Walk 63: Warkton & Weekley Circular: Ise spies a tea shop…

The ‘Needs to Know’

Distance: 3 miles (4.82km)

Time to walk: About 1 hour plus a bit extra for a stop at the Tea-Room

Difficulty: Mainly off road & flat easy walking

Parking: Park on road outside the church in Warkton, but be considerate as the street’s are pretty narrow

Public toilets: Jessica’s Tea Shop in Weekley

Map of the route: @Northamptonshire Teashop Walks

This was the second teashop walk we did in one day in April 2015 & again, it’s a lovely stroll between 2 beautiful villages that nestle along the River Ise & also takes in a fraction of the Boughton Estate

It’s an area we know well having lived in Kettering, albeit many years ago now. We encountered the River Ise in a previous walk many miles away near Arthingworth. It was bright & bubbly then & it’s just the same here – perfect for playing ‘Pooh Sticks’

So..ready to have a look? Then…

Let’s Walk!

1. Today’s walk starts in the beautiful village of Warkton which lies a couple of miles outside of Kettering

Park up carefully outside St Edmund’s church…

We tried to have a look inside but unfortunately it was outside the designated opening hours…

The Montagu Monuments are significant 18th century memorial sculptures in the church & are recognised worldwide, some say in the same way as the Elgin Marbles.  Here’s what they would have looked like if we could have seen them…

Anyway…maybe next time, so better get on with our walk!. Facing the church turn right & head to the junction…

Nice property ahead…

2. Turn right & follow the road round the corner…

3. You can probably spot the footpath sign in the bottom picture & that’s where we need to turn right at the entrance to Fedwells Farm

4. At the end of the alley’s a gate to head through & then turn sharp left up the rise…

5. At the top pass through the gate & follow the track, initially right & then as it swings round to the left…

6. At the end of the track look for a new gate on the left…

…& pass through & turn right along the narrow grass path…

7. After 100 yards look for the path turning right through the hedge…

…& head straight on keeping the hedge on our left & through the next gate…

8. And exactly the same direction & through the next gate…

…to finally arrive at the River Ise

The river rises in the very field where the Battle of Naseby took place at the north-western tip of the County. Flowing east past Desborough & the Eleanor cross at Geddington, it then passes Kettering, through Wicksteed Park, Barton Seagrave & Burton Latimer before joining the Nene just south of Wellingborough

9. Don’t cross the water, but turn right & head away from Kettering on the path that follows the river…

This is a nice stretch & it’s worth keeping your eyes open as we saw the flash of a Kingfisher

There’s views back across to where we started…

10. Eventually the path emerges through the bushes at a road…

Turn left & cross the Ise via the wooden bridge…

…looking for a footpath sign on the other side of the road…

11. Head through the gate – we’re now on the Boughton House Estate so behave!

12. At the end of the track climb the stile & then follow the hedge on the right across the field to the kissing gate…

13. Same again, keeping to the right across the second field towards the large tree…

…& through the next kissing gate…

14. You can’t see Boughton House from here as it’s slightly further on so here’s a print

The original house was a monastic building, but Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice to King Henry VIII, bought it in 1528 & began to convert it into a mansion. Most of the present building is the work of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu

Montagu was a former English ambassador to France &, as you can see, the chateau style rubbed off

Following the death of his grandson, George, 3rd Duke of Montagu, in 1790, the house passed, through the marriage of his daughter, Elizabeth, to Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, 5th Duke of Queensberry. It remains in the ownership of the current Duke

More recently, the house was used as the family estate of Marius in the 2012 musical film version of Les Miserables which we did queue up to audition for an “extra” part in – unsuccessfully!

15. History lesson over, look to the left to see a grass track that passes through an avenue of trees towards Weekley church – that’s where we need to go

16. On the left’s Weekley & Warkton Cricket Club – what a gorgeous little ground this is & a great place to sit & watch a game on a summer’s day…

The exit from the park is through the gate ahead…

17. On the right’s Weekley Church of Saint Mary Magdalene…

…but ahead’s a very impressive property

This was established as a home for a master & 6 unmarried male pensioners of the Boughton Estate in 1611

18. Apparently Weekley has no street names & the houses are simply numbered. There’s some lovely properties along here…

19. At the end of the street turn right & the beautiful tea shop is on the left near the main Kettering to Stamford road…

Welcome to Jessica’s Tea Shop which is set in the Old Post Office…& very nice it is too!

20. Time to head back to Warkton & finish this walk so…facing the tea shop turn left & head down the street to the side of it…

21. As the lane runs out follow the footpath down the right of the house…

22. Climb another stile & follow the right side of this field – recognise it?

It’s the first field we entered after leaving the river so at the end cross the stile & head back up the bridleway to the road (we’ve basically just done a square)

23. Pass through the gate back onto the road & turn left back up the hill into Warkton…

…taking the first lane on the right to return to our starting point outside the church

So…there we go. This is a perfect short walk for a weekend, although we combined it with another to make more of a whole day

The Ise is a lively little river &, after walking a few times near its source, it was good to see it in its latter stages

Go Walk!