The ‘Needs to Know’
PLEASE NOT: This walk crosses a very busy dual carriageway
Distance: 4 miles (6.4 km). PLEASE NOTE: It is possible to park & start this walk from the Chester House Estate
Time to walk: Normally a couple of hours, but longer if you fancy looking around Irchester Country Park or spending time at The Chester House Estate
Difficulty: A mixture of hard & gravel paths, plus some grass tracks along the River Nene so may get a bit muddy at times. Please be aware that you will have to cross the busy A45
Parking: We parked in Irchester Country Park. The Park does have a very good cafe though & it’s always nice to end with a cup of tea & a treat!
Public toilets: Irchester Country Park at the start & end & The Chester House Estate on the way
Map of the route:
So…what can we tell you about this short stroll
Irchester Country Park where this walk starts & ends & it’s worth a visit on its own – lots of trails along good paths & plenty of wildlife to spot
The walk then heads down to Victoria Mills in Wellingborough before following the river. We then cross the bridge into the Chester House Estate & cut back to Irchester
It’s a fab little stroll so…
Let’s Walk!!
1. As mentioned, this walk starts from Irchester Country Park which is well marked just south of Wellingborough between the B570 & A509
The country park is managed by Northamptonshire County Council & was created by opencast ironstone quarries which were allowed to revert to a natural landscape. The park has many trails & open grassy meadows, a children’s play area, & a café
Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is based in the country park which we’ll pass shortly
Park in the bottom car park beside the excellent Quarryman’s Rest Cafe…which has some great wood carvings around it that are made on-site…
There’s also an excellent Ranger’s Hut which has some local leaflets plus a chalk-board showing the wildlife that’s been seen in the Park recently…
2. Facing the Cafe turn left & pass by the barrier down the track with the open grassland on the right…
In the above photo you can just see a brown object that’s worth a closer look at…
Whilst not too sure what it’s about, it’s a structure with windows & inside are references to railway & mining etc.
3. Continue along the track where ahead’s a view to the outskirts of Wellingborough…
On the left’s the Park’s Railway Museum…
From the outside the Railway Museum doesn’t look much, but have a look a the link & also the Youtube clip below – it’s actually very deceptive & well worth a look…
4. At the junction take the right hand fork & follow the path …
…until reaching the wooden steps on the left
5. At the top pass between the hedge & allotment fence…
…& exit through the gate into the road…
6. Take the next turn left into Milton Road, descending down to the main Wollaston Road…
…before turning right & heading towards the bridge under the A45…
7. On the right is one of Wellingborough’s most iconic companies……it’s the world renowned Whitworths…
Whitworth Bros’ Ltd is one of the UK’S leading dried fruit, home baking & snack products company, established in 1886 by the three Whitworth brothers John, Herbert & Newton. In 1971 they were awarded the Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother & in 1974 by Queen Elizabeth II
8. The view of the factory’s more impressive from the bridge over the river…
Cross over before doubling back & turning left along the riverbank path below…
9. The next stage of this walk’s really easy as you simply have to follow the river. Those of you that know the Embankment in Wellingborough will know there’s a huge population of swans along here…
10. Carry on past the water play area, known as The Splash Park, on the left & over the stone bridge…
…where the river bends to the right past the warnings of submerged rocks…there be dangerous waters around here Jim Lad!!
11. Where the path forks keep straight ahead – basically you’re now following the river for the next few miles
As you move further out of the town, the path turns more to gravel, & passes under a footbridge before it turns into a grass track…
…before passing through a stile into the water meadow…
12. A sign tells you that you’re following a familar path…
…& it’s a very pretty stretch with lakes on the left. There must be some pretty big fish here as there were lots of overnight anglers. It’s a great wildlife area too so keep the eyes peeled…
13. After safely squirming around the geese there’s a girder bridge to negotiate…
…before passing a lock…
…& over another bridge…
14. After crossing this bridge be careful as the path appears to head straight on but, after crossing the bridge, you need to turn sharp right over the slightly hidden bridge…
…& then another one…
The river along here’s very pretty…
15. In the distance you get your first view of the train viaduct …
And now is a piece of joy! After almost 10 years there is a new bridge across the Nene which means you no longer have to do a huge diversion. So cross over & head towards the Chester House Estate…
16. Walk through the gate & head up the hill…
…passing through a further one which leads to the Estate
17. There’s now an opportunity to visit the Chester House Estate, a nationally significant site with 10,000 years of heritage
Recently opened (2022) Chester House Estate is free to enter for everyone. Local Authority backing & a £14.5m National Heritage Lottery Fund has helped develop this facility. See this link to their website for full details
18. Visit over you now have a choice. The official footpath is back through the gate into the field & then continuing up the hill & over the stile in the picture below…
At the time of writing this hasn’t been the best maintained as the path has not been used for years. The alternative is to simply walk up the long drive from the House
19. The next part of this walk comes with a massive warning, as the official footpath now crosses the busy A45. It’s on a bend with the traffic moving quickly so exercise extreme care…
Safely across, continue up the path beside the road
20. Across the fields on the right we get our first view of Irchester church which we’ll visit shortly…
Pass the rather neat allotments on the left…
…& enter the outskirts of the village…
21. On this walk you’re not going to touch the main parts of Irchester on this walk. Head up the main street towards the church…
Irchester was spelled Yranceaster in 973 & Irencestre in the Domesday Book. The name is thought to have been formed from the Old English personal name Ira or Yra with the suffix Ceaster denoting a Roman station. However, another theory is that Iren Ceastre was an Anglo-Saxon name meaning ‘iron fortress’. In the 11th century it was spelt Erncestre or Archester & had changed to Erchester by the 12th century
22. On the left’s Irchester Lawn Bowls Club
To visit the church by turning right up St Katharine’s Way…
…it’s quite a hill up here & the church is on the left…
23. St Katharine’s Church is very pretty, but unfortunately like so many these days we come across was locked
It also has some stunning Yew trees…
24. Continue up the hill passing a graveyard on the right containing ‘Commonwealth Graves’…
…& then walk straight up the narrow gap between the fences…
25. At the top turn right & maybe you’ll make a new friend…
It’s now a case of simply following the path along the railings to the gap in the hedge…
…& then turn left sticking close to the hedge on the left, before turning right to follow the track parallel to the telegraph poles…
26. After about 100 yards turn diagonally left across the well marked path back towards the boundary of Irchester Country Park…
…& re-enter it down the steps…
27. Now it’s simply a case of getting back to where you left the car but….which track do you take?
Well it’s straight ahead & turn right at the junction where you appear to be following the edge of the park…
This is a nice path!
The best advice we can give (as we were lost too!) is to keep turning right…
28. Keep following the perimeter track past the storage area including where they obviously do the carvings…
…& then next stop’s where you left the car &….it’s time for a cuppa!!
So that’s the end of our walk around the Nene area of Wellingborough. It’s such great news that the new bridge is now open & you can now visit the Chester House Estate so…
Go Walk!!
Was walking from Rushden to Wellingborough today and the footbridge on the footpath TL5/UL10 is *still* closed, the public notice “expires” on July 23rd…. 2020. No rush then…
All the horses were still there in the fields, but because there’s maintenance on the viaduct there’s only a narrow little route through under there… which all the horses decided to naturally stand in.