Hunters Hall Inn, Kingscote. Permission has been given to park. Please patronise the inn before or after the walk.
Travel Info
Car park at rear of inn.
Navigation
Start point from the car park to the rear of Hunters Hall Inn, where permission has been given to park. Take the east exit from the car park, cross Newington Lane and go through the gate opposite. Turn right, following the field boundary and look out for the way marker on the right. Follow a rough track to the next field gate. Walk across the field to meet a more defined farm track. (Looking right across this shallow valley, it is recorded, was the site of a Roman settlement & staging post known as the ‘Chessells’).
Follow the track and go through a metal gate. Here bear left and follow the lower contour of the field to the corner of the fence line and go through the gate. The path then goes straight ahead into an open valley known as Hay Bottom. Continue along the valley 1 until you see a farm house to your left and exit the pasture via a wide field gate. Head for the tarmac road and set off uphill. At the summit, shortly after crossing a cattle grid and where the road bears left, 2 look for a way marker on your right by a field gate. Go through the gate and, keeping the stone wall on your left, walk on a high level plateau with views to your right across the valley and beyond.
Keep the stone wall on your left to reach a motte that dates back to the Norman era 3. The motte was possibly a military lookout post. It has also been associated with sheep husbandry. Continue ahead with the stone wall on your left to reach Lasborough Lane and turn right following the road which leads to St. Mary’s church, Lasborough. Just below lies the 17th cent. Lasborough Manor house 4.
Continue down the road until an open field is reached. Bear right at this point and ascend the slope towards a fenced coppice area. Take a moment to note Lasborough Park on your left. Continue past the coppice area to go through a field gate, and head towards a well defined Norman motte. The bailey, or fortified structure, would have been at its centre probably of timber construction 5.
Keeping the motte on your right bear right and head for the field corner and a gate. Continue through the gate and turn left to walk up the lane for approx. 100 metres, noting Newington Bagpath’s abandoned church on your left. Leave the road to follow a stone wall on your right until you reach a way marker on your right, directing you through another metal gate, here enter a wooded area. Follow the well defined path, gradually dropping through the wood to a wooden gate and emerging into Hay Bottom once again. 6 From this point retrace your outbound route to Hunters Hall Inn for some well earned refreshment.
Info
Difficulty
Easy
Length may vary, but the terrain is mainly flat
Moderate
Includes some hills and some rough ground
Strenuous
May be rough underfoot and ascents and descents may be steep
Info Suitability
Mobility scooter
These routes are more likely to be suitable for standard mobility scooters (not all-terrain models). They may feature flatter or smoother terrain.
Pushchair friendly
These routes are more likely to be suitable for prams or pushchairs. They may feature flatter or smoother terrain.
Stile free
These routes do not have stiles. Please note that they may have kissing gates or footbridges, and/or steep, narrow or muddy sections.
Trampers
These routes are more likely to be suitable for all-terrain mobility scooters. Please ensure you have plenty of battery and are well prepared for any routes.
Wheelchair friendly
These routes are more likely to be suitable for standard wheelchairs (not all-terrain models). They may feature flatter or smoother terrain.
