From Ashby we head west along Kilwardby Street and Moira Road, then take the short path through a gap in the hedge onto Highfield Close. This field had been ploughed, but the path line across it was already clear from boot marks so the path must be well used. Beyond the new houses we cross a farm road and enter another field, also recently ploughed, where the line was less obvious but the corner of the field made an obvious target....

Hugh Hudson

I enjoyed this walk very much but it’s not a walk in the park, this is a country walk and all that that entails. I had considered a quieter diversion from Wychnor church using Green Lane into Barton which you might like to investigate. The road walk along the pavement was easy going as A38 diverted traffic was not using this road. After which I would have preferred to use one of the paths that allows avoidance of the road because this was a little busier and had no verge. I had failed to do my research only finding when I returned home that I had walked and passed close by three unrecorded paths that need investigation. The meeting place is a bit bleak but it’s close to services where it’s far better to wait if onward travel by bus is required....

Ken

A section of path at Church Gresley was overgrown so can be avoided using Church View to access Mouth Pleasant Road. The section from Swainspark, Park Road to Overseal was challenging. The path south from Park Road is signed but was very overgrown and off putting. There is a hint of a walked path and for a short section the surface is good, this being a go to nowhere bridleway which our footpath soon leaves, a close eye on the plot is essential. From here things are five star the path is excellent and well used. The path continues as before easy to follow and unobstructed with vegetation, crops or barriers, an easy walk. Crossing the road I expected the next path across an arable field to be invisible but no, it had been cleared. So back to a challenging path with a stile topped by barbed wire and field of maize, easy as the crop was low but it will be impossible later in the year....

Ken

Excellent to Ticknall then it goes down hill a little as paths are not so well walked but easy to follow with a good plot. Nice finish through the park at Swadlincote. Talented knitters doing post box toppers....

Ken

Walking Measham to Swad I had no navigation issues but in places may have followed my nose along well walked paths, rather than the plotted route. A few stiles, mixed path surfaces from tarmac to cross field but no cattle seen. The walked cross field path to Oakthorpe fails to stay on the definitive and hence plotted line but is well used so easy to locate. This is easy walking with no navigation issues just stay on the main drag with an occasional eye on the plotted route....

Ken

The route is safe but not suitable for wheelchair access on certain parts of the route. I used the Kamoot app to navigate the route and installed the gpx file from SlowWays which was very accurate although there is a problem with the route on entering the outskirts of Swadlincote in that, there is a new housing development between Mount Pleasant Road and Railway Side that has taken away the footpath between the two roads....

Chris R

Where this ends and we join Midland Road, we cross and go past the war memorial into the park, then follow the main path up the hill. We rejoin the old lane below the farm and follow it over a bridge, that was shallowly flooded when I walked it, and just before we reach the road we branch right and follow field boundaries (more stiles) before being forced left past a farm where the footpath has been diverted. We follow an obvious path through more mud to cross the stream and climb to Broadstone Lane, then go straight on onto the unremittingly muddy but well signposted path that heads directly to the tower above the Staunton Harold reservoir car park. From the tower we descend a zigzagging surfaced path, then use the access road to reach Ashby Road - stay on the west side here if you want a continuous pavement, which leads easily to the Melbourne meeting point in the Market Place....

Hugh Hudson

Mostly fine, but a section of the path east of Oversetts Road was blocked by a sturdy metal fence, so I had to retreat and find an alternative via Meadow View Road and the path that goes south from Almond Grove. From Burton station we head east down Station Road, then turn right where it ends on High Street. We go left then branch right on the roughly surfaced Woodview Road, which becomes an unsurfaced path once beyond the older houses....

Hugh Hudson

Mainly follows footpaths across agricultural land but follows pavements through the villages of Ticknall and Hartshorne which both offer refreshment stops. I've altered the route to follow marked tracks but not where the track isn't marked, as it might change....

David Sanderson

I've nothing to add to the previous reviews from Ken and David, other than that there was a lot of vegetation on the day we walked the route....

danravenellison

Leaving the bus station the road is busy but there are light controlled crossing. A path behind houses gradually changes to a rough road before meeting the main road. The route passes the college and then in the town all the major bus stops before heading off to the railway station which I suggest is not the best place in Burton for the meeting place....

Ken

It has an identical problem to one I reviewed last week where it uses a footpath that does not exist near Conkers and so does not run as plotted. The other problem is the plotting at the ends, particularly at the Swadlincote end, which is really poor. I have tidied the plotting and fixed the problem in Tamswa two...

David Sanderson

There are definitely more places to stop at the Swadlincote end with pubs and shops in Netherseal and Overseal....

David Sanderson

As Ken pointed out, the footpath is marked as being for the school, as if it isn't a through route but it's what you need to take. You walk down a series of steps to get to the footpath which takes you across a field and out of Leicestershire. The route takes you around the centre via a series of main roads to the meeting place at the bus station, it's a shame you don't get to see the High Street, although that isn't far if you need anything....

David Sanderson

The route asks you to follow a footpath which runs with a cycle path. The cycleway is badly marked on the OS Map as it actually follows a path adjacent to the railway and is never concurrent with the footpath....

David Sanderson

Having turned left to walk the path which passes over Gresley Tunnel I had a slight issue following the path and started to follow the cycleway instead, but was able to retrace my steps. Having crossed the road and entered Leicestershire near Conkers Discovery Centre I found that the cycleway that this route follows, as opposed to the exclusive footpath was the same route that all the other pedestrians were using. The Ashby Woulds Way is on the route of an old railway and is safe, easy to follow, popular with other users and far more direct than footpath equivalents. The remaining footpaths as far as the A42 were well marked but there was an issue with the footpath not following the marked right of way on the map south of Oakethorpe....

David Sanderson

It would appear that this poorly plotted route is fairly easy to follow Swadlincote to Ashby. Following two other reviews I had hoped to snail the route but the poor plotting when walked east to west proved a need to fail it....

Ken

I walked this route Ashby to Swadlincote on a crisp dry day. Following two other reviews of swaash-1 I had hoped to snail that route but the poor plotting when walked east to west proved a need to fail it....

Ken

When I reached a point where I had to turn back from the other Slow Way I attempted to join this route at the dairy farm at Stanton House....

David Sanderson

Starting from a point in Alrewas which is not far from the Trent and Mersey Canal, the first section is some very pleasant canal walking as far as Barton Turns where it joins the Cross Britain Way. There is a tiny section of verge walking before leaving Walton and crossing into the fields. The path is pretty clear to see and throughout the Cross Britain Way the waymarkers are in good repair. As with Walton, as you get to other end, there is a slightly longer section of lane walking required (about 200m). As this path turns east, leaving the Cross Britain Way, you have the honour of being the Slow Ways walker who is furthest from the sea!...

David Sanderson

The footpath used is being built on at the easterly end and any attempt to rejoin it was met with barbed wire fences. Here I encountered a barbed wire fence with no way through....

David Sanderson

Great concept but comes a cropper where a short cut in Stapenhill runs smack bang into a new housing development and is impassable. Suffers from very bad plotting at the Swadlincote end but this will all be fixed in Burswa Two...

David Sanderson

Passing through the college (literally) you then cross the Washlands and then the Trent by the Stapenhill Viaduct, a magical raised piece of engineering which allows a traffic free walk above the greenery and the river. From here you cross the B5353 then follow a series of paths passing construction sites for new houses until you cross a foot bridge....

David Sanderson

The first thing I noticed when starting this thoroughly enjoyable walk was that the plotting is out, as if the route was submitted when the plotter was not zoomed in properly in the OS app. The route starts at the bus station which is right by the town centre and then heads out through the residential streets of "Swad". From there, it is a very straight route through fields to Ashby de la Zouche....

David Sanderson

In Swadlincote the walk was more urban and got greener as you approached the national forest area/woods. It felt safe (my walk was at midday) but the start of the walk had some neglected looking paths/area....

[email protected]

It uses a permissive path alongside the Staunton Harold Reservoir then travels along a private lane where walkers are not welcome at all....

histman