Walking Forum
Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Rest of England => Topic started by: Mel on 19:34:57, 28/06/18
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Hi all
The past couple of months have seen me concentrating on bagging my latest new County - Rutland.
The drive down was pleasant enough (no motorways apart from a short spell on the M180) and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I can get there. I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely the area is. How green and lush. And, how hilly it is, gentle, undulating hills and valleys not dissimilar to the lower Yorkshire Wolds, which surprised me. Very rural, in an agricultural/farming sort of way rather than a wild and woolly uplands sort of way. The villages are made up of lovely honey coloured stone cottages and houses, some with thatched roofs and I'm thinking you'd need a bob or two to buy a property there.
I concentrated my efforts around Rutland Water with a 7 mile walk on the Hambleton Peninsular, a short 2.3 mile walk starting from Wing and a slightly not-as-I-intended 7 mile walk from Empingham to Whitwell.
I camped both times and used the same site - Wing Hall. I'd stay here again, particularly Sunday to mid-week during term time purely because it was so quiet and about as near to wild-camping as I'll ever get seeing as I was the only tent in the non-EHU field!
The weather was fantastic too, if a little too hot at times, both for camping (no packing away a soggy tent) and the walks (no squelching through soggy mud).
Apart from the typical touristy areas (Rutland Water) and villages, I never met another person on my walks.
I'm all for a bit of mountainous gnarl every now and again but there is a kind of peaceful tranquility about these undulating rural landscapes that just soothes the soul, particularly at this time of year and really does show off our "Green And Pleasant Land" to perfection.
If you want to have a read of my County Bagging adventure(s) then here's a link to my fairly disorganised bloggy wotsit:
County Bagging - Rutland (https://snailspacewalks.blogspot.com/2018/05/county-bagging-rutland.html)
Thanks for looking
Mel :)
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Enjoyed your TR and photos Mel :) Nice to see the wild flowers. And I very much agree that gentle countryside can offer pleasant walking.
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Thanks for this Mel. I love that area. I have done a number of miles around there.It is a shame that many of the pubs and shops seem to be struggling in what is quite an affluent area.
Rutland Water is a fantastic playground isn't it?
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Class Mel. I love that you have that little tent, it looks awesome. Nice foties and write up too. O0 O0
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Looks a great place, but is that your tent? U must get paid too much :P
Think the tall blue spike (s) were bugle.
One u had as pansy looks like henbit dead nettle? One of that family. Deep purple job lloks like either dusky cranesbill or the garden plant, aqualigia. Or however u spell it.................. :-\
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Nice pics Mel O0
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Enjoyed the TR and pictures, Mel. O0 I don't know that area at all, it looks really lovely and lush - especially with all wildflowers and the blossom on the trees. :)
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Enjoyed your TR and photos Mel :) Nice to see the wild flowers. And I very much agree that gentle countryside can offer pleasant walking.
Cheers Dovegirl. The wild flowers were out in force on my first trip (May), less so last weekend.
Thanks for this Mel. I love that area. I have done a number of miles around there.It is a shame that many of the pubs and shops seem to be struggling in what is quite an affluent area.
Rutland Water is a fantastic playground isn't it?
You're welcome jimbob. Considering it's a man-made reservoir, Anglian Water have done a grand job of making it accessible to all with a wide variety of activities and wildlife habitats.
Class Mel. I love that you have that little tent, it looks awesome. Nice foties and write up too. O0 O0
Hey! It's not so little! It's about the size of a hatchback car. Got all my creature-comforts in there too.
Looks a great place, but is that your tent? U must get paid too much :P
Think the tall blue spike (s) were bugle.
One u had as pansy looks like henbit dead nettle? One of that family. Deep purple job lloks like either dusky cranesbill or the garden plant, aqualigia. Or however u spell it.................. :-\
Cheers for the plant IDs pleb, I was struggling with some of them. ... And my tent didn't cost that much, what with end of season sales, money off vouchers and emergency services discount.
Nice pics Mel O0
Cheers beefy. The camera's getting on a bit so I'm always pleased when they turn out "not bad".
Enjoyed the TR and pictures, Mel. O0 I don't know that area at all, it looks really lovely and lush - especially with all wildflowers and the blossom on the trees. :)
Cheers adalard. I think Spring/early Summer is probably the best time to visit. I was pretty lucky with the weather both times too.
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Odd to see my back garden on a trip report. This is a very quiet area for a walk especially where I live. Dog is not up to our big walks now, we used to do 20 to 30 miles on one go. I went out for a meagre 15 yesterday after walking dog and saw no one at all.
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Your actual back garden? :o
Only 15 miles? That's practically the width of Rutland isn't it :D
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Lovely pics Mel...and the tent looks great! O0
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Enjoyed that and your second trip report too O0
That tent is a palace :)
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Great report. Went to Rutland water years ago for the water birds but the highlight was my first and only singing nightingale - stupendous.
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Lovely pics Mel...and the tent looks great! O0
Cheers sunnydale. The tent's certainly a cheaper way of getting lots of little holidays in :)
Enjoyed that and your second trip report too O0
That tent is a palace :)
Cheers April. At 7.5kg, it'd be no good for a wildcamp though ;D
Great report. Went to Rutland water years ago for the water birds but the highlight was my first and only singing nightingale - stupendous.
Cheers Jac. I love spotting all the wildlife and flowers on a walk. What a treat to spot (and hear) that nightingale though O0
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Cheers April. At 7.5kg, it'd be no good for a wildcamp though ;D
I don't mind Beefy carrying it :D
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Cheers sunnydale. The tent's certainly a cheaper way of getting lots of little holidays in :)
I'm off to Church Stretton in a couple of weeks with friends and will be camping myself! :o Using my daughters tent, which I've thoroughly tested for leaks! lol
Hoping the weather doesn't break before we go!
Doing Ragleth Hill/Caer Caradoc on the first day, then the Long Mynd the day after.
Never been to that area before so looking forward to walking somewhere new O0
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Great photos Mel. Reminds me to stop off more often when we pass through from Suffolk visiting our son in Nottingham. Let me know when you plan on “bagging” Suffolk 😀
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I don't mind Beefy carrying it :D
;D
I'm off to Church Stretton in a couple of weeks with friends and will be camping myself! :o Using my daughters tent, which I've thoroughly tested for leaks! lol
Hoping the weather doesn't break before we go!
Doing Ragleth Hill/Caer Caradoc on the first day, then the Long Mynd the day after.
Never been to that area before so looking forward to walking somewhere new O0
The bits I've seen of Shropshire have been lovely. Enjoy O0
Great photos Mel. Reminds me to stop off more often when we pass through from Suffolk visiting our son in Nottingham. Let me know when you plan on “bagging” Suffolk 😀
Thanks rural roamer. Yes you should - it's lovely. I'll no doubt be asking for walk ideas when I get to "bagging" Suffolk so will let you know :)