Thistleton to Teigh and return

We'd had hot weather for the past week or so, with record-breaking temperatures for May, so we'd had to abandon our plan to do a leg of the Jurassic Way last weekend, after a stay in our Milton Keynes flat. We were therefore very keen to get out walking as soon as there was a lull in the heat, and we'd been keeping an eye on the weather forecast. Yesterday, the weather forecast for today had been promising, but we woke in Norfolk to find that it had been modified to include rain. We checked the forecast for Rutland and were delighted to find that the rain was not forecast to reach there while we were out walking and we turned a blind eye to the rain we had as we drove up the A1 and across to Thistleton. We were rewarded by weather that was pretty much perfect for walking; there may have been an occasional spot of rain, but nothing more than that and although the sun came out from time to time, it didn't get too hot.

After the obstacles that we'd encountered on the previous leg of the Rutland Round, I was also concerned that we might find the route to be overgrown or otherwise difficult to navigate. That concern also proved to be largely unfounded. The Rutland Round was designed to go round the county as close as possible to its boundary, and today's leg takes that to extremes; apart from brief sections of road walking at either end, we were actually following the county boundary with Lincolnshire, as it heads from east to west along field boundaries. It wasn't the most exciting of legs, but there were some attractive sections. 

We parked in the layby we'd found at the end of our last walk, just to the west of Thistleton at SK910177.  The layby is on the route of both the Rutland Round and the Viking Way, and as we were putting our walking boots on, and admiring the rare-breed sheep and lambs in the field beside us, a female walker came down the road and passed us. We set off back in the direction she had come, and walked along the road until a "Welcome to Rutland" sign indicated we were about to leave the smallest of England's historic counties. However, just before we did that, a sign (albeit difficult to read) indicated that we should turn left here. The route the other side of the gate wasn't very clear, but yellow-topped posts led us across a rough field that had been cleared of vegetation. 

After crossing the field we followed its edge, now alongside a crop. It was rather overgrown which made walking difficult, and for a little while I thought we were indeed in for a difficult walk. However, after passing into a different field we were pleased to find that there was a mown strip at the edge if it, a state of affairs which continued for most of the rest of the walk. I'm not sure if the strips had been mown specifically to allow walkers to follow the county/hedge boundaries, but - whatever - this was very useful. Every so often there was a 90 degree turn at the corner of a field and where we turned left just before Cribb's Lodge, it wasn't initially clear which side of the hedge we should be on. In the end we concluded that the signs on the ground were not in conflict with what the map said; we needed to turn left before the hedge. 

And so we continued: half or a quarter of a mile of walking then a 90 degree turn - and repeat. I commented that it was a bit boring,  though there were light aircraft buzzing around, I presume (though I could be wrong) from the former RAF Cottismore airfield nearby. We passed a large heap of fine gravel (I think), closeby to what is marked on the map as an industrial estate, but all we could see from the path was the roof of a modern barn/warehouse. Back into the open countryside, the route was getting more interesting. We approached the wood at Woodwell Head and did a couple of right-angled turns around the edge of it. We were now north of Market Overton, and a path left our route heading towards the village, across undulating countryside. 

We hadn't realised it, but we'd been on relatively flat plateau about 140 metres above sea level but we were now on the edge of the ridge, as is Market Overton, with the land falling away to the south and west. So the landscape was already more attractive, then we found ourselves on a lovely track between hedges. We emerged from this and descended slightly. It was about 11.30am when we passed a bench, dedicated to the memory of Sachi, a springer spaniel. It was a bit early for lunch, but we were only about a mile from Teigh (our destination), so we reckoned that if we didn't spot anywhere else, we could always stop here on our return walk. We continued to descend, with views to Edmondsthorpe Hall and surrounding parkland to the north-west.

Just before a fence, we turned left. This brought us to a pretty little area, with a long thin pond surrounded by colourful flowers and reeds. The pond is obviously an artificial feature, though I'd guess it might be quite old; I wonder what it was created for. Beyond, we veered to the right across a ridge-and-furrow landscape; the correct way across wasn't initially obvious, but after checking carefully on my phone for a while,to verify that we were following the route shown on the OS Maps App,  I spotted the exit point we were aiming for, so was able to head there directly without staring at my phone. A track led us to a road, just opposite Catmose Lodge (though note tht I've spotted at least two Catmose Lodges on the map...)   We turned left and walked down towards Teigh, turning right onto the lane leading to the hamlet itself. 

And wow! The vast majority of both Richard's and my ancestors were agricultural labourers, and as we walked into Teigh,  it felt as if we'd stepped back in time and one of these ancestors would come walking towards us. The hamlet apparently has a population of just 40 and its name is pronounced "tea".  Several of the cottages were distinctly quaint and picturesque, complete with roses around the door. We reached the church, with a possible parking place for next time we're here just in front of it, a sign indicating the church was open, and a bench in the churchyard. This was both the perfect time and the perfect location to stop for lunch, so we did. Then we went for a look at the church;  the tower dates back to the 13th Century but the interior is only from 1782 - and quirky. You walk into the nave from the west door, heading towards the altar, with box pews on both sides - and then you realise that you have just walked underneath the pulpit, way up high behind you!

We'd wondered about returning to Thistleton along the road through Market Overton, which would have made a circuit. Alternatively, we'd wondered about retracing our steps for western part of the walk (the part we'd thought to be more interesting and attractive), then using one of the linking footpaths to head south to Market Overton, and following the road from there.  However, both options would have involved quite a lot of walking on a road that we suspected might be rather busy, so in the end we retraced our steps all the way. We were rewarded by views to Market Overton Church from a distance to the east; we hadn't been able to see it when we'd looked from the obvious place (north of the church. 

We stopped briefly at the bench in memory of the dog, and shortly afterwards we encountered a dog-walker, the only person we saw all day walking on the same path as us;  I wonder if this is the man whose dog is commemorated. Unfortunately the dog with him today didn't seem to like us. Later, I stopped to change my socks, but Richard carried on walking, to enable me to walk a bit faster in catching up with him. But most of the time we just walked along together, enjoying the sunshine and the summer vegetation, including the dog roses and honeysuckle shown on the right. The road back to Thistleton was rather busy, but we got back to the car and drove back home in time for me to join a 5pm supervisory meeting.