Day 4 Easton on the Hill to Oakham

Easton on the Hill to Oakham

14 Miles

I had thought that today’s leg of the walk was going to be a game of two halves. The first seven miles travelling through the gentle undulations of East Rutland, with the second part spent alongside the north shore of Rutland Water.

The Quarry

The first half was going all according to plan when all of a sudden the ground opened up and there was this huge chasm in front of me. This hole was very, very big indeed. I should have realised that the huge cement works just outside of Ketton would require feeding with raw materials, but I had not registered the full extent of what that would entail. Fortunately the cement company have provided a steel bridge across the excavations, otherwise it would have taken ages for me to walk around it.

The second half was a real delight with seven miles of pathway taking me in and out of the inlets and promontories of the north bank of Rutland Water. Birds, insects, squirrels and rabbits could be seen going about their daily activities. A few yacht sails were visible on the water, and there were many boats occupied by anglers trying to tempt the resident trout into mistaking their flies for the genuine article.

I was able to walk at a steady pace along the well-kept path. This meant that I would be well up with my schedule for the day. This enabled me to take advantage of the many seats spread along the path for the benefit of walkers and I spent some time sitting on several of them while contemplating the scenery.

The very mention of Oakham sent me back to my childhood. To a boy during the 1960’s the name Oakham had a mystical significance. It was the name on the signal box of his train set. Hornby and Airfix both used the design of the Oakham signal box for their models. So you can understand that I had to take a slight deviation from the Macmillan Way in order to see the real thing.

There it was carefully preserved and just as I remembered it from all of those years ago. Same shape, same colours and same nameplate, “Oakham”.

Oakham Signal Box