Wescot four

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Easy flat route mainly following the Grantham Canal in a westerly direction. Relatively mud free even after heavy rain. Main issue is crossing the Lings Bar road (A52) near Morrison's supermarket.

This is the route I favour to connect West Bridgford and Cotgrave, as it is a little more interesting than WESCOT 3 and safer than WESCOT 1 and WESCOT 2. I walked it from Cotgrave to West Bridgford this morning and the only minor issues are a few steps in Cotgrave country park, and a few more steps and an unassisted but still fairly safe crossing of the northern half of Bridgford Road where the canal crosses it. These steps can be avoided using minor detours. Most of the route has at least a compacted gravel surface, and there are no stiles.

Starting from the meeting point outside Cotgrave church, we go north along Main Road, cross and take the second road on the right hand side (Mill Lane). Where it bends to the left, a footpath goes straight on to the edge of a field which is currently protected by a large security fence. We turn left at the T junction and follow the path round to the right into the country park. This path is partly unsurfaced but not too slippery even in wet conditions. When we come to a footpath marker we take the left turn which climbs a hill on a narrower gravel path using steps (if steps are a problem there is a slightly longer route that goes straight on as far as the canal). At the top of the hill we meet a large path (ignore the left turn to the viewpoint) and go down to another T junction where we follow the wide track left around Leaky Hollow. Where this track bends round to the left it is better to stay on it, because the alternative is unsurfaced and muddy. At the next junction we turn right and follow the path fairly steeply down to the canal, where we go left along the towpath. The next few miles are simply following the canal across Main Road and past Bassingfield until we reach Tollerton Lane, where we follow the cycle signs right, right again at Bassingfield Lane and left along the old road to the A52, which we cross using two pelican crossings.

The path continues and becomes a road again. We follow it straight on, taking the left fork down Main Street and where it ends taking the surfaced path straight on. We cross Ambleside on another pelican crossing and go straight on. Beyond a little bridge we leave the surfaced path to go straight on across a grassy field then right along the canal, picking up another surfaced track by the houses. We cross the canal on a bridge and turn right.

We follow the canal to the A6011 Radcliffe Road, where a bridge follows the canal under the westbound carriageway (there are a few steps on both sides - to avoid these take the path signposted West Bridgford centre onto Eltham Road, turn right onto Brockley Road and right again at Davies Road, then follow Radcliffe Road, cross it where it divides, then continue along the eastbound carriageway to find the canal again), but a barrier blocks the direct crossing of the newer eastbound carriageway. A gap in the barrier indicates the best crossing point (no assistance but visibility is good so it is fairly safe).

We then go a short distance right back to the canal, which we follow around a bend and past a footbridge that goes right into Lady Bay until the towpath emerges on the pavement. We use the pelican crossing to cross Radcliffe Road again and go half left onto Mabel Grove, then cross Ella Road and take the gated entrance into Bridgford Park.

If this gate is locked (normally only after dark) there is an easy alternative using Edward Road. We take the right hand path through the park, then cross left towards the library, then right to reach the public footpath (another gate here which may be locked at night) which we follow left to reach Bridgford Road, where the West Bridgford meeting point is at the bus stop a short distance left.

An easy walk, and quite an enjoyable one.

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