The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 8 miles (12.9km)
Time to walk: Today with taking lots of photos & getting lost in Badby Wood (oops!) it took us about 3.5 hours
Difficulty: A mixture of road, field & woodland paths, some of which will get wet & muddy. We did this on a glorious late April 2014 day. There’s also some steep climbs
Parking: On the road by the side of The Windmill Pub in Badby
Public toilets: Really just the pubs in Badby, Newnham or you could brave Fawsley Hall
Map of the route:
We’ve been waiting to do this walk for a long time, but it really has to be done in late April / early May & you’ll see why later
This area of Northamptonshire is quite hilly & simple stunning with beautiful villages & fantastic views. We start in Badby, a small village to the west of Daventry, & then go cross country following the infantile River Nene to Newnham before crossing through the woods to Fawsley & finally climbing back to Badby
As well as being spectacular this walk’s a really good cardio workout…
Let’s Walk!
1. We start in Badby which is one of the most beautiful villages in our county with a collection of ironstone & thatch houses. The village has a long history with the first known reference to it dating from 944 AD, when ‘Badden Byrig’ was recorded in a Saxon land charter. By the time of Domesday, the manor had become ‘Badebi’ & belonged to the church. A possible Iron Age hill fort at Arbury & finds of Roman pottery suggest that Badby may have even older origins
We start from outside what was once the Windmill Pub, a 17th century inn, sadly no longer there…
2. Walk along Main Street which opens out into some large green areas…
…to another pub…The Malsters…
3. Now turn down Courtyard Lane, directly opposite the pub which soon becomes narrow & passes some rather nice properties…
Pass through the kissing gate below…
…& we’re immediately in the countryside…
4. Cross a footbridge into a field – just keep heading straight on
Shortly we come to a footbridge over a stream. This is actually one of the sources of the River Nene. It’s source is quite near here on Arbury Hill…
…& click on our Youtube clip for a snippet of it as a youthful stream…
5. Cross the bridge &, if it’s still there have a go on the swing…
Now it’s a case of hug the hedge until we meet the road. You can just spot Newnham church in the distance…
6. Pass the local sculptures…
…& finally exit through the gate below onto the road
7. Be careful & turn right along the road. In about 50 yards we enter the lovely village of Newnham
The village name is thought to come from the nearby River Nene. Looking over the village is Newnham Hill which has an ancient disused windmill plus a large aerial which is part of the UK’s air traffic control system
8. Keep following the road heading towards the large village green…
where there’s another great pub here…The Romer Arms…
9. Walk past the pub & then turn right down Preston Capes Road. Be careful now as there’s a lengthy stretch of road walking to do & the cars move pretty quick along here!
Just over the brow of the hill we get our first glimpse of where we’re heading for…Badby Wood…
10. Eventually the road arrives at a crossroads where we need to turn right up the Badby road
We mentioned at the start that this walk had a few hills in it & here’s our first one although it means we’ll now start to get some fabulous views…
The view back across to Newnham
11. Continue towards Badby…
…& eventually on the left we come to the small car park at the track leading to Badby Wood
12. Follow the track to the entrance into Badby Wood which, with the stone archway, makes you think you’re really entering a special place &, at this time of the year, you are
We’ve deliberately left this walk until the end of April as the Wood is then a mass of shimmering bluebells
Badby Wood is part of the Fawsley Estate, which we’ll talk about more later, but is open to all visitors to enjoy its natural beauty. It is a protected wildlife area, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
13. The first thing that hit us walking into the Wood was the stunning birdsong & we’ve tried to capture a small part of it so click on the Youtube upload below…
Right…before you explore a word of warning!! The Wood is big & there’s lots of paths & it’s quite easy to become disorientated…& yes, we did get lost!! However we knew that we wanted to head straight across & then turn right & follow the left hand perimeter towards Badby
Here’s the path straight across..
When we say there’s bluebells everywhere we mean it…
14. Eventually the track arrives at the far side of the wood…
…where you now turn right & follow the path alongside the fence keeping it on your left. Across to the left are the remains of the old Fawsley Estate Dower House…
15. Keep following the path adjacent to the wood edge…
…to eventually arrive at the western edge. The path running along this edge forms part of the Knightley Way
The Knightley Way was Northamptonshire’s first County Path running between Badby & Greens Norton
16. You now need to head to Fawsley Hall which lies south from where you are, so turn left & follow the undulating path still inside the Wood…
On the right here’s some kind of shrine – no-one seems to know what it actually relates to
17. After following the Knightley Way arrows you’ll eventually see the exit from the Wood into open parkland
You may want to have a rest here as, although our next bit is downhill, what goes down must come back up & there’s more hills to come!
18. After the visual constraints of the Wood it’s now good to be out in the open with excellent views across the Fawsley Estate. The Knightley Way is well signposted across the field & down the hill…
The views from here are great as you head down downwards…
19. Head for the gate between the trees in the distance
…& then pass the next marker…
…before finally exiting below onto the road…
20. Turn right following the road past Fawsley Church on the left…
Standing isolated on a grassy knoll & surrounded by a ha-ha, St. Mary’s Church contains the Knightley family tombs including effigies of the 16th century Sir Richard Knightley & his wife Jane. Dating to the early 13th century, the church has many fine features such as carved poppy heads & stained glass thought to be from Sulgrave Manor (see our walk around Sulgrave http://northamptonshirewalks.co.uk/about/walk-26-sulgravefull-of-stars-stripes/ )
21. So keep heading along the road where you’ll get your first sighting of Fawsley Hall…
…& on the right are some private fishing lakes…
22. Finally on the left is the entrance to Fawsley Hall so creep up the drive, stop & have a peep…
Fawsley Hall & landscape park was created by the Knightley family. Richard Knightley, a well-to-do Staffordshire lawyer bought the manor of Fawsley in 1416. His grandson Richard, knighted by Henry VII, built the first wing of the present house
Sir Richard’s son, Sir Edmund Knightley ordered the building of the Elizabethan hall, which was visited by Elizabeth I in 1575, after it had passed to Edmund’s nephew, Richard Knightley, a prominent Puritan. He ran a secret printing press at the house on which were printed Puritan pamphlets & for which he was briefly imprisoned. The dower house in Fawsley Park, which we passed earlier was last inhabited in 1704 was built for Lady Ursula after Sir Edmund died.
The estate descended in the wider Knightley family, many of them Members of Parliament. Mr Lucy Knightley, who inherited in it 1728 built the Georgian wing of Fawsley Hall. He was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire for 1770–71.
In 1798 Sir John Knightley was created a Baronet. His nephew, Sir Charles Knightley, 2nd Baronet, carried out the Gothic alterations to the Georgian Wing, & his son Sir Rainald, the 3rd Baronet, commissioned architect Anthony Salvin to re-model the North Wing. Sir Rainald served as MP for South Northamptonshire for 40 years and was created Baron Rainald in 1892, but died childless in 1895. His widow kept possession until 1913, after which financial restraints necessitated the auction of the house’s contents after her death. She was the last Knightley to live at the Hal, completing 500 years of Knightley occupation.
When her eventual heirs Sir Charles Valentine, 5th Baronet died in 1932 & his brother, Sir Henry Francis, 6th & last Baronet, died in 1938, the estate passed to the Gage family of Firle Place, Sussex, by virtue of an earlier marriage of Sir Rainald’s sister, Sophia, to Viscount Gage. The Gage family still own the former Knightley lands.
23. Your path back to Badby lies through the gate ahead of you across the road…
The first part of the return is flat across the field heading between the two trees & through the gate…
…& then across to the next gate in the corner
24. You now need to hug the right fence for about 100 yards, looking for the bridge over the ditch below…
Cross over & begin your ascent back up the hill towards where you left Badby Wood…
25. The path’s not immediately easy to spot, but if you follow the tracks made by the cattle you can see a gate diagonally to the right…
Pass through the gate…
26. Now the climb becomes steeper so this is really great exercise. Keep to the left of the marker…
…& then ignore the gate keeping to the right up the steep slope to eventually arrive back at the gate to Badby Wood you left a short while ago
27. Now re-enter Badby Wood & stick to the left path following the Knightley Way again. It’s downhill all the way now (well nearly)…
…& at the end is your exit from the Wood
28. Once through the gate head diagonally right across the field…
…to the next gate
29. Look for a footpath marker across to the left…
30. After a short downhill stint it’s now a steep climb up the track…
…to emerge into the village opposite Badby Church
31. Turn right & head down the lane…
At the end of the church wall follow it round to the left where there’s a seat to sit a while should you wish…
32. Carry on along Vicarage Hill…
…& at the road turn right to return to where this walk started
Well…what a fab walk! Badby Wood is best seen with its bluebells, although it’s also great at all times of the year – this really is a magical Wood. Don’t be fooled that this walk’s a breeze as there are some pulls up the hills
This however is a stunning part of Northamptonshire so…
Go Walk!