Collyweston Bridge to Duddington and return

We were heading from Norfolk to Milton Keynes, together in one car which is somewhat unusual, ready for me to catch a train up to Cumbria tomorrow morning to do some family history research. By taking a rather circuitous route, we were able to get another short walk on the Jurassic Way. We drove by way of the village of Collyweston to the lay-by at SK992036 near Collyweston Bridge, which we'd reached last time we were here. Collyweston is famous for Collyweston Slate, which is quarried nearby; it is not actually slate, but rather a type of limestone which occurs in narrow sheets and can be used for roofing in the same way as slate. Collyweston is a pretty village, on the slope of a hill up above the Welland Valley; we stopped on our onward journey after the walk to enable me to take a look.

After parking, we headed over Collyweston Bridge and so into Rutland,  and were in Rutland for almost all of today's walk.  We reached a pretty stone marker, commemorating the late Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, and indicating that we were reaching the village of Geeston. The sign includes a picture of a snowdrop and today there were real snowdrops at its base (with better specimens slightly further on) and behind it, a directional sign indicated that in order to follow the Jurassic Way or the Rutland Round we should turn left, while the Hereward Way (as followed in 2013) headed right.

We were initially on a narrow path between fences, but after crossing the drive leading to Killthorpe Grange, it became more open., with good views to Collweston Church on the other side of the valley.  The map shows the path descending at an angle, but it has been re-routed so that it continue straight ahead  and then turns sharply left  and heads downhill. The descent was also on a fairly narrow path and a section of it was rather muddy. I stayed upright by holding onto the fence and it should be emphasised that the problem was only for this brief section of the walk. We turned right and rejoined the route as shown on the map, straight ahead for something over a mile.

We reached a minor road and turned left.  The official route of the Jurassic Way then turns right to cross a field, while the road takes a slightly longer route, but the field was recently ploughed, and crossing it would have resulted in heavy mud-covered boots, so we stayed on the road. We passed Tixover Grange  (a care home) and looked for a turning onto a path on the left. We passed a kissing gate, but there wasn't a sign  and the OS Maps App indicated that it was a bit too early, so we continued. Slightly further on there was a stile and a sign, but it was a difficult stile to get over, through a very narrow gap in the hedge. Needless to say, we used the kissing gate on the return leg.

Towards the far side of the field there was a distinctly wet area, but we were able to avoid this without too much difficulty, and we emerged onto a good track (it looks to be a disused railway or perhaps the former route of a road) still with views across the valley to Colleyweston. A short distance along here, we again turned left, this time with a steep descent then another slightly damp area, this time taking us right down to the pretty River Welland.  We passed underneath the A47 on a path close to the river, then reached a road, just before a most attractive bridge on the outskirts of Duddington.

We crossed the bridge by the old mill, thus heading from Rutland to Northamptonshire, and headed to the centre of Duddington, a lovely village. This was our end point for today and we were pleased to see there are suitable places for parking next time we're here.  I think  I must look more confident than I feel when in places I haven't visited before; irrespective of how lost I feel, people still seem to stop to ask me for directions (the first time I remember it happening was when I was 18 and had literally just arrived in Durham to start my undergraduate degree).  Today, I was ambling around Duddington when a car stopped and asked me if I knew where the Peacocks live. I have no idea if she was looking for a family with the surname Peacock, or a house with peafowl in the grounds; whichever, I had - and have - absolutely no idea where she wanted to be!

We returned to the car by the same route, stopping for lunch at a conveniently placed bench on the track above the field just to the north of the A47. We passed some dogwalkers  on the long straight stretch, but otherwise we had the path to ourselves. It had been a very pleasant walk. We had a good journey on to MIlton Keynes by way of Collyweston then the A1 and A421. 

Following leg