The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 5 miles (8 km)
Time to walk: Easily done in a couple of hours. We took about 2.5 hours taking photos, but there aren’t many stopping off places on this walk
Difficulty: Lots of across fields – we did this in March 2014 when it was pretty dry
Parking: Anywhere safely in Grendon
Public toilets: Not many so suggest its a “hang on”
Map of the route:
So what can we tell you about this walk? Well… one thing we can guarantee is that if you want solitude then this is one for you.
Numerous noisy skylarks, horses, butterflies & really getting back to the fields float your boat? Plus en route we’ll visit Grendon & stunning Easton Maudit, with a fleeting glance at Castle Ashby.
There’s also great views across Northamptonshire’s stunning countryside along this walk. Again…it reminds us of how beautiful our County is
Right….enough of our thoughts…come walk & see for yourselves!
1. We parked on the road in Parson’s Close near the school & turned right into Manor Road. We immediately get a great impression of how lovely Grendon is…
The Crown Inn on the right obviously used to be a pub &, although it was sold for development, it’s great to see the old features retained
Gorgeous old property
2. Our route out of the village lies down an alleyway to the right of the above house & is well marked (as were all the paths on this walk)…
…& we’re rewarded with this great view inviting us to come through the gate & discover…
3. We’re now looking towards Castle Ashby so need to head slightly left across the field – you can see our clear path & the outline of the House in the distance…
Friendly little chap
4. We exit the first field via the double stile below…
…& take the path heading slightly right towards Castle Ashby House in the distance. It was here that we first saw a couple of buzzards being chased away by crows
The path’s really clear
Across the bridge & straight on
On the right here is one of Northamptonshire’s most well know fisheries…Castle Ashby Lakes
5. It was here again that the buzzards started following us again…
Eventually we arrive at the road & ahead of us is Castle Ashby House. We’ve already covered this on one of our early walks. The house is now a major wedding venue (David Seaman amongst many) plus the gardens are always worth a visit at any time of the year. And don’t miss the Tea Room especially if they have the homemade white onion soup on the menu!!
There was another cheeky chappie in the hedge too…
6. We need to do a bit of road walking for a short while so turn left & head up the hill…
Although it’s mid March 2014 the warm spring means everything’s already bursting into life…
7. Carry on up the hill passing the old buildings on the right (although there’s a gorgeous property in here)…
…there’s also a view of the Lake which, if you visit the House, is well worth a walk around
8. On the left now are some of the estate offices & a small business park…
…& just past that is Parkhill Livery. We made some more new friends here…
Beautiful
9. Right…enough of the Doctor Doolittle bit… we’ve still got a walk to do so let’s head to the t-junction below…
…& turn right for about 100 yards. We’ve now had enough of road walking so turn left at the fallen down marker into the field along the bridleway
10. It’s good to be back in the fields & we’re now going to follow the well marked path all the way to Easton Maudit
Cross the bridge & head up the hill
On the right here are numerous old lime trees…
11. Over the top of the hill we get our first glimpse of where we’re heading to…Easton Maudit church…
Again the path is very clear – thanks farmers
This is classic Skylark country & we can honestly say we’ve never seen or heard so many in one place. Here’s our video link uploaded to Youtube
12. At the top of the hill in the photo above we pass through the gate below & now have one more field to cross to arrive in the village…
Almost there
As we crossed this field we had the opportunity to take this view of Easton Maudit looking like a typical English village…
Really pleased with this photo
There’s our exit. You can see we’re in for a treat
13. Okay let’s have a look at beautiful Easton Maudit
It takes its name from the Maudit (or Mauduit) family who purchased the estate in 1131. In 1578 the village was acquired by Sir Christopher Yelverton & Thomas Percy was made the rector. He was a friend of Samuel Johnson, who was a frequent visitor to the Rectory
Let’s turn left & see what we can see on our way to the church…
Stunning & not a soul about
14. In front of the church behind the bush are the remains of a very old oak tree…
…but we can see it better from the other side & it’s now being well supported
The church in Easton Maudit is dedicated to St Peter & St Paul. The link gives a really good insight into the history but unfortunately like so many we’ve visited recently it was locked
15. Right…it’s time to leave this beautiful village & head back towards Grendon so we turn down the well marked path beside the church heading towards the Lebanese Cedar trees…
…& we need to pass under one of these magnificent specimens…
…& follow the track round to the right heading towards some old farm buildings
What would a walk be this spring without mums & babies…
16. On reaching the buildings we need to pass through the gate…
…& then follow the field edge until we come to a bridge…
Don’t cross this!!
There were lots of butterflies along here, but the blighters wouldn’t stay still for very long – if you’re photo’ing butterflies dusk is the best time
17. Instead of crossing the bridge we need to head diagonally left across the field towards some more old buildings in the distance. The crops were still early here so the path hadn’t formed…
…& after passing through the gap into the next field we can make out the path across the next field
We must have disturbed about 10 pairs of skylarks in this field who took to the air singing at the top of their voices
18. We can now see our target, Grendon Church from here…
& cross the bridge
The next field’s quite tricky to cross today, but we need to head to the left of the tree
19. Be careful getting the correct gate out of this field – don’t do as we did & chose the large gate that’s locked on the right!! After swearing & climbing it we soon realised there was a smaller one on the left…oops!!
No need to climb this one…you can just open it & pass through. Oooops!!
20. Now we’re going to keep the hedge on the right for the next few hundred yards…
On the right down here there’s plenty more of our 4 legged equines to make friends with…
…& then there’s another gate to pass through. Like the sign says…please make sure you close them after you as part of the country code
21. Stick to the hedge & on the right now are some lovely little Shetlands…
…& eventually on the right there’s an ‘obstacle course’ that we need to negotiate into another field…
…which we need to keep to the right hand side & exit the field into the lane
22. Just have a quick look through the window of the house on the right. You never know whoooo you might see sitting there…
Ready to stretch those hamstrings? Well you will now as we head up the lane back into Grendon…
…Grendon’s gorgeous too…
23. We’ve seen that Grendon church so many times let’s go & have a closer look…
Gotta climb that hill first!
How chocolate box is this…
24. On reaching the junction we need to cross the road to enter the churchyard but if you fancy a light refreshment turn right down the hill & visit the beautiful The Half Moon
Update November 2022: The pub have introduced a ‘Walkers’ Menu’ which is great value…
25. Right had enough of Charles Wells beer (ps the Bombardier‘s one of our favourite!!) let’s get back to that church entering the churchyard through the gate below…
This is St Mary’s Church &….yes it was locked…oh dear yet another!!
26. As we can’t have a look inside we may as well exit through the gate on the other side…
…& then turn immediately left up past the Blacksmith’s House
27. So now there’s only a couple of twists & turns up the alleyway & we’re back at where we parked up…
Well that’s the end of our walk around a fairly small area of Northamptonshire but it emphasises how great this county’s landscape is.
Like we said if you want beauty & open spaces all in one this is a great get away from it all walk that’s an easy stroll so just…..Go Walk
Good walk with directions guide and photos…..but why is the map so small?
Thank for for your feedback. I’m limited by memory on WordPress by size of pictures etc. That’s why I always use photos as a guide
Lovely walk, a bit heavy going at times due to last nights heavy rain but beautiful views and barely saw a soul. 10/10 – thank you!
Aww thanks Cari – so glad you enjoyed it
Shetlands aren’t in Grendon any more but my 3 equines are more than happy to say hello. Ginger thoroughbred, black and white cob and black mini mule who is scared of people a lot of the time.
Awww bless. That’s a lovely place to walk
This is a great walk which we did today. However it is a very different walk in summer when everything is over grown.
Point 9 – the ‘fallen down marker’ has now been replaced with one that ‘stands up’. Sorry can’t paste the photo we took !
Point 16 – the bridge cannot be seen due to the undergrowth.
Point 17 – There is no diagonal path to follow across the field so you have to follow the edge of the field but take care to spot the left turn to follow the field edge to the old farm buildings – we missed this and walked around a large field!.
Hope this is helpful