I walked this route from Bottesford to Bingham using public transport at both ends.Leaving Bottesford the route to Orston is along the road and the first section is unpleasant due to a constant stream of large lorries going in out of a skip/recycling facility and general traffic non of which show much consideration to the pedestrian(there is some verge but care is needed).Aslockton and beyond has some poor way marking(abbey lane new lane)Approaching Bingham the path becomes very indirect.Generally underfoot surfaces were reasonable with only a couple of muddy field edge sections,there were no access or obstruction issues....

J w ollid

Crossing under the railway east of Aslockton is not feasible. There is no right of way, no path on the ground and the approaches are barbed wired....

StephenWalker

The out and back is a short walk from the station and offers an excellent view of the Vale of Belvoir. On the route properly, it is a short walk to Bingham. Most of the route is a pleasant country walk, but it is not very direct - you need to be patient !...

StephenWalker

Roads can't be avoided but a road used as a cycle route does not equate to pleasant walking. The first section of road was very busy with heavy lorries, there is a verge but it became tiresome to keep stepping aside. A pavement walk through the village leads to an excellent section of path through new housing but stops at the abandoned fields, perhaps awaiting the next stage of development. The road offers a safe crossing of the busy rail line then back into fields and again headland paths which take an indirect route to the edge of Bingham....

Ken

We turn left into Redmile then head right along Church Lane, then take the path right through a cow pasture onto arable fields where the path is well cut and easy to follow. Our towpath is fine, and we follow it south past Canal Lane (the Stathern road) to the little bridge below Harby, where we cross and use the field path past the church to reach the village. We go right down Dickmans Lane, and head straight on into the fields beyond. After a long straight section the path heads right to avoid a farmyard/garden then returns to the straight line to reach another old railway crossing. We follow the right hand edges of two more fields then head up to the left through gaps in the trees to find the path that climbs the escarpment through the wood. On emerging we head right then cross into another field. Here we go right a short distance then follow a very well cut and marked path through more arable fields and over another old railway bridge, then through a meadow, a cow pasture and more arable fields to reach Scalford. We head right beyond the bridge to follow the field path along Scalford Bridge - the path is never difficult to follow but deviates from both the right of way line and the GPX plot in places. The path out of the country park takes us into an industrial estate, where I followed the GPX line right onto Jubilee Street....

Hugh Hudson

We turn left into the village centre, then follow the road around to the right into High Street. The continuation onto Bowbridge Lane starts with a right turn onto Pinfold Lane (not a straight line as the GPX shows). Eventually we reach Whatton, where we go left along the far side of the playing field then right along Old Grantham Road, which is free of cars once the houses are passed. Here our route continues into Aslockton, but does not pass the pub, and since Old Grantham Road is shorter and has a good pavement I cheated a little by following it, so I didn't test the field path across the railway. We turn right onto New Lane, then take the field path left, which is rather indirect thanks to the shape of the field boundaries and the school built across the direct line....

Hugh Hudson

From the station at Grantham, we go a short distance north down Station Road then take the little pedestrian tunnel left, turning right at Huntingtower Road to reach Harlaxton Road. We follow the canal to the end of the path at the A607 roundabout, then go left to return to Harlaxton Road, where we go right under the A1 bridge, then right again to rejoin the canal. Eventually we reach Woolsthorpe Locks, where the pub is just to the left of the canal and easy to reach over the little bridge....

Hugh Hudson

Leaving the meeting point at Bottesford station (which I think is fine, as it is far easier to get there by train than bus from Nottingham and further east), we follow Station Road west then take the level crossing onto the old lane that leads up to the beacon. This is part of Sewstern Drift, a long and fairly straight old drove road that connects Long Bennington with Rutland and forms part of the Leicestershire-Lincolnshire border, and will be familiar to anyone who has walked the Viking Way. We stay on the Viking Way, bearing right beyond the bridge to find Church Lane, a quieter but slightly longer route into Long Bennington than the old main road....

Hugh Hudson

I had a very enjoyable lunch at the Rutland Arms ( Dirty Duck ) There is a seat near Muston Bridge for lunch if anyone doesn't want to use the Duck for lunch....

John Johnson

On the map, this route appealed to me more than BinBot one, as it avoids the A52 and I liked the idea of following the river east of Aslockton....

Hugh Hudson

This was the route I was eventually forced to follow when attempting to review BinBot two, apart from the shortened line through Bottesford which I used to walk back from the station to the bus stop in the centre of the village after finishing (which I had to do because I walked the route on a rail strike day). Apart from the unavoidable road walk into Bottesford, it is mostly on good but unsurfaced field paths. The only minor accessibility issues are a couple of stiles and a slightly overgrown section on which the nettles are difficult to avoid, both on the way out of Bingham and unavoidable without a major rethink....

Hugh Hudson

There is a direct right of way path, which is rather too overgrown to be followed easily on the ground, but this route instead follows farm tracks which are not clearly defined as rights of way - in particular one crosses through the middle of a field, for which I would want to be sure it was legally OK. In a few other places the waymarked lines across fields do not exactly match the defined rights of way, but that is a minor technicality....

Hugh Hudson

The route dives into a low narrow but illuminated tunnel under the station before joining the pavement alongside the main road. I can't see the advantage of the loop onto the isolated section of canal but it's there if you want it or just stay on the road which the route has to rejoin to pass under the A1. The canal walk continues alongside more locks to the edge of Muston village where the towpath route joins the cycle route for a short way before joining the road. The route continues along what was the main road but cut off since the Bottesford Bypass was built so it's a quiet dead end with proper crossing arrangements although no lights to stop the traffic....

Ken