[1] From the farm, turn left down Bond Lane and turn right along the Main Street. Pass under the green bridge and continue past the Swan Inn to reach Sileby Road on the left. Note the restored market cross at this junction. Turn left down the road to reach Mountsorrel Lock. Cross the bridge and turn right along the towpath with the river on your right.
(A) The River Soar is Leicestershire's major river. It rises just over the southern boundary of the county in Warwickshire and flows north through Leicester and on through the northern boundary to join the Trent in Nottinghamshire. In 1794 a 40 mile stretch north of Leicester was made navigable by building locks and weirs. It is now part of the Grand Union Canal system.
Go under the A6 and on to cross a wooden footbridge. Carry on to pass through a pedestrian gate into a large field. Immediately turn left towards a waymark in the far hedge that indicates where a gate leads onto a road.
[2] Cross over to take a path almost opposite. Go half right, passing just right of a telegraph pole, to reach two stiles in the far hedge. Cross them and cross a third one a few metres ahead in the left hand hedge. Go diagonally right across the following field then up to the far right corner of the next. Go ahead across a narrow field to a gate. Follow the right edge of the next field up to the far end then go between houses to reach Sileby Main Street. Turn right and follow it all the way through the village centre, past the parish church then downhill to the community centre, which is in a converted church.
[3] Turn left on Brook Street, pass under the railway and go on to a mini-roundabout. Take a tarmaced path straight ahead, following a stream on your right. When you reach the end of a cul-de-sac, immediately turn right on a path that goes over the stream then along a narrow alley to reach a road. Turn left to a road junction and continue along Ratcliffe Road, following it all the way out to the edge of the village. At the top of a hill, opposite house number 164 on the right, take a footpath on the left. Follow it round the edge of the field to the corner of a brick building then down to a footbridge at the bottom. Go up the right edge of three more fields to reach a tarmac drive.
[4] Now on the Leicestershire Round, which you will be following all the way back to Mountsorrel, turn right and go down to a road. Cross straight over and follow the dirt track opposite, which is known as Blackberry Lane. It descends straight ahead, then levels off as it passes some farm buildings and later becomes tarmaced as it goes up to a road by a railway bridge.
(B) The railway is the Midland Main Line, which goes from South Yorkshire, through Nottingham, Leicester and Luton and on into London Saint Pancras.
[5] Turn right over the railway and follow the road to the 30mph signs on the edge of Cossington. Turn right along Bennetts Lane and follow it to the main street through the village. Turn right to reach the war memorial, where a footpath sign points left. Look for an information board just here which gives some interesting information about the village. Go across the church car park to a kissing gate and ahead to a second gate that leads into trees. Go right and follow the path, which comes to a gate leading into Cossington Meadows Nature Reserve. Continue ahead alongside the tall right hand hedge. Keep following it as it swings left then keep ahead to a cross track. Go through a wooden kissing gate opposite and keep straight ahead with a hedge and ditch on your right until you reach the River Soar.
[6] Turn right and keep alongside the river until you reach a lock. Turn left over three footbridges that take you over the weir and lock to the opposite bank, then follow a raised concrete path with a metal handrail. When it ends, go straight ahead on a grassy path to reach a wooden gate leading into a clump of willow trees. Go ahead through a metal kissing gate then turn left to reach a stile just below the A6.
Legally, you are entitled to clamber up the bank ahead of you and cross the busy A6 to reach the path on the other side, but it is not a wise thing to do. Even if you cross the fast and busy road safely, you will have an unpleasant fight through thick undergrowth to find the path on the other side. It is best to use the described route.
[7] Turn left and follow the path, with the noisy A6 up a bank to your right, until you reach a bridge. Turn right under the A6 then immediately right along a path going back along the other side of the A6. Cross a footbridge and turn right at a T-Junction, still following the A6. The path eventually swings away from the road to reach the end of a cul-dec-sac. Turn right and follow the tarmac path through the housing estate and up to a car park. Pass the front door of the leisure centre on your right and go clockwise round the centre and ahead into another car park for the memorial hall. Go straight ahead to Mountsorrel Main Street. Cross over and go up onto The Green. Fork right up a road just before a bus shelter with an old water spout in front of it. When the road ends, go ahead on a narrow tarmac path and follow it up to a road.
(C) The bumpy grassy area on the right just here is where Mountsorrel castle once stood. It was built soon after the Norman conquest in 1080 but was destroyed in 1217. It is worth climbing up to the fire beacon and war memorial from where there is an extremely good view over the town and beyond to the area where you have been walking. The bumps in the ground are mainly from quarrying rather than castle remains.
Turn right, and when the Leicestershire Way turns left along a dirt track called Cufflins Pit Lane, carry straight on along the road ahead and follow it downhill until you reach a sharp right bend. Leave the road here and go straight ahead on a bridleway. After a second gate, the safe route through this industrial area is marked by white paint on the ground. Follow this safe route all the way through to emerge on a road. Turn right, under three large bridges, to find the start on the left.