The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 8.5 miles (13.7km)
Time to walk: Roughly 4 hours
Difficulty: A mixture of surfaces & no stiles
Dog Friendly?: Yes
Parking: At the Village Hall in Woodnewton. Post Code PE8 5EE what3words rapid.trendy.dummy
Public toilets: Pubs in Woodnewton & Apethorpe
Map of the route:
Woodnewton in North Northamptonshire is essentially a pair of parallel streets. The village itself lies to the north of the beautiful Willow Brook
The village’s name means ‘New farm/settlement & is situated in the Forest of Cliffe, so ‘wood’ was added to signify that
Some of my old research books describe it as “a typical limestone village, unspectacular but mercifully unspoiled, as so many must have been only 20 years ago & so few are today. Eighteenth century manor & good cottages with a saddlers shop”
Check out the history of this lovely village at this link…
Thank you to 003.5 for doing the legwork on this one for me
Shall we go & explore…
Let’s Walk!
1. This Walk starts at the village hall where you’ll find a blue plaque & a ‘joyous’ brick dedicated to it’s most famous resident…the original Coco the Clown
Go on…we bet you never knew that was in Northamptonshire!
And what a story!
Nicolai Poliakoff was born in 1900 to a Jewish family in Daugavpils, Latvia which was then part of the Russian Empire. His family were poor & worked at the local theatre to supplement the money his father earned as a cobbler. When his father was conscripted to the army in the Russo-Japanese War the five year-old Nicolai started singing for food to avoid starvation
In 1908 Nicolai “ran away & joined the circus,” as the saying goes. He travelled 300 miles by train to Vitebsk, in Belorussia (today Belarus), where he persuaded a circus owner to give him a job, telling him that he was an orphan with no one to look after him. The director bought his story & placed him under the charge of Vitaly Lazarenko, a clown & acrobat who would become a major circus star in the Soviet Union after the Communist revolution.
Nicolai eventually persuaded his father to allow him to follow a circus career, & he was apprenticed for four years to Rudolfo Truzzi son of Massimiliano Truzzi, the founder of the great Russian circus dynasty of Italian descent. With Truzzi, Nicholai studied the fundamentals of acrobatics, trapeze, horse riding, & an array of circus disciplines
Russians are particularly fond of nicknames, & Nicolai was called Kokishka by Truzzi, a diminutive of “koshka” (cat in Russian), which in time became abbreviated to Koko & rendered as Coco when Nicolai arrived in the United Kingdom
In 1915 Nicolai Polakovs was enlisted in the Imperial Army. During the ensuing Civil War, he was conscripted by the Red Army, escaped, only to be conscripted again by the White Army & escaped again, disguised as a girl in a troupe of Mongolian travelling entertainers
Finally, when the political situation began to settle down, he returned to work in the circus
In 1919 Nicolai was performing in Riga, when he met Valentina Novikova whom he married in June of that year, & with whom he would have six children: Helen, Michael, Nadia, Sascha, Olga, & Tamara. He worked for the newly created Soviet state circus organisation, & travelled in the Soviet Union from one circus building to another
He also had his own circus collective, a small but lively troupe of twenty based in Lithuania & in 1929 performed at Circus Busch & appeared with the Bertram Mills Circus for many years. His clown persona had two distinctive visual features that endeared him to television audiences…his boots, described as being size 58, 7 his trick hair with hinges in the centre parting, which allowed it to lift when he was surprised. He is a member of the Clown Hall of Fame…
During the Second World War, Nicolai entertained troops as a member of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) & in 1942 Coco & Michael were engaged at the Blackpool Tower Circus, for the Easter & summer programmes.
In 1946 Bertram Mills Circus reopened & Coco returned. He appeared on tour for every summer season until the closure of the touring show in October 1964.
In 1949 Nicolai & Valentina eventually became naturalised British citizens & who would have thought but during a performance at Chelmsford, Nicolai was knocked over & injured by a vehicle driven by Kam, “the only motoring elephant in the world, “one of Mills’s four elephants
In 1959 he was involved in a serious road accident prompting him to devote himself to the promotion of road safety awareness in children. However, at the same time he continued to work in the circus in the mid-1960s, seated ringside while selling programmes dressed in his full auguste’s costume
In 1962 he was the subject of ‘This Is Your Life’ when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Olympia & in 1963 was interviewed by Roy Plomley on Desert Island Discs, which you can hear on BBC Sounds
In 1973 he returned briefly to the circus world, when he toured with the Roberts Brothers Circus who were based in Northamptonshire. Poliakoff died in Peterborough Hospital after a short illness in 1974, & was buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s Woodnewton
2. With the hall behind you turn right & head into the village…
…& turn left down Mary’s hill…
3. On arriving at the church enter the graveyard…
The church of St Mary is set on slightly high ground from the rest of the village & dates back to the 11th century, but very little of that early structure remains. Much of the building dates from the 12th & 13th centuries.
The church was restored in 1910, with a plaque inside recording that this restoration was courtesy of the Brassey family from nearby Apethorpe
4. After passing through the gate almost immediately to the right you’ll find the grave of Coco the Clown
Why not just spend a few moments just re-reading & reflecting on the life of this amazing person who made our County his home
5. Follow the path out of the graveyard, stopping to admire the church…
Head down the road ahead towards Conegar farm…
6. Turn left over the bridge over the wonderful Willow Brook…
…stop for a while & admire this beautiful place
7. Follow the well marked track…
…& just keep going keeping the hedge on your left
8. Pass through the gap & continue in the same direction…
The path now enters the wood so just keep following it…
9. The path now emerges on the edge of the wood so just follow it as in the picture below…
…&, on reaching the gate, pass through it
10. Eventually you’ll arrive at a bridge, DO NOT go over it, instead turn right through the gate passing the wooded area on your left…
On reaching the gap turn right keeping the hedgerow on your left
11. Continue in the same direction passing the big farmhouse on the left…
…& follow the road up the hill
12. Keep on this road for quite some time & just enjoy the beautiful countryside…
At the junction turn right & head towards Apethorpe
13. The name Apethorpe derives from ‘outlaying farmstead or hamlet of a man called Api’ & the manor of Apethorpe is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Patorp’ & has had various spellings over the past millennium, including Apetorp, Appetorp, Apthorp, Appethorpe & Apthorpe
Apethorpe Palace is situated at the southern edge of the village & is acknowledged to be one of the finest country houses in Great Britain. The Palace holds an important place in English history because of its ownership by, & role in, entertaining Tudor & Stuart monarchs. The Palace was the former seat of the Earl of Westmorland. It has been owned by the Baron von Pfetten since 2014
English Heritage does give guided tours on certain days each year
As you wander through the village look at the names of the houses which show the role they played in the running of the estate such as ‘Dairy Cottage’, ‘The Keeper’s House’, ‘Laundry Cottage’, & ‘The Old Post Office’
Turn right & pass The Kings Head public house…
The pub is owned by the Baron & has undergone several closures over the years so, in 2026, it’s good to see it open once more
14. The houses here are beautiful & it’s not hard to see why ‘Mr Bean’ (Rowan Atkinson) once lived in the village…
Bear left down towards St Leonard’s Church which dates mostly from the 14th or 15th century, although there may have been an earlier structure on the site. A chapel & tower were added in the 17th century & the tower was restored in the 19th century
If the church is open, have a look inside, especially at the South Chapel which was built to house the huge, canopied Mildmay monument. The effigies of Sir Anthony & his wife are surrounded by figures of Piety, Charity, Wisdom & Justice. Lady Mildmay was a great benefactress & her ghost was said to walk the Hall, scattering handfuls of silent silver pennies behind her
15. Have a look opposite the church to see the original stocks & whipping post…
A sign tells you that “Parts of these stocks probably date from around 1780. The stocks, whipping post & bench form the most complete ‘punishment’ monument in Northamptonshire. They were used for offences like minor theft & drunkenness.
Around 1910 they were moved to the present shelter which was built for them. At one time they stood in the yard of the Westmorland Arms pub (now demolished – the site is part of the churchyard)
There is a story in the village about the last person who was due to use the stocks – instead of being punished he was given a beer at the Westmorland Arms & sent home”
16. Bear left & continue along the road out of the village…
…which crosses the wonderful Willow Brook which runs through this area, rising just to the north of Corby & entering the Nene near Elton
17. Look for the bridleway on the left & follow it as it wanders through Bushrubs Wood
On exiting the wood continue straight ahead up the driveway
18. At the junction continue straight ahead into the field keeping the hedge on your left as the road bends right…
Pass into the woods & bear left
19. This walk certainly has some beautiful paths on it…
Ignore the bridge & instead go through the metal gate in the picture below to the right…
20. Suddenly everything has opened up in front of you so follow the bridleway through the middle of the field, passing a small singular tree…
At the fence pass through the gap & continue on the path
21. On reaching the picture below keep straight ahead with fence on your right…
Pass through the next gate & keep going in the same direction
22. Just after the trees take the gate to the right & head diagonally left away from the woods…
…heading to the brow of the hill
23. Through the gap in the picture below…
…& then through the metal gate on the right
24. Now walk down the track…
…& on arriving at the main track head right up the hill along the byway ignoring the many tracks going off to the left & right
25. Continue past the buildings & cross the road to continue along the path…
Pass through the metal gate & continue along this long stretch of path
26. The track eventually reaches a road. Carefully cross it & continue in the same direction…
Follow the path round to the right…
27. Continue but keep looking for a gap on the right…
There it is! Cross the stile & walk across the field to the bottom left corner
28. On arriving at the gate pass through it & walk along the field edge keeping the hedge on your left as you head towards the village in the distance…
Just keep the hedge on your left
29. Cross the bridge & continue over two fields towards the village…
Eventually the path reaches the road & when you do, bear left
30. Bear right into Main Street &, at the White Swan, take a right up the small footpath beside the car park which leads back to the village hall were we started this walk…
So that’s it….another Northamptonshire Walk where we uncover another gem…Who knew that the world famous Coco the Clown had an association with Northamptonshire & is resting in this lovely village
Wonderful!
Go Walk!