Westnor two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I completed this walk today walking northwest from Northampton. At 14 miles, it's a fair distance walk, and it does have some great views over the countryside in places. Walking in this direction means you leave the urban sprawl of Northampton behind you and have the countryside to look forward to. However, there is 100m more ascent in this direction, so those are your considerations when choosing your start point..

Approximately half of the walk (6.7 miles) has tarmac underfoot, and a quarter of the walk (3.4 miles) is on roads. The road walking does mostly have verges so is pretty safe, with the only section without verges near Teeton only about 100m. However, the amount of road walking involved means I can only give the walk three stars. The trouble the previous reviewer (Hugh) had with access around Boughton were not an issue walking in this direction, both diversions were clearly signposted when I did the walk. It was useful to read the review as I had prepared myself for some diversions, so thanks Hugh.

The route takes you away from the town centre fairly directly, out via the pleasant Victoria Park (photo 2), through suburbia and an industrial estate before getting to the open Kingsthorpe Meadow Nature Reserve. Here the route takes you adjacent to the railway line towards Rugby (photo 3) for a while, before the dismantled railway to Market Harborough which is now the Brampton Valley Way veers to the North.

As the route approaches the A5199, a short section of the Brampton Valley Way is indeed closed due to construction work, but the closure and diversion are both well signposted (photo 4). After crossing the A5199 and re-joining the route, there is a notice which states that the construction work is due to a level crossing being installed on the A5199 just south of Boughton station on the heritage railway. The notice also states that once complete, the footpath will be restricted when the level crossing gates have to close to allow trains to pass. No idea when the construction work is due to be completed, but as it is a heritage railway I would imagine the spectacle of heritage trains holding you up temporarily would be a welcome distraction.

Similarly, on getting to Boughton Mill there is another sign giving notice the route will be temporarily diverted due to construction work at the Mill. Again, Hugh's previous review had highlighted he aimed for the thin section between the pond and the river, so I was also prepared thanks to Hugh's excellent notes. However, after crossing the footbridge by the weir, the route is tricky to find. Here, I was grateful of the GPS on my phone to help navigate towards the unseen stile on the other side of the meadow. The route towards Pitsford Rd then does indeed contain a limbo under a wooden bar (photo 5) as also mentioned in Hugh's review.

Upon reaching Chapel Brampton, I had a quick pit stop at the Spencer Arms pub and then the route takes you northwards out of the village via Jack's Lane (photo 6) and then across bridleways towards Cank Farm and then to the road which takes you towards Teeton. Once you hit the road here, you can look forwards to 3.4 miles of it. There are verges (photos 9 & 11) to dive into, but the short section by Teeton (photo 10) has no refuges to take cover.

After a couple of miles of walking along the Teeton Road, there is a bench with a lovely view to take a short break at the junction where the road turns left towards Ravensthorpe reservoir (photo 12). The road then eventually takes you to Coton, past the lovely Manor Gardens (photo 13) and thankfully off the roads and through agricultural fields for the remainder of the walk into West Haddon.

There are a few gates, a number of stiles, footbridges and one electric fence to navigate on the whole route. I can recommend the walk, although due to the amount of road walking i'd be keen to find an alternative if I needed to... perhaps Westnor one offers a better route?.

Walked from West Haddon to Northampton. The first 8 miles is excellent, with a little walking on quiet lanes and some slightly wet and muddy sections. Unfortunately beyond Chapel Brampton things took a turn for the worse. Firstly the path from Pitsford Road to Boughton Miil is little used, and though the original right of way line can be followed with a little determination and a little diversion around the new lake by the mill, it appears that most users now follow an unsignposted but well trodden route that crosses the Brampton branch of the Nene south of the mill, and most of this new route is not yet shown either on the OS map or on LocalStreetMap. Secondly there are major roadworks and building works going on south of the A5199, which has resulted in a few hundred yards of the Brampton Valley Way cycle track being closed and fenced off. The rest of the route is fine, but the long walk through the western suburbs of Northampton is uninspiring and a little dispiriting.

From West Haddon, the route starts on Northampton Road then uses a footpath through a park, a short section of residential streets and another park footpath to reach and cross the bypass. The GPX file correctly shows that the right of way beyond has been diverted around the edge of the first field. The path to Coton seems to be fairly well used, and forms part of the Via Beata, a new waymarked long distance path/pilgrimage route from Lowestoft to St Davids. There are a couple of places where the gates and bridges are not quite where the OS map suggests, and I did have to cross one ploughed field and a couple of low electric fences, one of which had no insulation.

Beyond Coton we follow fairly quiet lanes without pavements for a few miles before continuing on an excellent bridle track (also part of the Via Beata) to Chapel Brampton. The roads through this village, and Pitsford Road all have good pavements. In retrospect I am inclined to agree with David that it would be easier at this point to continue along Pitsford Road to the Brampton Valley Way. The field path has a number of stiles and other minor obstacles (such as a chest high bar that you have to duck under) before entering a large open riverside field. Here the trodden line goes south and diverges from the definitive right of way (presumably to the bridge south of the mill but I didn't check), but when I noticed this I diverted back to the footbridge by the weir, and beyond it there was a private sign which I ignored because I was following the right of way, and there were no diversion notices anywhere in sight. By staying between the new ornamental pond and the river, I was able to reach the mill unchallenged.

At this point I thought I could relax, but on reaching the A5199 the far side was fenced off, and once again no diversion notice was provided. I opted to try Welford Road, and found the path back to the Brampton Valley Way just before the houses on the right hand side. From here the rest of the route is easy - we follow the NCN route along the old railway, over the river and under the railway (hence the little loop) and into King's Heath, where we follow wide streets through an industrial area before a narrower road takes us to Spencer Bridge Road (which might provide a shorter route to the bus station). The GPX file does show the pelican crossing line at this junction well, and beyond the road we cross a small park then follow the river round to West Bridge (ignore the footbridge over the near branch of the river which leads under West Bridge). Here we turn left and follow the pavement past the station and across a couple of pelican crossings, then left through the square to reach the meeting point at the bus station (in my opinion the south end of the square would be a better compromise between the needs of bus and rail users).

So overall this is a decidedly mixed bag (or curate's egg), and I came quite close to giving the route a not sure flag, but because the minor diversions are yet to be officially recorded on the map, it is probably too early to attempt to draw a route that uses them.

[additional note after walking BriNor two on 28 Feb 2024: The Brampton Valley way is now open again south of the A5199, where work is still ongoing on a new roundabout. The current pedestrian route goes round the west side of the roundabout.].

For the most part, an enjoyable walk which I started from Northampton. The route leaves the bus station and loops past multiple eateries, shops and the reconstructed house where Oliver Cromwell stayed, before passing the station. From there a section of park and then pavement pounding brings you to Kingsthorpe Meadow Nature Reserve. From there you follow the route of an old railway line, popular with local cyclists and dog walkers and for an early section, lots of local rabbits! In a strange coincidence on a day when I'd wondered about taking a book of GM Hopkins poetry with me, the pub, the Windhover offers a stopping option about a third of the way into the walk. It's the last for a while. You leave the Brampton Valley Way as you reach a station on the Northampton and Landport Railway. When I got to the farm at Boughton Mill, there was a temporary diversion due to construction work, but I could see the more direct route of the Slow Way throughout my trip through a meadow full of butterflies. Finding the path wasn't easy and I wonder if carrying on along the footpath by the railway and joining Brampton Lane earlier might have been an easier option. In Chapel Brampton, I now realise there is a pub, although I didn't spot it from the route. Beyond Chapel Brampton was my favourite section of the walk. A series of trails through the rolling countryside, eventually joining the Via Beata. There is a section of lane walking which I quite enjoyed. The lanes are open and straight, and the verges flat and wide. However, from the edge of Teeton the nature of the roads change and although I didn't feel unsafe, I did feel quite exposed. It was this section from Teeton to Far Heath that stopped it from being a five star walk. Beyond Far Heath you go through the village of Coton and pick up a very well marked path which takes you to West Haddon. In summary, this a direct, interesting and enjoyable Slow Way. It has stiles, so it's a walk rather than a wheel. It makes the best of the few refreshment and transport links it has. If the road walk near Teeton could be eliminated I'd give it full marks for safety. But as it is, it's a 4. I can't believe I nearly forgot to mention it, but the plotting is impeccable. A very easy route to follow. Congrats to Panic452.

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