiked around New Zealand’s South Island.

“100% perfect ‘fit’, very comfortable, durable, self-repairing, highly flexible yet stable, waterproof, lifetime guarantee, reduced damage to footpaths”: If this was an advertisement for walking boots, how much would you be prepared to pay!

Edgar highlighted a number of advantages to barefoot walking including:

• Less impact on the environment - in a physical sense rather than a whimsical sense. Walking barefoot leaves less of a footprint than walking boots.
• You can walk quietly and be stealthy - Edgar has crept up behind a fox
• It is good for your feet.
• It feels great on you feet.
• It is a wonderful feeling, and you don’t get smelly socks!

As the article, “You Walk Wrong” from the NY Magazine goes through in detail, shoes are not good for our feet:

“Natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person,” wrote Dr. William A. Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management. “It took 4 million years to develop our unique human foot and our consequent distinctive form of gait, a remarkable feat of bioengineering. Yet, in only a few thousand years, and with one carelessly designed instrument, our shoes, we have warped the pure anatomical form of human gait, obstructing its engineering efficiency, afflicting it with strains and stresses and denying it its natural grace of form and ease of movement head to foot.” In other words: Feet good. Shoes bad.

There are also medical benefits - According to Herbs Hands Healing, walking barefoot helps to discharge static electricity from the body, calming the nervous system. There is also evidence that walking barefoot can help strengthen leg and foot muscles, here is an except from “Barefoot walking/running and the use of shoe inserts” by Damien Howell:

The theory behind barefoot walking/running is that the nerve endings on the bottom – when stimulated cause reflex muscle contraction to avoid the irritation. Stepping on something sharp or rough is painful – the muscles in the foot and leg contract in order to get off the irritation. This constant cycle of sensory stimulation and reflex muscle contraction is thought to improve the strength of the foot and leg muscles.

So I thought I would give barefoot walking a go for today’s dog walk….

and do you know what…. I really enjoyed it!

Here are a few photos of my feet in action:

The freedom and sensation of walking barefoot was brilliant - the ground was damp, as it had rained fairly recently, and I have to admit that it took about 10mins before the feeling of slimy, squelchy mud between your toes stopping feeling horrid! You definately need to watch where you are stepping, mainly to avoid dog poo, cow pats, stinging nettles, large thistles and stones. Very quickly my feet started buzzing, and I was happy to walk through all the muddy puddles!

When I got home, I hosed down, washed and dried my feet, just like I do for the dogs. The soles of the my feet just feels amazing - the top of both feet have reacted slightly to the pollen as I have hayfever, however after a suitable anti-inflammatory pill this quickly died down.

Would I do it again? Yes almost certainly - provided no one was looking. Fortunately I didn’t bump into anyone, but I did feel very self conscious wondering around without shoes and socks on!

For the less adventurous trialists, try the Barefoot Walk at Trentham Estate (see related press release):

A delightful sensory stroll across 24 terrains, from springy grass to squelchy mud, this unique “DIY reflexology” experience is guaranteed to get all the family’s toes tingling and faces smiling.

There is an excellent review of the Trentham Estate Barefoot Walk on the Guardian website.

For other sources of information on barefoot walking:

• An excellent video from the Barefoot Chef
  
• The Society for Barefoot Living
• Barefoot entry in Wikipedia
• “Feet First - One Step at a Time” by Kasha Stoll from Capital-Journal

This was a filler walk, so I won’t go into too much detail. The walk goes from Hartwell, via Salcey Forest and the tip of Long Street Hanslope to Grafton Regis - with a slight detour to make sure we didn’t get to the pub before opening!

After a lovely lunch at The White Hart, we followed the canal, up the locks, to Stoke Bruerne. After another pint, we visited the entrance to Blisworth tunnel (since when did it become a tourist attraction?) and then made our way, across the fields, back to Hartwell via Roade - ending in the Rose and Crown in Hartwell for a final pint!

Route Details

Click here to view the route on the OS Explorer website

Click here to view all the photos

Firstly it is important to make sure that the insoles sit in the right place in your boots - even slightly out of place, and they will feel uncomfortable (and potentially blistering) as you walk. I stopped a couple of times to adjust the position, but once everything was aligned up the insoles felt great!

The insoles definitely affect the way that I walk - my ankles in particular seemed to be working harder, and today I have more aches and pains than usual, although I am not sure whether this is due to the slightly tougher terrain than usual or to the insoles - probably both. Either way, this is something my body will get used to over time!

Towards the end of the walk a blister started to form on my little toe, and the underneath of my feet were beginning to get very uncomfortable - at the time I was coming to the conclusion that the insoles have only succeeded in taking the edge off my feet pain - maybe adding up to another 5-7 miles (considering the amount of road-work on this walk) before becoming painful.

However my views changed when I got home and removed my boots. There was a lot tall wet vegetation on the walk and, as I don’t have any gaiters, this water, unbeknown to me, had run down my leg and into my boots. My feet had obviously been wet almost all day as they were extremely wrinkly - a lot of the foot pain had been caused by the compression of the wrinkles (pinching the skin) and wet feet of course blister easier.

So in conclusion, although I won’t know for sure until the next walk, I am pretty sure that the insoles are doing their job of reducing the impact pain occurring on the ball and heel parts of my foot - certainly enough to allow me to complete a 20 mile walk without being in pain.

I have also learnt that I need to get some gaiters (yes Alex - you can do the “I told you so” dance!), and take clean dry socks with me on walks!

The walk has the following highlights: Castle Ring, RAF Hednesford, Katyn Memorial, Glacial Boulder, Sherbrook Valley, Shugborough Park, Essex Bridge, and Wolseley Arms.

Click here to view the route on the OS Explorer website

When I sat down and planned this walk, I tried to encompass as many interesting parts of the Chase as I could - the one thing I could not fit in was the Castle Ring (map 1), so after popping into the visitor’s centre, I took the dogs up to the Castle Ring to give them a chance to stretch their legs before heading to the camp site.

The Castle Ring is an iron age hill fort situated on the highest point of Cannock Chase - 244m above sea level. The fort is believed to have been occupied around 50 AD by the Celtic Cornovii tribe. You can still see the perimeter earthworks, but not much else, although there are some fantastic views across the Chase and the Trent Valley (including a lovely power station).

Whilst at the visitor centre, I picked up a copy of “Exploring Cannock Chase” by John Roberts. This book has lots of useful information about Cannock Chase, and contains nine linked walks crossing throughout the chase - these walks are 5-6 miles long and might be of interest for people for prefer shorter walks.

It turns out there was a CaniX dog running event on the Sunday, so the campsite was full of dogs - fortunately both dogs were fairly well behaved…. after a fairly uneventful night with me and both dogs crammed into a small pop-up tent, and a hearty cooked breakfast, I headed off into the forest.

The first part of the walk follows the Heart of England Way westwards through the forest (map 2). Cannock Chase is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland and the remains of early industry. Follow the Heart of England Way through the managed forest and past Seven Springs. Carefully cross the main road and the railway (map 3), and follow what seems to be an old road up the hill.

As you follow the track (Kit Bag Hill), on the left hand side through the trees you will start to see the remains of RAF Hednesford, the No. 6 School of Technical Training. Here several thousand men (and a few women) completed their basic training, focused on the maintenance of the air frames and engines of the RAF planes. Under a different title the camp continued until the end of 1956.

I had hoped to avoid the “running with dogs” runners, as although both Rolo and Angel generally well behaved, they can be a bit annoying on the lead (Rolo wants to play, which sets off Angel growling - and noone wants a German Shepherd growling near their previous dog!). Unfortunately I met them whilst they were having their briefing in the middle of the path!!

After eventually making it through all the dogs, we continued following the well marked path. The route starts leaving the trees and entering the heathland (map 4). A large proportion of the Chase is owned by the Forestry Commission who, until recently, were tasked with producing timber commercially - hence the huge managed areas of Scots and Corsican pine, were the tress are planted very close together. Nowadays leisure is also a key task of the Forestry Commission and over time more of the heathland is being recovered. A scheme “Saving Cannock Chase” is trying to drive this forward.

Just before the Heart of England Way turns sharply northwards, you reach the Katyn Memorial (map 5), which commemorates 14,000 Polish soldiers and professional people murdered in the Katyn Forest in 1940 on the orders of Soviet authorities. For anyone who wants further information, Wikipedia has a huge amount of information on the massacre and this site has a lot of information on British documents regarding the tragic events. The memorial is a very moving place to visit.

From the Katyn Memorial, continue to follow the Heart of England Way, this time heading north through heathland, to the Glacial Boulder (map 6). The heathland feels like a completely different place to the forest areas - you are unprotected from the weather and, despite it’s fairly small size, you start to feel like you are lost in the wilderness. The Glacial Boulder, weighing about 2.5 tonnes, is disappointingly small - it marks the southern limit of the northern ice sheet that carried the boulder from Criffel in southern Scotland to Cannock Chase.

After a photo opportunity at the trig point next to the Boulder, rejoin the Heart of England way - look out for a crossroads where the way crosses the Staffordshire Way, at which point turn right onto the Staffordshire Way. The route is extremely pleasant as it drops down into Sherbrook Valley (map 7), back into the tress, and follows the river. Follow the route, past the Stepping Stones (map 8), take the right turn around Harts Hill until you reach the main road. The next stage really annoyed me - despite being a national route, you then have to walk along the verge of a major and very busy road for about 1km before finding a pavement to walk on - outrageous and very dangerous with two stupid dogs!

Take the first footpath on the left into Shugborough Park (map 9), a rare survival of a complete estate, with all major buildings including mansion house, servants’ quarters, model farm and walled garden. Unfortunately, with the dogs, it wasn’t possible to visit any of the buildings, so I was stuck following the tarmac path through the park. The following story amused me:

“The deep cutting and the grand, classical tunnel portico were demanded by the landowner, the Earl of Anglesey, to protect his Shugborough Hall from the vulgarities of steam travel.” - Exploring Cannock Chase by John Roberts

At the far side of the estate, cross the Essex Bridge (map 10)- a Grade 1 listed packhorse bridge over the River Trent, despite being the longest surviving packhorse bridge, it is a fraction of it’s original size - only 14 of the original 40 span arches survive! The bridge was built in 1550 by the then Earl of Essex for Queen Elizabeth I.

On the other bank, bear right and start following the Trent and Mersey Canal. Now with hindsight, I would have tried to find the pub in Little Haywood, but instead I trekked further down the canal to the Wolseley Arms (map 11). The pub is a destination food pub, and was extremely busy, however the food was lovely - I shared a huge plate of roast beef and vegetables with the dogs.

Trek back along the canal, and head down the road at Little Haywood back towards the chase. Cross the road to Seven Springs (map 12)- At this point I would recommend (ideally with GPS, but compasses still work ;)) exploring this area, rather than following the popular paths. You need to get to Rifle Range Corner (map 13), pretty much directly South - I tried to avoid the danger area, as I wasn’t sure their current status. There are plenty of tracks you can follow - I had the amazing experience of rounding a corner to find a herd of deer cross the path!

At this stage my feet started hurting quite badly, so please excuse the rushed description as I can’t remember too many details! From Rifle Range Corner, cross the road into what is probably a very busy car park in peak season. Rather than cutting back down to the Heart of England Way, I again followed some smaller paths - past Fairoak Lodge, down to the Stonybrook Pools (map 14) (watch out for the cross country bikers) to Smart’s Buildings. Cross the road, follow the footpath and eventually rejoin the Heart of England Way - retrace your steps back to the campsite (map 15).

Except for my feet, I thoroughly enjoyed my walk on Cannock Chase - I imagine it would also feel like a different place in the Summer (albeit very busy). The one thing that really struck me was the huge variety of users, from dog walkers / runners, walkers, families, horses, cycles, mountain bikers etc - it really shows how different user groups can really enjoy an area together. Perhaps the only absence was (sensible) off-roading, as I believe that due to misuse all the off-road routes have been closed - and you can easily spot the existing evidence of illegal off-roading (the minority again letting the side down).

So, after a bit of research on the internet (see this topic on the rambler forum, and this post on the Outdoor Scotland Blog), I decided to buy a pair of Sorbothane double strike replacement insoles.

These are cushioning footbeds, which replace your current insole. Here is the official description off the packet:

“Sorbothane is a unique visco-elastic material scientifically proven to continuously absorb a remarkable 94.7% of harmful shockwaves. It mimics the fleshy heel and ball areas of your feet therefore preventing damage…”

Yesterday I used them for the first time on a 15 mile walk - and the jury is still out as to whether they are going to solve my sore feet problem. There are several problems which clouded the issue:

1. The Sorbothane insoles take up more room in your boot - this means that parts of your feet are rubbing on different parts of the boot, leading to several blisters (I was lucky with my current Brasher boots as, until yesterday, I have never had a blister whilst wearing them!)
2. The Sorbothane insoles seemed to subtly change how my body walks - not in a bad way, but the balance of forces on my muscles, tendons etc. were different - this meant new aches and pains!
3. For whatever reason, both me and the dogs, seemed to suffer more on this walk than usual.

In conclusion, I am not going to write off the Sorbothane insoles just yet - presumably my body will adjust and the new aches and pains will fade, and my feet will harden in the relevant places to stop the blisters. So I will keep with them, and I will report back in a week or so after further testing!

I also have my eye on another product on Sorbothane’s website, the Cush ‘n’ Step, which might also provide a low-cost solution to the problem of sore feet after long walks!

Route Summary

Click here to view the route on the OS Explorer website

Route Details

The walk starts in the Warwickshire village of Napton-on-the-Hill (map 1). The village circles a hill, but only the church and windmill are built on the summit. Although the hill is only about 500ft high (that’s quite big for this part of the country) there are some excellent views across the landscape as there isn’t any other high ground to the West and North. This site has some great photos of the view (much better than mine!).

Follow the road south from Napton-on-the-Hill towards Marston Doles. At the road junction after Chapel Green, take the footpath into fields (map 2). The footpath cuts across a field and then runs parallel to the road. Watch out for the inquisitive sheep who presumably thought we had food! Go past the disused remains of a canal spur and wharf (map 3), and go across the fields until you are walking parallel to the main canal. Enter the tiny hamlet of Marston Doles - turn left onto the road (Welsh Road) and then immediately take the right-hand track going south (map 4).

When you reach the house, keep following the track to the left. At the end of the track, enter the field (straight ahead - ignore the path to the right) (map 5) and follow the footpath into the wood - the footpath goes through the wood, and pops out again at the top of the field - keep heading south across the fields (there isn’t really an obvious path to follow - so just head in the general direction) until you reach Priors Hardwick (map 6). There is an amazing amount of historic data on wikipedia about Priors Hardwick - including gems like agricultural output in 1801! It would be interesting to see a comparison with present day!

Go through the village, past the Church, and head down Lower End, taking the footpath on the left (map 7). Cut through the first field, and turn right into the next field. At the end of the field join the bridleway, running between two rows of bushes, heading roughly east. At the end of the bridleway, cross the road, and join a footpath heading across the field (towards the barn) (map 8 ). At the barn, take the footpath across the field, heading south east (this isn’t well marked!). At this point (map 9), we stopped for a well earned rest!

Keep following along the edge of the field, and at the end turn left into the next field. The farmer around here obviously doesn’t approve of walkers (or even riders on the bridleway), as the gates between fields are securely tied - fortunately Angel was in a jumping mood and managed to jump over them all without having to be lifted over! Follow along the southern edge of this field, looking out for the point at a junction of paths (map 10), were you want to cross the stream and continue across the fields heading roughly south east. Cut through the small wood (map 11), and follow the path through the next few fields - fortunately the farmer who owns this land has clearly marked the paths so they are easy to follow. The path comes out onto a road (The Twistle according to Google Maps) - start following the road towards Byfield, taking the small path on the left into the village.

I always find it slightly annoying that, despite showing the accurate location of all kinds of stuff, OS maps seem to consistently fail to show the accurate location of pubs! In this case it took an extra 10 minutes of so to find The Cross Tree, located on the Banbury Road (A361) (map 12). Here we enjoyed a very pleasant pub lunch, and an excellent real ale (unfortunately I have forgotten the name, but I am sure Angus will remind me!) - the helpful staff very kindly cooked up a burger for the dogs for only a token charge!! (dogs are welcome in the bar, although we stayed outside as it was quite a nice day, and the sun was shining).

From the pub, follow the Banbury Road though the village. At the roundabout, take the first turn and look for a path between the walls (map 13). This path comes out into a field - turn right and follow the edge of the field. Near the farm buildings, turn right across the bridge, and then almost immediately turn left and follow the track. At the trees, bear to the left, and follow the edge of the tree line, eventually you cut through the strip of trees. Here we came across the amazing sight of a footpath sign in the process of being eaten by a tree - well it amused us!! At this point (map 14), we got slightly confused as to the correct route, looking at Google Maps satellite view post event, it looks like you bear to the right and walk along the field edge until you find the path across the field to the line of bushes running along the edge on the other side. You are ultimately aiming to walk along the ridge of the hill towards the mast.

After cutting through a smaller field, head across the large field aiming for a point slightly to the left of BT’s mast. Only when you get close do you realise the shear size of these huge and quite ugly masts. At the end of the field (map 15), cross the maintenance track, enter the field, and drop down towards the farm. At the end of the field, where the footpaths merge, turn right and head down the farms track. At this point we were “escorted” from the premises by two dogs - they followed us (at a safe distance) all the way down the track to make sure we were not planning to hang around their territory! Bear right onto the road (map 16), and immediately left onto a path through the next two fields. Cross the next road and head into Hellidon (map 17).

At this point I feel I should mention the watershed, as Angus will be very disappointed if I don’t. Hellidon is on an important watershed - three rivers start here, the Leam (which ends up in the Bristol Channel), the Cherwell (goes to the Thames Estuary) and the Nene (which goes to the Wash), so at a specific point you can pee into all three rivers at the same time (this was not attempted, despite the pint at lunchtime!).

[UPDATE] Angus has corrected me (well corrected Wikipedia - the source of these “useful” facts) - apparently the point at which the three watersheads meet is on Arbury Hill near Badby, which isn’t in the parish of Hellidon (which only has two watersheads, the Nene and the Avon). This map proves his case!

After a quick look at the Church - we headed out of the village along the track to the north west (map 18).

Keep following the track - it shortly becomes a byway (green lane). I was pleased to note that unlike other green lanes I have walked down recently, this one was in very good condition. After a lovely coffee break, we continued along the lane, and witnessed an amazing scene - a herd of deer were running across a field to our left, and then cut across the lane in front of us. Now I have only seen deer in parks, so to see wild deer out in the countryside was amazing (I only hope they haven’t escaped from nearby Shuckburgh Park!). Where the track turns to the left (map 19) - keep straight ahead. At this point things went a bit wrong, so don’t listen to me, but look at your map to get yourself to Park Farm (map 20)!

At Park Farm follow the farm track. Take the left hand turn and enter Shuckburgh Park. Head in the direction of the church (keep it your right as you go past) and head back out of the park and through the slight pass between the two hill tops. Here there is a huge beacon (map 21) - one can only fantasise about what the original beacon was used for! Head down the hill into Lower Shuckburgh (map 22). The church in Lower Shuckburgh, built in a Gothic style, is very peculiar, with the spire built in one corner, rather than at one end! Head past the church towards the canal - go over the bridge across the canal, and then squeeze through the end of the railings to get onto the tow-path.

Follow along the tow-path westwards - at this stage, to be honest, all we (and I think the dogs) could think about was the pub we are slowly heading towards. It finally appeared, our very own beacon, out of the gloom of the rain clouds. The pub is called The Bridge at Napton (map 23) - a very lovely traditional English pub. Dogs are allowed inside, so we quickly settled down with our pints - the dogs quickly collapsed, but not before helping with a packet of mini-cheddars. Eventually, despite wishing we could stay for a few more beers, we woke the dogs, and left the pub (just as the heavens opened!).

To return back to Napton-on-the-Hill, continue down the canal until you reach the first bridge. Go onto the road, turn left, and follow the road into Napton.

Overall this was a lovely walk - talking in some beautiful Warwickshire and Northamptonshire villages. Definitely recommended!

Click here to view the route on the OS Explore website

I won’t go through the route in detail, as it was only an little explore rather than a full on walk. Here are a few photos:

I hope to come back soon for a longer walk, as the chase was fantastic - heather, trees and some great walks!

We stayed in the The Camping and Caravanning Club camp site right in the centre of Cannock Chase - I can definitely recommend it. The site managers were very friendly, and the site was in a brilliant location - the dog walk is straight onto Cannock Chase! Fortunately we invested in some new, 2/3 season, sleeping bags as the weather was less than perfect for camping!

Click here to view the route on the OS Explore website

Although mainly in Northamptonshire, this walk starts in the village of Lavendon (map 1). Start by following the small lane north towards Castle Farm. At the point where the lane forks (map 2) (with a footpath continuing straight ahead), take the right-hand track (marked as a by-way) - traffic will probably be light as the by-way quickly turns into a bridleway. Continue following the bridleway, along a wood, until it joins the Three Shires Way (map 3). Turn right, and follow the well marked path along the edge of Threeshire wood.

This area could be radically changed in the near future due to the proposed development of the Nun Wood Wind Farm - I can see why they have chosen this site as the wind was immense, however I am not sure what effect it will have on the area (not having been up close and personal with a wind turbine before!). I am sure it is some consolation to local people that walkers on the Three Shires Way have been taken into account in the plan for these huge structures:

The locations were amended to introduce variation in set back distances from the Three Shires Way further to advice from LDA Design – landscape architects. LDA advised that this would create a less regimented and more organic turbine arrangement when viewed from the right of way.

You can find a map of the proposed location of the turbines here, and there is lots of detail of the Bedford Borough Council website.

Keep following the Three Shires Way until you reach the trig point (map 4) (at the stunning height of 106m!). From the trig point take the footpath West across the fields towards Bozeat. Bozeat is a historic village, with the remains of a Saxon burial ground. The parish church dates back to 1130 and was probably built on the site of an earlier church. There was a great fire in 1729, which the church survived, apparently caused by Widow Keech, who, rumour has it, left her baking unattended in the hearth to gossip with her neighbours (ref). This website has more information on the architecture of the church, which to be honest I don’t understand much of!

From the church (map 5), take the footpath heading North (the footpath starts at the corner of the road junction). This section of the walk is not particularly well signposted. Follow the footpath along the field edge. At the next footpath junction, turn right and follow along the edge of the field until you reach a tarmacked track (map 6). It would appear that this track has largely replaced the old footpath, which is a shame as it follows along a stream and through a small wooded area - certainly with more character than tarmac! You can still see the remains of the original footpath in places!

Just before Poplars Farm (map 7), go over the stile and follow the footpath around the tennis court - avoiding what smells like a septic tank leak (which Angel walk straight through!). Cross another stile, and enjoy the view down the hill towards Wollaston. Follow the path down into Wollaston, entering via a small industrial estate. Wollaston is named after a Saxon lord called Wulfaf (derived from the Saxon for Wulfaf’s Town), there is also strong evidence of settlement and activity during the late Roman period - including the remains of a large Romano British vineyard (ref).

Make your way to the southern tip of the village, to join the footpath heading towards the cricket ground (map 8 ), I followed the footpath from near the industrial estate past the village allotments. At the cricket ground, keep to the right edge and go through the gate onto the very busy road. Cross carefully, but don’t take the gate immediately in front of you - instead follow the road to the left (there is a huge verge) for 100m to another gate - go through this gate, and follow the path up the slope to Strixton (apparently much of the village is owned by the queen!) (map 9).

From the village, follow the byway across the fields, and onto a track - which you can’t miss. I found this leg quite upsetting really - as you can see from the photo, the track has been pretty much destroyed by off road vehicles. Now my problem is that I own a land rover (a proper off road vehicle) - causing such damage on private land and off-road sites is one thing, but causing this damage on routes shared with other users is terrible and certainly doesn’t help people’s views of “off-roading”.

At the point where the byway heads off to the right (map 10), head straight on. A short distance from the byway, cross the stile on the right, and follow the enclosed footpath - this leg passes through a quarry (which is bizarrely not marked on the map!). As this a bank holiday, there wasn’t much going on, except a huge amount of rabbits!

After the quarry, the footpath cuts across several fields (no obvious marked path though). When the footpath meets a cross roads (map 11), continue in the same direction, heading roughly South West (towards Easton Maudit). You will shortly come across a derelict cottage, barn and out buildings - presumably an old farm. If I have a spare £100k, it would make an ideal barn conversion, with courtyard and outbuilding office space…. sadly I don’t! Continue following the track (my new drive?) up to the village.

Easton Maudit is a small, yet stunning, Northamptonshire village. There used to be a manor house near the church, but it was demolished. There is a bizarre tree, the remains of an oak, in the village green which presumably holds some importance, as it is now artificially supported by metal struts - however I can’t find any information as to the tree’s history.

From Easton Maudit’s church (map 12), follow the lane south. After a few hundred meters (at an amazing thatched cottage - I wish I had taken a picture of it!), turn left and join a bridleway. This bridleway is well marked (and churned up by horses), so it is easy to follow as it cuts across several fields and cuts through Horn Wood. When the path comes out of the wood, cut across the small field, enter the next field (map 13), and then bear left along the edge of the field. At the next large field, the path again isn’t marked, but just keep going in the same direction - roughly South. Keep an eye out for what must be the best (and actually quite scary) scarecrow!

You are aiming to hit the road opposite the water tower (topped with radio masks) (map 14). Cross the road and follow the footpath around the buildings, and then follow the footpath along the field edges. The footpath crosses the Three Shires Way (just imagine all those wind turbines), and eventually joins the top of the lane from Lavendon - follow the lane back into the village!