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Leicestershire Round 23 of 28

Difficulty Leisurely

Walking time 2 hours 30 minutes

Length 8.0km / 5.0mi

Route developer: Chris Dunne

Route checker: Andy Page

Start location Hercules Revived, Sutton Cheney, CV13 0AG
Route Summary Walk 23 of 28 walks which split the Leicestershire Round into circular walks. Includes a visit to the Bosworth Battlefield Centre.
*move mouse over graph to see points on route
Getting there

By car: Sutton Cheney is just west of the A447  Hinckley to Coalville Road. You will find unrestricted free parking along the main street near the pub. You could also park in Market Bosworth and join the route at Waymark [4]. Starting at the Battlefield centre is another good alternative, but it is pay & display and you should check closing times to avoid being locked in.

By bus: The 153 bus from Leicester comes to Market Bosworth. The 159 service between Hinckley and Coalville also passes through. Get off at the prominent bus shelter in the market square, walk right, past the Black Horse Inn to find the junction with Rectory road where you turn left and join the route at waypoint [4].

Description

[1] With your back to the pub, turn left along the road. In a short distance cross over and take the path through the churchyard. It goes past the church door then left of the church to a gate in the far corner. Go left down to the road.

(A) It is worth going into the beautiful old church for a look. Richard III is reputed to have said his last mass here the night before the Battle of Bosworth. There is a plaque in his memory opposite the door as you enter, which has become a bit of a shrine for those who believe Richard has been wronged by history, and many flowers, notes and postcards are left here. There are also a couple of  interesting ancient tombs in the chancel.

Cross the road onto the footpath on the far side and turn right. Continue for about 500 metres, ignoring a right turn, until the path ends at a car park on the left, just before the road plunges downhill.

Go into the car park and find a bridlegate in the bottom right corner. Go through and follow a clear path straight ahead along the right edge of a number of fields, eventually arriving at Bosworth Battlefield visitor centre.

(B) The Battle Of Bosworth, fought on the 22nd August 1485, is one of the defining battles of English History. Richard III, the last Plantagenet King, was killed here on that day and replaced by the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. The battle has been made world famous by Shakespeare's play, Richard III. The visitor centre was built here in 1974 when it was believed the battle took place just down the hill beyond the car parks, but archeologists now believe it was fought about 2 miles away to the south west. There are no plans to move to visitor centre though, which is a nice place to visit. As well as exhibitions about the battle there are toilets, a shop and tea rooms. There are often historic re-enactments , hawk displays and other entertainments on summer weekends.

[2] You now leave the Leicestershire Way for a while. Turn right down the tarmaced entrance drive and follow it down to the road. Cross over and take the path directly opposite. Go straight across the field to a gap. In the next field, go left a little, then head out diagonally left and downhill across the field to a yellow waymarker post at the left end of the opposite hedge. Continue in the same direction to a bridge in the next corner. Cross it and go right, following the right edge of three fields to a bridge on the right that leads to a road.

[3] Turn left along the road for about 1000 metres towards Market Bosworth. Go through a gate across the road, after which the road becomes suburban.

[4] Just before reaching the market square, turn right along Rectory Road. Cross the end of Cedar Drive and after another 50 metres turn right into a park. You are now back on the Leicestershire Way and will be following it, with its good waymarks, all the way back to Sutton Cheney. Follow the gravel path a short distance to a T Junction and turn right down past some wooden buildings. Just before reaching a large pool take a path to the right. Go straight over a cross path and head into the trees. Fork right after 20 metres up to a wooden kissing gate.

[5] Follow the enclosed path beyond the kissing gate for quite a distance. It passes a wood on the right, and then a pond on the right, which is known as Looking Glass Pond. Eventually, you reach a metal gate in front of you. Go through it and keep straight on through the wood and on to a gate just right of a house. Cross the drive and go straight down the left edge of the field. In the bottom corner go left and immediately right, regaining your former direction but now going uphill with the hedge on your right.

[6] There is a path junction at the next hedge gap. Your path goes straight on uphill across the middle of the field to reach a waymarker at another hedge gap. Go through and follow the left edge of the next field, with lovely views to the right. At the end of this field go sharp left to a gate at the left end of some brick buildings. Go half left across the car park to the road and turn right through Sutton Cheney village back to the start.

POI information

The Leicestershire Round is a 100 mile circular walk around the county connecting many places of historical and geographical interest. The route was devised by the Leicestershire Footpath Association to celebrate the centenary of their founding in 1887 and published in sections between 1980 and 1983.  It is Leicestershire’s main long-distance footpath and a flagship for the local rights of way network.

The way markers on the Leicestershire Round are identified by a circle of arrows on the yellow markers.

For information on the Leicestershire Round see http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/environment/countryside/walking/round.htm

 

Notes No details available.
Acknowledgements No details available.
  • Sutton Cheney Church.
    Sutton Cheney Church.
    By - Andy Page
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