Around Rutland 2026 - Day 4

Monday 20th April - Day 4

Today I'm back walking on my own. Lovely though it is walking with other people it does add a certain amount of extra "stress" so it's nice to be walking solo again. The road from Thistleton to was uninteresting. In fact I was so keen to get started I have no idea if there was a church there! There was one at Market Overton with a rather lovely lychgate.

I am being spoilt by the weather; yet another beautiful morning with clear blue sky. I'm also fortunate that the terrain today is far more forgiving than yesterday; slight undulation for the first few miles as I seemed to walking along a ridge. The views on either side were spectacular and magnificently panoramic.

The path that I had intended taking onto the ridge meant going diagonally through a large rapeseed field. Given my aversion to said crop I chose a slightly longer route through a less annoying one.

Along the route there were a couple of thoughtfully places benches one of them dedicated to "Sachi The Springer Spaniel"

Fairly early on the walk I had taken my fleece off and packed it away in my bag. The sun had warmed the air a bit and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. I came down from the ridge (I was travelling almost at 10k walking pace the going was that good!) and came across the disused Melton to Oakham canal.

It was opened in 1802 and closed by 1845 when the new railway had taken all the trade. 

My route took me past Holy Trinity church in Teigh, one of the so called "Thankful Villages" who apparently lost no men during the First World War. I went thankfully onwards with the blue sky above me and hardly a wisp of clouds in the sky.

Generally the path has been well signposted and I've been able to see where I'm heading from some distance. Today was the exception which was a problem as my Map App was no help as it was only showing the planned route (in black) and my actual route (in dark blue) on a plain white background!! No features or contours - nothing!

Having left Teigh I crossed a field of sheep and their young, sleepy lambs basking in the sunshine. I twisted & turned a bit to avoid disturbing too many of them until I came to a fence. I looked left and right but couldn't see the usual Yellow topped signpost. There was a farm gate away to my left but no markers in sight. I wandered to my right past small, scrubby trees. All the while I was looking ahead trying to find a post. Nothing. I turned round to retrace my steps and, low & behold, there it was, tucked down in a bit of a hollow behind some bushes. 

Not long after I stopped on a convenient footbridge to refuel with a banana! I needed it at the pace I was walking. Snack over I set off again and had to cross the railway line that had presumably done-for the canal.

After crossing the railway I was on a tarmac lane that curved round and gentle climbed towards my lunch stop at Whissendine. About halfway along the lane I came across what I assume was a Second World War pillbox. 

(I Googled it and it comes up with an FW3/22 Casement. A bunker used for the defence of the United Kingdom against a possible enemy invasion. They were built in 1940 and into 1941.) 

Not far from the pillbox was a feature on the other side of the hedge that was labelled as "MOAT" I could just about make out the undulations. Every day is a learning day!!

I had my lunch sitting in the intermittent sunshine on a bench outside St Andrew's church in Whissedine. Sadly the bench wasn't as comfortable as the one on Day 2 but it was a bench!

From Whissendine it was mostly downhill to Oakham and home. The walk had one last curve-ball to throw me! A little uphill slog to leave me puffing and panting, not just from the climb but also because I was breathing in the "stench" of the rapeseed in full bloom in the field beside me! 

The next village I came to was Langham, only a couple of miles to go. It also had a church, I could have made a detour to see it properly but I chose not to!! I was definitely beginning to flag by now.

I thought I had reached Oakham but was disappointed to find the it was the village of Barleythorpe! Looking at the map it's more like a suburb of Oakham. Eventually I arrived at All Saint's church in Oakham itself. I must have a wander round it and the castle before I leave! 

I headed for home and was pleased to be greeted by Denise in the High Street and we walked back to the cottage together. An astounding 13.44 miles completed today despite my poor feet. I rather like walking mainly downhill! So much so that I'm going to do the same tomorrow and walk from Thistleton to Empingham rather than the other way round!

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