The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 1.59 miles (2.56 km)
Time to walk: Can be done in roughly 45 minutes, but you may wish to divert to a different route. Plus you’ll see in summer there’s a real treat waiting for you
Difficulty: Flat & all on good ‘all weather’ paths
Parking: Free car park at Foxfield. It’s not the easiest to find, although there are brown directional signs in Grange Park. The postcode is NN4 5BE. ‘What 3 Words’ is skips.tunnel.copper
Public toilets: At the Pavilion when open
Map of the route:
Foxfield Country Park is simply a lovely space & sits on the edge of Grange Park Housing Estate so it actually feels you’re in the countryside. Whether you’re a dog walker, adult with kids, a fitness buff, have accessibility / disability needs, sportsman, wild flower lover, or just want a short stroll, then you’ll find something here for you
And a full lap will take you just under one hour, but you can do it again exploring some other paths, or just go off piste. Plus the centre has a pop up cafe, that in summer doubles up as a wine bar
Yes, if the wind’s in the wrong direction, you’ll get noise from the nearby M1, but it’s not really a distraction. Also in the summer the wild flower beds are wonderful & people come from miles around to see them
Shall we go & have a look…
Let’s Walk!
1. Our walk starts just outside the small car park (spaces for around 45 cars) near the pavilion…
Check the opening times of the pavilion if you’re looking for a coffee. Facing the gate turn left & walk along the path
2. Paths of this kind are easy to follow & this walk is a mixture of open meadow & wooded shade
To the right you can see part of the huge open spaces of the park. Here are football & cricket pitches
3. Shortly the path arrives at a junction. To the left’s another smaller entrance into the park…
Our route is to the right…
4. The park also has a selection of exercise equipment, all of which is in good condition & has full instructions as to how to use
And suitably pumped up…someone’s keen to get going again!
5. Pass through the gap in the trees…
…to enter another large area
6. When I did this walk in mid November it was a vast green space but….come here in summer & you’ll be in for an amazing treat…
And I guarantee you won’t be the only people there, but there are many large beds so there’s room for everyone
7. At the next junction you’ll arrive at a long wooden bridge. If you wish to take a shorter option then cross it & turn right at the next junction to return to the car park
Why is there a bridge here?? Because in winter this area is a big pond!
8. To continue the original walk turn left & the path now starts to climb gradually…
As you get to the top of the rise turn round to look at the views back down the park. The track now bends right & enters a woodland area again
This is a particularly beautiful little area & looks even better with the clever meandering of the path
9. As you come out of the trees, look to your right to see a gap…
This is a public footpath that heads out towards the motorway & then Courteenhall
10. Our route though bends right & then keeps straight ahead…
Ignore the path going off to the right…this will take you back to the bridge you saw earlier
11. Now it’s a case of keep straight ahead all the way back to the car park with the hope that the Pavilion will be open for that cup of tea or coffee…
So that’s it…short…sweet…accessible for all…all weather…family friendly…& in summer…just a riot of wild flowers which will make you want to stay longer
What’s not to love
Go Walk!