Millennium Way: Upper Boddington Loop Walking Guide

Millennium Way: Upper Boddington Loop

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Millennium Way: Upper Boddington Loop

Author: Millennium Way, Published: 14 May 2017

Walk Rating:

Northamptonshire, Upper Boddington

Walk Type: Footpaths and byways

Length: 6 miles, Difficulty:

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A 5.5 mile circular walk from the pleasant village of Upper Boddington in Northamptonshire. This gentle circular walk meanders across mostly flat farmland & open countryside before returning to the village for refreshment. The walk incorporates a section of the Millennium Way, where you will be guided by the distinctive black Millennium Way waymarkers.

The route includes only gentle gradients but can be muddy in parts. You will need to negotiate several gates and footbridges plus 8 stiles. There are several arable fields on route, but you will also come across livestock in some of the fields. Allow 2.5 hours.

The Millennium Way is a beautiful 100 mile walk in the heart of England, from Pershore in Worcestershire to Middleton Cheney in Northamptonshire. The route was created by the 41 Club as a community project, with something to offer every walker or rambler across Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. This is one of 44 circular walks, each of which incorporates a section of the Millennium Way and is published in partnership with 41 Club.

Upper Boddington is located in south-west Northamptonshire, about 12 miles north of Banbury. The walk starts from The Plough, the thatched pub in the centre of the village. There is roadside parking available. Approximate post code NN11 6DH.

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Walk Sections

Start to Welsh Road
	Start point: 52.177 lat, -1.295 long End point: 52.1978 lat, -1.3051 long
We begin our walk from The Plough at Upper Boddington. With your back to The Plough, go left down the road and turn right into Frog Lane. Go ahead round the left bend and immediately take a cycle track right, going past the Methodist Church to reach a road. Turn left on the road and, at the end of houses, pass through a gateway. After 30 paces, take the stile right where you will see the first black Millennium Way waymarker. Walk with the hedge on your right to cross the first footbridge and continue along the track to take the right field corner wooden gate. Continue with the hedge on your right to emerge into a field. Go diagonally left across the field to take a second footbridge into the next field. Walk slightly left across this field and cross a third wooden footbridge. Continue left around the edge of the next field, heading for the waymarker post in the top left corner. Go left through a hedge gap, keeping along the edge of a field with the hedge on your right. Exit the field by the corner gap and go ahead up the field valley to a gap in the trees, to find a single plank ditch bridge. Cross this plank bridge into a field and walk with a spinney (or small copse) on your left around the field edge. At the far hedge gap, go left onto a bridleway, keeping a hedge on your right. At the field end, go through the gap in the spinney and turn right to continue with the spinney on your right to exit by a corner gap ahead. Continue along the right edge of this field (with the spinney still on your right) to exit by the corner gap. Go ahead over the centre of the field to reach a mid-fence metal gate. Take this gate and turn right to pass a dew pond (on your right) then go through a small metal gate, continuing slightly left in a grassy corridor between hedges. The corridor swings right, leading down to a gate. Take the gate (with a hedge on you right) and continue down through an avenue of trees, then go through a gate and two further fields to reach the road (Welsh Road).

Welsh Road to Farm Track
	Start point: 52.1978 lat, -1.3051 long End point: 52.1983 lat, -1.2885 long
Cross the road then go ahead over the field to the left corner gate (to the right of the buildings). Go through the gate to pass in front of the barn to reach the driveway. Take the stile immediately right, then go diagonally left across the field to take the corner stile, then a second stile. Continue with the hedge and power lines on your left to take the corner gate. Take the next gate opposite and go slightly right, parallel with the power lines, to take a mid-fence gate onto a farm driveway. Turn right for 30 paces, then turn left through a gate and follow the right edge of the field, to reach a wooden bridge in the top right corner. (At this point we leave The Millennium Way.) Take the wooden bridge into the field and go left along the field edge to take a stile into the next field. Go left along the edge of the field to the corner and (in order to stay on the official footpath) turn right at the corner, staying in the same field and continuing along with a hedge and fence on your left. Exit by a large metal gate to reach a farm track.

Farm Track to End
	Start point: 52.1983 lat, -1.2885 long End point: 52.1772 lat, -1.2951 long
Go left here and then take the second large metal gate on your right into a field and continue with the hedge on your left. On reaching the next corner, do NOT go through the wooden gate, instead go right (staying in the same field) continuing with a hedge on your left for about 100 yards to take the metal gate left into the next field. Stay along the edge of the field (with a hedge on your left) and around the two sides of a square copse projecting into the field. On reaching the far field corner, ignore the gate left (target shooting area). Instead, go right for few paces to take the stile left, then a further stile to cross a wooden footbridge into a field. Go directly ahead across the centre of the field, towards the left-hand side of a large tree, to take a mid-hedge stile and footbridge into the next field. Cross this field slightly right to take another wooden footbridge and cross the next field to take a hidden footbridge in the hedge ahead. Stay directly uphill across the next field towards the ridge ahead, to find a cattle grid between two large trees. Go over the cattle grid and stay on the farm track (with a hedge on your right) then cross a second cattle grid to eventually reach a lane. Turn left on the lane to enter the village of Upper Boddington. After a short distance, turn right into London End and go to the end of the lane which brings you back to The Plough for some welcome refreshment.

Remember...the best way of following our walking guides is to use the iFootpath App (iOS and Android) where you will have all the information in the palm of your hand and see your exact location on the live map as you travel. You can also add comments, photos, ratings and track your own routes.

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network Millennium Way: Upper Boddington Loop Walking Guide Original GPX source file

1 comments for "Millennium Way: Upper Boddington Loop"

Excellent directions easy to follow. My app seems to think we walked 6.5 miles, not the 5.5 miles stared.

ADMIN RESPONSE: Glad you enjoyed the walk and found it easy to follow the directions. I don't know what app you were using to measure the distance walked, but all apps are calibrated differently. The iFootpath App is calibrated to exactly match Ordnance Survey distances (giving the 5.5 miles in this case), whilst fitness-type apps for example count steps and roughly estimate the total distance based on this (usually resulting in a longer length that would not match Ordnance Survey).

By atkinsd on 05 Jul 2018

The information in this guide has been provided in good faith and is intended only as a guide, not a statement of fact. You are advised to check the accuracy of the information provided and should not use this guide for navigational directions nor should you rely on the accuracy of the weather forecast. You are advised to take appropriate clothing, footwear, equipment and navigational materials with you according to the current and possible weather and nature of the terrain. Always follow the country code and follow any additional warnings or instructions that may be available. Some walks may be very strenuous and you are advised to seek medical advice if you have any doubts as to your capability to complete the walk.

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