Mousys two

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Walked as part of swarm. Full review to follow.

Walked from Mountsorrel to Syston, with Saira, Mary and Tim on the Sunday of the November swarm weekend. We interrupted this walk at Sileby Mill to complete MOUSIL 2, then returned to the mill to continue this route.

For the most part a sound route, and the section through Cossington Meadows is very pleasant. There are some unsurfaced sections which can be a little muddy.

Leaving the meeting point on the Green at Mountsorrel, we cross Leicester Road (there is a pelican crossing a short distance north/left. We cross the car parks opposite then turn left along the surfaced path beyond the second car park, then right through a residential estate, Beyond Leander Close we go left a short distance to find the signposted path through the small wood parallel to the A6. We noted that the direct line used by MOUSIL 1 and MOUSYS 2 is fenced off and probably not just dangerous but impossible without trespass.

The path through the wood is unsurfaced and a little narrow, but not too muddy. It leads easily to the obvious underpass under the A6. Beyond the underpass we go left a short distance to find the popular path into the nature reserve (not marked as a right of way on the OS map). This crosses fairly directly to the Soar bridges at Sileby Mill.

Beyond the last bridge we turn right along the field by the river. Where the river turns right, we cross the field ahead half-right and follow the obvious path through the pretty Cossington Meadows, following the Leicestershire Round route into the village past the church. We turn right down Main Street and then left up Bennett's Lane just beyond the old telephone box. This leads to Back Lane, where we go straight on across the fields, crossing Syston Road and going straight across the field towards the A46. Note that the path line across this field is not obvious in late autumn, and we would have to return in summer to check whether a line is cut in the crops.

At the A46 we turn right along the edge of the field until we come to an underpass, where we cross under the main road and turn right to the old bridge over the river Wreake. We cross this and go straight on to Meadow Lane, then follow the lane and a shortcut path to Fosse Way, where we cross and use the signposted cycle route along Barkby Brook to reach Syston and the meeting point.

The route from Mountsorrel leads through a couple of car parks and along an offroad path through housing, to a pretty, wooded, but noisy path alongside the busy A6. This is crossed through a brightly graffitied underpass, then field paths lead across to a footbridge over the canal at Sileby Lock. Some of the path involves concrete “planks” – I suspect these fields may occasionally flood.
The route then crosses some more fields and goes through Upper Marsh nature reserve, where we spotted a bird-spotter. More fields and tracks and a kissing gate led to Cossington village (which has a pub, not open Monday and Tuesday lunchtime).
The route crosses two large fields, straight through the middle. The path was not entirely obvious, but it was easy with the crops harvested. Google Street View on previous summers seems to show useable paths between the taller crops, but this would need to be verified.
The A46 crossing is slightly different from the similar route for SilSys One; both are possible but this one may be slightly better.
After a pretty bridge over the River Wreake, there is a straightforward path/cycletrack into Syston, which passes beneath two railway lines. Syston is a convenient end point with lots of facilities.

I walked from from Mountsorrel to Syston with Hugh and Mary on 13.11.22. This route takes in bits of waterways and open fields. I loved traversing Crossington Meadows (lots of birds about!) and the lakes are magical. (full review and photos to follow).

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