The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 2.32 miles (3.74 km)
Time to walk: We walked the Reservoir Circuit which took just over an hour
Difficulty: Flat & all on hard surfaces
Parking: Pay & Display. £2 all day charge Public toilets: Near the cafe at the start
Map of the route:
As well as my route above, when you visit the park you’ll see a wonderful piece of artwork, showing all the different areas & walks, which was done by one of our group members, Nina Cashmore. Isn’t it just wonderful…
Daventry Country Park covers 160 acres & centres around the reservoir which feeds the Grand Union Canal. The Park has been awarded the Country Parks Accreditation & also holds a Green Flag Award, recognising it as being among the best green spaces in the country It’s a fabulous place &, as well as the Reservoir Walk we did, there’s several other walks, like the meadow one, plus many other areas to explore. The main path is excellent & great for pushchairs / wheelchairs etc. It’s terrific for families too with a huge play area near the car park. I can also highly recommend the bacon & egg rolls from the cafe! Let’s Walk!
1. Walk from the car park through the ‘Sensory Garden’, passing the aforementioned ‘Welcome’ sign…
The path emerges onto a hard surface which is the Reservoir Circular Walk that we’re going to follow all the way.
2. Here you’ll find the toilets & the excellent cafe…
The cafe has a seating area or there are numerous benches on the walk to just sit & watch the world go by
3. The first part of this walk crosses the dam…
…passing the bench where the bacon & egg bap was consumed! Even though you may do this walk several times, it always seems different due to the reflections & colour of the sky
4. I find this early part of the walk quite fascinating. The drop to your left is quite considerable & when you look across in that direction, the views of the surrounding countryside are far-reaching…
It’s then that you realise just how strong the dam you’re walking on must be & the sheer amount of water it’s holding back!
5. At the end of the dam the path crosses a small bridge & turns right into a wooded track, crossing the ‘overflow’ & following the shore of the reservoir…
Again, this is very easy walking & impossible to get lost. The whole walk did feel very safe & there were quite a lot of single walkers
6. Someone did mention to me that the main views of the reservoir are now over as the rest of this route is mainly through woodland. Whilst this may be the case, it’s still possible to visit the water’s edge at several points & there are still views through the trees…
This really is delightful walking &, as Nina’s illustration tells us, there are many huge, ‘veteran’ oak trees along this stretch…
…& also plenty of photo opportunities
7. Eventually the path passes a small stream & then bears right, passing an underpass leading towards the town
Ignore this & continue along the existing track, taking the right fork at the junction in the picture below
8. The next short stage of this walk crosses some marsh type land & there are several streams flowing into the reservoir which are crossed by bridges…
9. Shortly the path arrives at a junction…
The path straight ahead of you takes you through an orchard & the meadows & is well worth exploring separately. Today though, our path continues around to the right
10. After a few yards, look to the right to see the ‘Educational Ponds’…
This area is worth spending a few quiet moments in to see if anything stirs. There’s two well-built viewing platforms
11. Come back out of the area & continue along the path, crossing a long bridge over the ‘Marshes’…
…& then passing a great place for a snack
12. At the next junction, bear right…
…& continue to arrive back at the car park & play area
So that’s it, our look at the Reservoir Walk. I really loved Daventry Country Park & recommend visiting at all times of the year As well as this walk, there’s several other areas to explore such as the meadows.
Now…about that bacon & egg bap…
Go Walk!