Marhin three

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A good Leicestershire country walk, two country parks and a bit of canal. There is a mix of grass and cropped fields plus stiles, gates and steps. Cafe at Sutton Wharf half way. No direct transport link between start and end. A direct field walk is available from Sutton Cheney to Harper’s Hill but that would miss the option for a cafe stop half way.

I started from Market Bosworth which appears to have just an hourly bus from Leicester. A short pavement walk takes us to the popular Country Park. Lots of paths here and the lake pulled me in the wrong direction so take care as we leave the park by a gate. The path is very well walked but once beyond the park others users almost vanish. Initially through woodland then after an isolated house we cross cropped fields but still well trodden so should be easy to follow.

Good that this route now passes through Sutton Cheney to offer an inn or two and a change of scene. The road walk along Ambion Lane has a pavement which ends where we take the bridleway. The visitor centre may no longer offer us the site of the famous battle but it does provide a loo and cafe. The path to Sutton Wharf is well walked and before flood damage, seen on my earlier visit, it had offered a good surface.

Sutton Wharf offers another cafe which was buzzing, so appears the location of choice and is for us, half way. We cross the canal to join the towpath for a stretch, still on the Leicestershire Round. Leaving at the next bridge where a towpath seat offers a peaceful spot for a break if you have a packed lunch and flask.

Crossing the bridge the path remains signed for ‘The Round’ a walk devised by members of the Leicestershire Footpath Association to mark their centenary back in 1987. Current members still take pride in the walk with wardens keeping a close eye on any issues.

The path to Rogue’s Lane is now the Ambion Way and beyond that the additional funding for recreational routes is lost which might explain why we now have stiles rather than gates. The path is less used but yellow topped posts still guide us. More steps, I forgot to mention those at the canal, take us to a busy road on the edge of Hinckley, a central refuge permits a safer crossing. We take a loop onto the access road to the supermarket which is equally busy to cross, so again care is needed to access the footpath. Don’t continue along the supermarket road.

The footpath takes us into a pleasant park where we turn right along a surfaced path. It’s now an easy walk into town, a few roads to cross and the first has a zebra. The meeting place in Hinckley is located in the town, not the rail station, handy for shops and buses. I headed for the bus station and hopped on a 148 to Leicester.

A thoroughly enjoyable walk once you've joined the Leicestershire round. Easy to follow, safe and mostly offroad. Passing the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field (including visitor centre) gives the route a certain X factor. Steps and stiles. Cafe at Sutton Wharf, pubs in Sutton Cheney.

Walked from Hinckley to Market Bosworth. A sound and fairly direct route, but not quite 5* because the field path north of Hinckley is little used and some of its stiles are a little awkward. There are also a few short flights of steps, there are also places that may be wet and muddy in wet conditions. There is a cafe at Sutton Wharf and two pubs at Sutton Cheney.

From Hinckley we head north along pavements and through an alleyway into Richmond Park, where a hedge forces us right to exit on Clover Field. We head left a short distance along Normandy Way (the Hinckley bypass), cross and take the field path that starts up a few steps. Although fairly well waymarked, this path is little used and has a lot of slightly constrained and overgrown stiles, and also a large maize field where the path line along the edge is not well enough trodden to be comfortable. Once we reach Rogue's Lane (there must be some history there!) the paths improve, as we are now on the Ambion Way. A little further on we join the Leicestershire Round, which we effectively follow for the rest of the route, and all of this section would be a 5* route.

The Ashby canal has a few steps at the access points. We pass the cafe at Sutton Wharf (I think the canalside path is preferable to the access road behind the cafe), and follow the path through a wood to reach the Bosworth battlefield visitor centre, where we turn right and follow field edges out to Ambion Lane, which has a pavement, as do the roads through Sutton Cheney. We pass two pubs and turn left through the car park of the second one, following a popular path through a line of trees and parkland into Market Bosworth, where the meeting point is a short distance to the west.

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