Gunthorpe to Bleasby circular walk
An easy 10 mile walk by the River Trent with no hills and a lovely lunch stop in Bleasby.
We parked our car in the car park by the Biondi restaurant at Gunthorpe right by the River Trent and walked north up the towpath beside the river. It was a dull and chilly February day so there was no river traffic. In summer you will see many narrow boats and small cruisers making their way north.
We parked our car in the car park by the Biondi restaurant at Gunthorpe right by the River Trent and walked north up the towpath beside the river. It was a dull and chilly February day so there was no river traffic. In summer you will see many narrow boats and small cruisers making their way north.
Once we reached Hoveringham we had tired of the river view and the cold wind coming at us over the water so we decided to head inland and find the path from the main road in Hoveringham which takes you to Gibsmere in Bleasby.
We then walked up the main road in Bleasby to the Manor Farm Tea Rooms which do excellent food.
Inside it was warm and inviting due to the fire blazing at one end. It was not overly busy and we were very soon attended to. I went for the homemade broccoli and cheese soup with bread wondering if this would be enough to sustain me for the walk back on this cold day. The soup was plentiful and absolutely delicious. The bread that accompanied it was grainy and warm and was a meal in itself so I had no need to worry about whether it would keep me going. Most of the food is made on the premises and where this is not the case there is information describing where it has been locally sourced. They also serve wonderful homemade cakes but today we resisted the temptation.
We decided to go a different way back so took the footpath which is the first one you come to on the right when walking south back down the main street. Interestingly, on our way back we saw an old fashioned BT phone booth which is now being used as a book swap. Shows how the locals can be trusted to use this facility honestly and without vandalising the phone box! Amazing.
The footpath was quite twisty and hugged the railway line for quite a way and seemed a long trek. Although this is a busy railway line we only saw a few small trains during our walk. The footpath took us via Mill Farm and then onto the main road at Caythorpe. We must have been very tired as we thought we were already back in Gunthorpe and were worried when we realised we had a way to go that we might not get back in time to collect our car. We walked a way down the main road to find the footpath on the right going to Gunthorpe. This comes out behind the houses in the village so we walked through Gunthorpe, past the 2 pubs on the riverside towards the Biondi car park.
The walk is perhaps longer than 10 miles; it certainly felt it, probably because of the convoluted footpath on the return half. It would be much more pleasant to walk in the summer months but we still enjoyed it and slept very well that night!
We then walked up the main road in Bleasby to the Manor Farm Tea Rooms which do excellent food.
Inside it was warm and inviting due to the fire blazing at one end. It was not overly busy and we were very soon attended to. I went for the homemade broccoli and cheese soup with bread wondering if this would be enough to sustain me for the walk back on this cold day. The soup was plentiful and absolutely delicious. The bread that accompanied it was grainy and warm and was a meal in itself so I had no need to worry about whether it would keep me going. Most of the food is made on the premises and where this is not the case there is information describing where it has been locally sourced. They also serve wonderful homemade cakes but today we resisted the temptation.
We decided to go a different way back so took the footpath which is the first one you come to on the right when walking south back down the main street. Interestingly, on our way back we saw an old fashioned BT phone booth which is now being used as a book swap. Shows how the locals can be trusted to use this facility honestly and without vandalising the phone box! Amazing.
The footpath was quite twisty and hugged the railway line for quite a way and seemed a long trek. Although this is a busy railway line we only saw a few small trains during our walk. The footpath took us via Mill Farm and then onto the main road at Caythorpe. We must have been very tired as we thought we were already back in Gunthorpe and were worried when we realised we had a way to go that we might not get back in time to collect our car. We walked a way down the main road to find the footpath on the right going to Gunthorpe. This comes out behind the houses in the village so we walked through Gunthorpe, past the 2 pubs on the riverside towards the Biondi car park.
The walk is perhaps longer than 10 miles; it certainly felt it, probably because of the convoluted footpath on the return half. It would be much more pleasant to walk in the summer months but we still enjoyed it and slept very well that night!