Meloak three

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Meloak here.

We walked this on 20th March following a reasonable long dry spell, had it been last year at this time, it would have been a considerably different experience.
The walk starts off along roads with pavements, but soon the pavement was left behind and the walk continues on a very quiet road, across a road and on to a track, which apart from one muddy section was fine.
In the second half the path cut across arable land, which some farmers will delineate and some won’t, leaving you to decide your route, there were no crops growing at the time so it couldn’t be determined how it would be in the summer.
The fort at Burroughs hill was an interesting diversion, but the route needs to be followed, as the obvious route is wrong.
The coffee van there would have been great except it’s only open in the summer months.
The only pub stop en route at Somerby is closed from 3-6 daily 7 on Sundays.
There is another garden centre at Cold Overton, but that’s a slight detour.
Onward to the finish is mainly down a country road which may be used as a cut through, traffic whilst not particularly heavy, is generally quick, and the verge doesn’t offer too much of a path. With children or pushchairs it would be unpleasant if not dangerous.
Overall I would say it’s not an unpleasant route but certainly it couldn’t be considered an all year all weather route, and I feel the road into Oakham could be considered risky.

I walked this route on a lovely spring day after a relatively dry period. The routing via the Iron Age fort at Burroughs Hill provides historical interest and great views on a clear day plus a useful coffee stop at The Coffee Shack adjacent to the car park and toilets (April to October). (first 4 photos). The lovely village of Somerby also is a useful rest point but be aware the local pub is closed from 3pm to 6pm (7pm on Sundays). One final option for refreshments is at the very large garden centre at Cold Overton - this requires just a small detour from the route.

There are a few aspects which could make this a little challenging:

1. There was a muddy point on the continuation of Sandy Lane after it crossed the minor road between Great Dalby and Little Dalby about 5.6km in. We were in relatively dry conditions this could be very muddy after heavy rain. (See photo)

2. The latter part of the route does involve some walking across arable fields. We were able to do this because it had been very dry. After rain this could be very unpleasant to do .

3. In the height of summer these fields could be full of crops so it’s not clear whether the route would then be so easy to follow. It might be necessary to walk around the edge of fields instead of following the route plot directly across the field. (See photo)

4. The final part of the route involved a 2km road walk along Cold Overton road into Oakham. This was without any footpath although you could get off the road onto the verge if necessary. We were walking along this at 5.30pm and during this time 25 cars passed us. The conditions at times felt more risky than I normally like and we had to proceed with caution. There are a couple of bends and some cars were travelling at considerable speed. (See photo).

Other points to note
1. There are a couple of stiles which have to be climbed over. (See photo of one of these)
2. In Burrough Country Park after entering the park area through a gate and continuing a few feet beyond the fence line the route goes directly up the hill. This is exactly as plotted but does not seem obvious on the ground. It turns right and goes up the hill towards a single tree on the top of the fort. The way seems to be marked with logs but these might not always be there (see photo).

This is mostly quite a pretty route, and is not much longer than MelOak two, which was unwalkable the day I tried it. The main difference is that includes Burrough Hill, an iron age hillfort with excellent views. There is some road walking which requires a little care, west of Somerby and on Cold Overton Lane, but neither felt dangerous to me. There is also a short steep climb up to the fort, and a few short slightly overgrown sections, but I managed it in shorts without any stings or serious scratches. There are also a couple of large fields where the path line is not clear and navigation requires care. The other highlight for me was a section of the path between Somerby and Cold Overton which runs through a semi-wild area of long grass between a stream and a wood, which makes an excellent habitat for butterflies and damselflies.

From Melton, we head down Burton Street and cross the railway, then follow Ankle Hill and Sandy Lane to the edge of the town, continuing on the quiet single track Sandy Lane (national speed limit, but no sane driver would go very fast) beyond. More roughly surfaced lanes take us to Burrough Lane. In theory there is a right of way straight across, but this involves crossing a locked gate, so when drawing the route I opted for the easier path to the right that follows the edge of the field. Further up the path is a little overgrown, but once out of the wood we are in access land, so you can take any line you like up the steep slope right to reach the Burrough Hill fort. Some may wish to walk all the way round, but I opted for turning left past the trig point, then following the popular track to the car park, where there are picnic tables and public toilets.

The road onwards to Somerby has verges which can be used if necessary, but I found it more comfortable to walk on the road and had no issues with the level of traffic. Somerby boasts the local Camra branch's 2023 pub of the year (the Stilton Cheese), but sadly I didn't have time to sample it. There is also a small village shop when the pub is closed. Beyond the village we take the field path to Cold Overton, which is not too difficult to follow, though at one point a degree of confidence is required to enter a farmyard, and it has a number of stiles. Eventually we cross a small wood and head up an open grass slope to reach the village.

The path beyond is not well signposted, and you could easily miss the stile if not looking for it. Further on our path tends left down the hill, so don't be tempted by the footpath marker pole straight ahead which belongs to another path. We cross the road and another large pasture, and beyond the paths through arable fields are well marked. The rest of the route is an easy walk down Cold Overton Road (which is wide but has no pavements) and a simple street/alleyway walk through Oakham to the meeting point in the market place.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.