Day 6 Brampton Ash to Maidwell

Brampton Ash to Maidwell

12 Miles

When I looked out of the window there was some blue stuff in the sky. It may only have been enough to patch a sailor’s trousers (why do they say that?) but it was a sign of better things. So much better in fact that I spent the day unrestricted by fleeces and weather-resistant (but not Rapeseed resistant) Goretex sporting just a short-sleeved shirt.

I had planned this day to be slightly shorter in case I needed to play catch-up. Having kept to schedule I was able to take a leisurely stroll through the northern part of Northamptonshire and enjoy the spring day.

Anyone who walks regularly in the countryside will know that some farmers are good with their footpaths, some do the bare minimum and others; well you couldn’t make it up. This particular comedian had used an old gate, complete with “

Macmillan Way

” marker to replace another gate leading only to a dead end. This resulted in me having to retrace my steps. I suspect that he must have split his sides every time that he saw an unsuspecting walker lift the latch. There was no other marker in sight. The trusty map and compass was put to good use and I was quickly on my way across the fields and even managed to end up in the correct place.

The correct place was a bridge over a disused railway line. This line is now a part of the

Brampton Valley Way

, a 14 mile conservation trail that connects Market Harborough with Northampton. The

Macmillan Way

shares this track for nearly five miles and provides very easy walking.

There were two interesting interludes during this section of the walk. The old railway passes through two tunnels and they are long and dark. The first is the 450 yard Oxendon Tunnel that starts only a hundred yards or so from where I joined the track. The end of the tunnel is visible but after only a few steps everything else goes black. The sound of my footsteps tells me whether or not I have stepped into one of the many puddles. As my eyes became more accustomed to the dark I was able to make out that the shiny black was puddle and the matt black was tunnel. I must admit that it was a little unnerving.

Two miles later and I encountered the 530 yard Kelmarsh Tunnel where I was able to draw on my vast experience of tunnel walking and sashayed through the blackness towards the beckoning light.