Silsys one

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The first third of this short route, starting from Sileby, was along pavements, then a footpath led into fields via a cycle barrier. We crossed straight through the middle of two large fields which was fine in November when the crops had been cut. I’m not fully confident that the paths would be easy in the summer though. The Google street view in previous summers suggests the path through long crops is still clear, but potentially wet.
Where the route crossed Syston Road, between the fields, there were plank bridges across ditches. They were well waymarked though.
The path under the A46 next to the river was okay, possibly a bit overgrown in summer. Nice graffiti though! And the little bridge over the River Wreake was very pretty.
The Wreake Valley cycle path included two railway bridges, one with lovely brickwork!.

This was the first of five routes I walked for the November swarm, with Mary. We walked from Sileby to Syston for the November swarm. It is a good direct route, but there is one large field where the path line wasn't clear, and ideally someone would have to walk in summer to check whether these can be problematic when there are crops there. Nothing too muddy, despite recent rain.

Starting from the Sileby meeting point, we go west down King Street and turn left onto Cossington Road, following the pavement out of Sileby to the edge of Cossington, where the road turns right and we go straight on. The route crosses a number of arable fields and two roads to reach the A46 (the last of which is the one where the path line was less than clear), where we turn right along the edge of the field and turn left under the A46 when we reach the river Wreake. Beyond the main road we turn right over an older bridge over the Wreake, and continue onto Meadow Lane where we turn left. Just before Glebe Way our path goes straight on where the road goes right. We cross Fosse Way (using the central refuge if it is busy) and take the path/cycle route straight on under the railway bridge and into a park. Beyond the park we cross left over Barkby Brook, follow the north bank to the next road bridge and cross it again, following the south bank onto Melton Road where the meeting point is a short distance to the left. There is a useful public toilet in the car park and we stopped at the Hideaway Cafe for a coffee before our next route with the larger guided SlowWays/Muslim Hikers groups (see LEISYS 2).

This route is relatively easy with some sections on roads. I've lived in the area on and off for 35 years and never used this route previously. Saw some lovely wildlife along the way including a weasel. It's not a complicated route the only thing I would add is to take the righthand path off Meadow Lane before the humpback Bridge in order.to be able.to Cross the Wreake and then go under the A46. It took us about 90 minutes of gentle walking.

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