The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: Roughly 2 miles (3.22 km)
Time to walk: Round about 1 hour with stops to admire the views across the hills
Difficulty: Easy with a mixture of surfaces
Parking: On road in Long Buckby
Public toilets: n/a
Map of the route:
This “Walk from my Doorstep” around beautiful Long Buckby, in the west of Northamptonshire, has been submitted by our twitter follower @RebeccaThomas6
Long Buckby has a history going back approximately 1,200 years to the Vikings, when all of northern, central & eastern England came under the ‘Danelaw’. The mound of a castle built by Sahir de Quincy in the 12th century can still be seen today. The village name is of Nordic origin, with ‘by’ meaning settlement or village while ‘Buck’ is derived from ‘Bec’ (pronounced ‘becker’ in old Norse) for ‘stream’ or ‘brook’
The village once had a thriving shoemaking industry, but is now mainly a residential village. The English comedian, Stanley Unwin moved to Long Buckby in 1940 when he got a job with the BBC at the nearby Borough Hill transmitting station. He stayed as a resident until his death in 2002
The village railway station was the final stop on the rail journey to Althorp following the funeral of Princess Diana
Let’s Walk with Rebecca!
1. My favourite walk in/around the village (Long Buckby) is behind the church, across the fields & swinging back round towards the village from Mill Park reserve
2. The walk starts behind the church, passing through the gate & striding out across the fields…
…crossing the stream down in the dip. Don’t you just love gates with views that say “Come on let’s go & explore!”
3. The route continues across the field of ridge & furrow. Ridge & furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges & troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open field system. It’s also known as rig (or rigg) & furrow, mostly in the North East of England & Scotland
The earliest examples date to the immediate post-Roman period & the system was used until the 17th century in some areas, as long as the open field system survived
Ridge & furrow topography was a result of ploughing with non-reversible ploughs on the same strip of land each year. It’s visible on land that was ploughed in the Middle Ages, but which has not been ploughed since then. No actively ploughed ridge & furrow survives
The ridges or lands became units in landholding, in assessing the work of the ploughman & in reaping in autumn
4. Pass into the next field which is usually full of crops… Looking back, there’s a great view towards the village
5. Continue past the old barn that would be amazing converted into a house as it has such spectacular views…
6. Cross over the stile next to the barn at the brow of the hill, & then continue down it, checking out the fairy rings along the way. Isn’t that another wonderful view!
7. Walk down the field to the stream at the bottom, passing through the gate on the left…
…& then up the hill, along the bridleway which is easy to follow
8. If you wanted a longer walk, here is where you can branch off to the right towards Watford
However today, we keep following the babbling stream
9. Here is where we leave the bridleway and turn left into Mill Park…
There are lots of paths through the pocket park, past ponds or along the stream
10. On this walk, continue through the wooded area filled with wild garlic & bluebells…
…leading out onto the road to Murcott, turning left & heading up the hill
11. Finally walk past the Old Kings Head, the perfect stopping point for refreshments on a Sunday afternoon or a warm summer evening when allowed!
This is where I veer off to the right through the lanes to head home, but continue back along this road & turn left into church street to return to the church
So that’s my little “Walk from my Doorstep” & I hope I’ve inspired you to visit lovely Long Buckby
Go Walk!