[1] From the village duck pond walk west (away from the church) along the main street to a right turn into Seckington Lane, signed to Seckington, 3/4 Mile. Follow the small lane all the way to Seckington. At the end of the lane cross straight over the main road, go into the village and almost immediately turn right, uphill with cottages on your right, to a footpath starting through an arch in a high hedge. Follow the path up to a small road and turn right back to the main road. Turn left to a T Junction with the B4593 and left to a layby.
(A) Seckington has avoided any modern expansion and remains an atmospheric hamlet with some interesting buildings. The ancient church, which has recently been restored at much expense, is normally open on Saturdays between 10am and 5pm. The 30 foot high Motte & Bailey castle was built soon after the Norman conquest in the late 11th Century. It was here, in AD 757, that Ethelbald, the King of Mercia, was murdered. Ethelbald was king for 41 years, which was an unusually long time, especially in such a violent era. Mercia became the dominant Saxon kingdom during his mainly successful reign.
His star began to wane after a terrible defeat in battle against Wessex near the Cotswold town of Burford, after which he retreated to Seckington. His ruthless Thanes, convinced his best days were behind him, arranged for his bodyguards to sneak in and stab him during the night. He is buried a few miles to the north in Repton, Derbyshire. He was succeeded by Beornred, who may well have been responsible for the murder. He was forced to flee within a year, and was followed by one of Mercia's greatest kings, Offa, who is remembered now for his spectacular Dyke along the welsh border.
[2] Follow the road for 20 yards past the layby and go through a kissing gate in the left hedge. Go straight ahead, keeping the castle to your right, to a gate in the far left corner by the church. Go ahead down the drive and turn left round the edge of the churchyard to a waymarked path on the right almost opposite steps coming down from the church. Go down the path and turn right in front of the first barn to double metal gates. Go through them, and pass through two smaller gates just to your left that lead to a track surfaced with narrow concrete slabs.
Go down the track and cross a stile by a gate at the bottom. Go half right across the next field to a kissing gate in the opposite hedge, under a tree. Continue half right up the next field to the right side of a barn. Go through the gate attached to the barn and go half left across the next field, aiming just right of houses on the skyline. In the next field go downhill to a footbridge, then uphill towards the rightmost house, with lovely views of Seckington and beyond opening up behind you. Cross the road and follow the grassy track opposite. Go through a kissing gate at the end and immediately left through a hedge gap. Cross the corner of the field to another kissing gate opposite. Go through it, and a second gate just beyond, to arrive at the end of a cul-de-sac. Follow this ahead to the main road in Shuttington.
(B) Shuttington sits high on a hill on the side of the valley of the River Anker to the south. There are good views of Alvecote Pools down below. These were accidentally created by mining subsidence and are now a nature reserve and SSSI. There is a village shop to your left as you arrive and the Wolferstan Arms to your right has a nice outdoor seating area with views over the pools. The tiny 12th Century church is built with a nice orange grey stone and has an interesting west door, said to have been brought from nearby Alvecote Priory after it was demolished. In the churchyard is the grave of Thomas Spooner, once the fattest man in England, who weighed in at 40 stone 9lbs. (260 kg). Thomas was unable to walk, and had to go everywhere in a pony and trap. It is said his bulk once saved his life after he was stabbed in an argument. The knife failed to get through all the fat to reach his internal organs.
[3] Cross the main road and go along Church Lane, almost opposite. Pass left of the church to a gate in the far left corner of the churchyard and follow an enclosed path to a drive. Take another enclosed path to the right, immediately beyond the large steel gates on the right. Arrive at another gate, with great views ahead, and turn left to another gate, beyond which another enclosed path soon leads to an open field. Keep ahead, following the left edge of two more fields down to a road. Go right for 20 yards and through a kissing gate on the left. Go ahead with the hedge on your left for two fields. Go over a plank bridge in the corner of the second field to emerge in a much larger field. Go slightly right ahead across this field, aiming for a solitary oak tree with a waymark post by it, then aim for a track at the left end of some woods ahead. Follow the track ahead to cross a bridge over the M42. Look left here and you will see the large M42 bridge on the skyline which you will be crossing later.
(C) Amongst the barns in the farm you are about to pass on your your right are the ruins of the grade II listed 18th Century Bramcote Hall, which would presumably cost quite a lot to restore. There has been a hall on the site since Saxon times, and a famous occupant of an earlier building was Ralph Hollinshed, who whilst working as a steward here, wrote the famous Hollinshed Chronicles, an important history of medieval Britain, which Shakespeare based many of his history plays on.
Follow the track, which is a bridleway, as it swings left and right, ignore a track going left, waymarked as a footpath, and pass Bramcote Hall and its farm on your right. Continue to a T junction and turn left on the main track which leads to the road at a bend on the edge of Warton.
The village of Warton is to the right. There are three pubs, a shop and a bus stop should you require them.
[4] Turn right towards the village and soon take an enclosed path on the left, immediately beyond house number 86. A gate at the bottom leads out into a field corner. Go ahead following the hedge on your left until it swings sharp left. Continue ahead across the field to a waymark post that is by a concrete slab over a ditch. Go half left to another waymarker by a second, slightly larger, concrete slab over a second ditch. Turn right and look carefully for a gate in the hedge opposite. (It is often quite overgrown.) Go through it and across the next field to another gate. Follow the left edge of the next field to a gate half way along. Go through and turn sharp right to another gate in the field corner. Continue in the same direction along the right edge of two more fields. In the next field, go right of the hedge ahead and continue in the same direction along a narrow field with an intermittent hedge to the left and a solid one to the right. Go through a kissing gate at the end and continue down an enclosed path to the road.
Turn right, and take a path on the left, just before the right bend. Keep to the left edge of the field, with a plantation of young trees to the right. Go through a wooden kissing gate in the far corner and follow the right edge of the next field. Go ahead for about 25 yards in the next field then fork right, past the left edge of a pond, up to a gate into the churchyard. Follow the main path past the right side of the church to a road and go ahead to the Bird In Hand pub and village cross.
(D) Austrey is another large village with a fine dark church. The thatched Bird In Hand pub is a lovely sight, with a lovely octagonal 15th Century village cross in front of it. The cross at the top of the steps is a 19th Century restoration put there to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, but the steps are original. There is a shop around the corner should you wish to stock up on supplies, or ice cream.
[5] Turn left along the main road through the village. Immediately after Kirtland Close on the right, and before the old red post box in the wall, turn right up a short drive to a kissing gate. Go through and immediately turn left to some old iron gates in front of a chapel. Take the kissing gate on the right and immediately turn left following the left edge of three fields, parallel to the buildings on the main street to your left.
At the end of the third field it looks like you ought to be able to go through a large rusty field gate onto a track, but this gate is normally locked, and if you look carefully in the little paddock just to the left you will see the correct route through a slightly overgrown kissing gate leading onto the track.
Turn right following the track uphill between hedges for half a mile. (This is a good area for birdsong and butterflies in summer.) At the top there is a T junction with a sign for a permissive road to the right. (The map shows a track going straight on, but it is no longer there on the ground.) Turn left on a good track towards the large steel communications tower. You are now following the county boundary, with Warwickshire to your left and Leicestershire to your right.
On reaching a white house continue ahead down the drive to the road. Turn right, then left on another track immediately before the communications tower. Note the old concrete county boundary post on the left by this junction.
(E) The track ahead is called Salt Street, as it was on a medieval packhorse route taking salt from Droitwich to the eastern counties. It follows the county boundary along a high ridge that was severed by the building of the M42 in 1985. The route crosses a huge bridge over the motorway cutting, which is a memorable landmark for regular users of the motorway. Although the M42 is quite noisy and ugly, it is smaller than other motorways and there are fine views over both counties from the bridge.
Follow the track as it goes over the M42 . Soon after, look for a cross path. The path on the right is obvious, with a gate, but take the less obvious path on the left through a small hedge gap which does have a waymark post.
(F) Just ahead along Salt Street, off the route, is No Man's Heath, the most northerly village in Warwickshire. At one point, the counties of Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire all met here. The open heath land was under the control of none of the counties and was a good place for squatters. In the days when the precursors to the modern police force only had power in their own counties, this was also a good spot for illegal activities such a cock fighting, bare fist fighting or gambling on Sundays. If the police came along you could just pop over into another county! The old Four Counties Inn there is now an Indian restaurant.
Follow the path half right going downhill, aiming for two tall masts on the distant skyline. On reaching a road at the bottom turn left for 20 yards then right on another path. Go ahead across the field, then half left across the next field to the rightmost of three trees where you cross a ditch onto a track. (The ditch could do with a small bridge and a waymark. If you find it too steep, flooded or overgrown, go to the right corner of the field where the track goes through a gap and swings left.)
Go left along the track to the field corner where it swings right and continues ahead to Newton Regis village hall. Go ahead down the road to the main street through the village.