WILL’S WALKS

Watch out for this view looking west towards Knossington.

From the church in Braunston-in-Rutland head north straight up Church Street and turn left on to High Street. After less than 100 metres take the bridleway on the right which looks like a farm track. From here it’s a long uphill walk for one kilometre on the track between two hedgerows. Eventually you will come out into a gra ing field where you turn left and walk across the field for metres to reach a T-junction with another bridleway. The views from up here are spectacular and make the uphill start worth every step. At the T-junction turn left on to another bridleway and keep heading downhill through the woods for a kilometre. It’s charming and peaceful on this track in the summer, but avoid it in the winter when the combination of rain and horse’s hooves makes it one of the muddiest routes in the area. When you reach Braunston Road at the bottom cross straight over and go through the gates and down the tree-lined avenue to the bridge over the Gwash. After the bridge head straight up the hill to find the ne t ACTIVE INFO footpath post and gateway and keep following At the west end of the the posts through a series of rolling fields. This church in Braunston there is a is a surprisingly remote area and you do cross sculpted stone which was found into eicestershire brie y on this section. when the church doorstep needed Keep following the signs and you will to be replaced. The slab was lifted gradually head in a south-westerly arc and the carving was revealed on the (ignoring any right hand turn footpaths) underside. It was not originally a past Preston Lodge to the west, and down to gargoyle as it has no drainage channel so its original purpose is not clear. meet the road by the aunde Abbey junction. On the day we did this walk the gate just before the road was locked, and it wasn’t the easiest to clamber over with two Labradors. It’s rare to find a section of footpath locked like this. When you do reach the road walk south down the road to aunde Abbey for appro imately metres and then turn left at the footpath sign to head east across the fields. You will shortly come to a layby on The Wisp (the road between Braunston and Withcote . Turn right here on to the bridleway and walk down through the dip until you reach a footpath/ bridleway crossroads. Here you have to take the sharp left hand option out into the field (not the bridleway which bears left slightly . You will now be on the footpath which heads north east to Braunston for about a mile and a half, passing though South Lodge Farm along the way. Just before you reach Braunston you will cross the Gwash again and then the path comes into the village at the back of the church and conveniently right ne t to the Blue Ball pub. All Saints Church in Braunston.

The River Gwash to the west of Braunston near the end of the walk.

START/ FINISH

WHERE TO PARK Wherever you can in Braunston near the church and the Blue Ball.

DISTANCE AND TIME Five and a half miles/two hours at least.

HIGHLIGHTS Braunston is one of the fi nest villages in Rutland and the Blue Ball is an excellent pub. The views from the high point and the rolling fi elds to the west make for great walking, along with two crossings of the Gwash.

LOWLIGHTS Best avoided in winter because of the muddy bridleway down to Braunston road.

REFRESHMENTS The Blue Ball in Braunston.

DIFFICULTY RATING Four paws. A long uphill climb to start and plenty of undulations after that – plus it’s fi ve and a half miles.

THE POOCH PERSPECTIVE It’s a good walk for the dogs but you are likely to encounter cattle and sheep along the way. The Gwash crossings come in handy for cooling off.

For your own safety and navigation make sure you have an OS map with you when you go out walking. You won’t regret it.

EDITED BY KATE MAXIM

It’s peak gardening time. But all year round physiotherapists are dealing with gardening injuries. Sarah Babbs offers advice on how to avoid becoming another statistic

ON THESE BEAUTIFUL summer’s evenings, pottering in the garden after work is an absolute joy; birds singing, the sun setting and the beautiful evening scents at their best. No wonder gardening is known to be beneficial both mentally and physically.

And yet, all year round people come to the clinic for help with their gardening injuries and, as is often the case, most of these are related to a quick step up in physical activity without the build up. You can’t expect to go from zero to 100mph in anything you do; and digging the garden is exactly the same.

We often forget that gardening can be an intense workout. Half an hour’s gardening can use as many calories as a yoga workout or a game of badminton. And of course there is heavy work involved, rather like going to the gym. Unfortunately many of us just pull on the gardening gloves and set to without considering how we may not have retained the strength and stamina from the previous year (which is often built up over the whole gardening season).

First, as with most exercise, warming up is wise. So walking around the garden, doing some stretching as you go, stepping forward and reaching up or down, deadheading the odd ower, swinging the arms, leaning side to side and twisting and turning will loosen you up ready for action. lan the gardening to include di erent activities around which you can alternate.

For instance weeding for a third of the time, which definitely take the strain. Having raised beds means less bending if that is an issue.

When carrying heavy objects, keep them close to the body, use the knees as well as a small crouch position when lifting and carry for as short a distance as possible. Using wheelbarrows or trolleys will help. Consider half filling watering cans rather than lugging full ones from the water butt to the far end of the garden. Hoses will take the strain but may not be what you want to use as they are not so environmentally friendly.

Keeping strong throughout the year is always going to be wise. Exercises such as squats (for lifting plant pots), superman (for reaching forward to weed) and planks for general strength are a great way to get and keep strong. Strengthening the arms with weights is a good idea to avoid shoulder pain when using loppers.

When you have finished in the garden, stretch out again, maybe take a hot bath which always feels good and soothes sore muscles. And remember there are plenty of ways to manage the garden so that you can sit back and enjoy it later with ice in the gin and tonic rather than on your sore knee.

digging for a third and reaching up to use loppers for the final third. Start with about minutes total time and gradually increase that as you strengthen and get fitter as the year goes by. When you have finished each activity, try stretching. My favourite after leaning forward to weed, plant or dig, is to stand with the hands placed in the small of the back. Then lean backwards over the hands, take a few deep breaths and return to upright. Do this a few times before you start your next activity.

Rest for a while (have a cup of tea) and then if you are comfortable, return for another session. You can usually judge the next morning if you have overdone it. It may be wise to set a timer to remind you to stop as often we get carried away and a couple of hours have passed without you noticing.

Using the best tools for the job makes sense. The right size spade for instance, a light one for turning the soil in prepared beds and a larger one for digging the vegetable patch. A study for the Royal Horticultural Society found that a good digging technique was to have minimal back bend and a large bend at the knee. Knees can be protected by using a kneeler cushion, especially one with handles either side from which you can push up to stand. And when moving large pots there are trolleys available