Saturday 22nd August 2020
During this year of disruption I had been unable to go away for a holiday but with restrictions starting to be lifted I planned to finally go away starting from this date, however life then intervened and I was unable to leave my house for long. Frustrated, I decided to go for a walk in Leicestershire that takes in two of the highest hills in the county. This is not a walk that I hadn’t done before, but one of many that I regularly do locally when I am unable to get further afield and when I realised this walk has never been described on this blog I thought I’d enlighten you on its delights. I parked at the small car park for the local nature reserve of Billa Barra Hill, but immediately turned my back on the hill to walk along a track that goes around the old Cliffe Hill Quarry on a path that was increasingly overgrown and eventually disappeared under a dark canopy of trees while maintaining a good path underfoot. All too soon I came out onto Cliffe Lane where a bit of roadside walking was necessary until I reached a path that passes Peak Hayes Farm to reach the noisy M1 motorway. After crossing a stream I climbed through a dense tangle of weeds to a farmer’s bridge over the motorway and beyond continued to climb until I reached Hill Lane.
There is a path on the opposite side of the road, but this would mean missing out on the delights of Hill Hole Quarry Nature Reserve. A short walk up the road brought me up to the entrance where I ignored the clear path to climb the steep banks that line the edge as I slowly made my way around the reserve passing the impressive crags that prove tempting to rock climbers and has even tempted me previously, though only on the easiest slopes. It appears to be more overgrown with vegetation than I remember so maybe ascents are not encouraged now. After passing the trig point at the highest point I descended into the village of Markfield and walked along Main Street onto a path that passes underneath the A50 dual carriageway onto the route of my go-to walk in Leicestershire. I probably do my Charnwood Round, or more recently a slightly shortened version, at least four times a year and has been described on this blog. Whenever I am desperate for a good walk that will really stretch my legs this is the one that is done and since I have done it so many times I don’t have to think about the route, and that is one of its appeals.
Later in the week, after this walk, between the heavy rain and life’s requirements, I did the shortened version, which misses out this section of the round down a narrow, enclosed path to a stream before steadily climbing up Chitterman Hill to eventually reach Lea Road. I now had a long section of road walking along the quiet Whitcroft’s Lane until I reached a gap in the wall surrounding a wood that is part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve. Access is restricted in this part of the reserve, but with my Wildlife Trust membership acting as a permit I climbed through the woodland passing over the open heathland at the top of the hill before descending into Poultney Wood. This is a lovely area that I love to walk through and was enthralled to find scabious flowers covering the meadows as I passed from the wood to the boggy valley bottom. Leaving the reserve I climbed up the hill past Ulverscroft Lodge eventually reaching a road with views ahead of Beacon Hill, which was accessible following a short roadside walk and after passing through West Beacon Fields. With stunning views across most of north Leicestershire from the top of this 248 metre high hill I left the crowds behind and headed down the hill through the narrow Martin’s Wood to reach Dean’s Lane.
At the bottom of the road I took a path that climbs through a couple of fields up to a road where I decided I would make a diversion from my usual route that usually sees me walking beside the road for a prolonged spell. A path opposite took me through thick grass around the hill of Chattens Rough bringing me to the B591 road where opposite is a young wood, part of the National Forest, where there is open access all the way through a long chain of woods back onto the road, however in practice there is no path and the trees are becoming so overgrown it is very difficult to make your way through or know which way to go. Eventually I retraced my steps back onto the road and walked along that just as the rain started to fall passing under the motorway and onto the lane that leads to Charley Woods Nature Reserve. With the rain proving short-lived and stunning views behind me through the tall grass I climbed the hill through Burrow Hill and onto Warren Hills Road. Opposite the road is a path that took me around the various quarry workings for Bardon Hill Quarry and eventually brought me onto the wooded slopes of the hill and up to the highest point in Leicestershire.
Descending back down the hill I followed the diversions around the new granite workings that have obliterated the landscape and paths near Bardon Hill to take a route onto the A511 dual carriageway. On reaching the edge of Billa Barra Hill I was now too tired to climb all the way up to the top so I crossed the southern slopes to cut the corner and finally reach my car. I had originally intended on walking somewhere much further away on this day but at least I was able to do a good walk climbing several hills along the way. Although my frustration with other events may have marred this walk and never gave it a chance to excite, at least I was still able to get out of the house and stretch my legs. Even though I have not been able to get up a mountain this year I do have the delights of Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire to maintain my fitness and, importantly, improve my mental health at this difficult time.
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