WILL’S WALKS

WILL’S WALK

Ryhall and surrounding farmland

You can really stretch your legs on this breezy walk on the attractive farmland to the north west of Ryhall. By Will Hetherington.

The memorable path between Grange Farm and The Drift.

Difficulty rating

The route

Park in Ryhall either on Mill Street or as close as you can. Walk north west along Mill Street up to the A6121 and turn left. You will see the footpath going up the side of a house on the right hand side in 50 metres. Head up here and then diagonally uphill a ross the field eyond until you meet the B1176. Cross the road to the entrance to Top Farm caravan site and follow the footpath sign on the right through the gate. al a ross the fields until you get to the a ess road for Grange Farm. Turn left here and stay on the road through the farm loo ing out for some Highland attle in a field on the right if you are lu y n e you are eyond the farm the road peters out into the fields eyond ut the path heading north west is evident. It feels incongruously remote out here, with Tolethorpe Oaks wood lending some texture to the rural idyll. Stay on the path and you will soon come to The Drift. Turn left here and then left again through the gate in the hedge opposite Heath ottage an attra ti e red ri uilding o head south west for a couple of minutes and you will enter the plantation go do nhill through the plantation earing left at the signpost halfway down. You will then reach the main farm road through Walk Farm. Keep heading south firstly up uite a steep hill and then

ACTIVE INFO on the at for metres efore you ill see the

Despite the proximity to footpath sign pointing to the left. Go through the

Stamford this entire walk gap in the hedge here and follow the path across takes place in Rutland and according to the 2011 census a series of six fields and ultimately do nhill Ryhall is the fourth biggest a into yhall en oying some fine ie s of the settlement in Rutland, after church and village ahead as you do.

Oakham, Uppingham and Ketton.

There is plenty of open country on this walk.

The paths are clearly marked.

©Crown copyright 2022 Ordnance Survey. Media 023/22 START/ FINISH

Essential information

WHERE TO PARK In Ryhall.

DISTANCE Three and half miles.

HIGHLIGHTS The wonderful rolling path between Grange Farm and The Drift with Tolethorpe Oaks wood dominating the scene. The hilltop views and the open country.

LOWLIGHTS It can be a dry and dusty route with no fresh water.

REFRESHMENTS The Green Dragon or the Millstone in Ryhall.

DIFFICULTY RATING Two paws. It’s a nice distance but can be muddy in parts during the winter and there are some undulations.

THE POOCH PERSPECTIVE You are likely to see some livestock on the way round but it’s mostly the other side of a fence. There isn’t really any fresh water on the route so be warned on a hot day.

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.

WILL’S WALK

Wansford, Yarwell & Nassington

The Nene Way and Old Sulehay Forest combine with three pretty villages to make for a serious leg stretch, as Will Hetherington discovers.

A handy ford for the dogs at Nassington.

Difficulty rating

The route

ACTIVE INFO

Start at the northern end of the splendid stone bridge in Wansford where the Nene Way footpath heads south from the road just before the bridge. Keep heading south with the river away to your left (you can head down to the river at the halfway point if you want) for the best part of a mile until you come into Yarwell. When you get into the village keep heading south on Mill Road for about 100 metres and you will come to the left turn signposted Nene Way and Nene Valley Railway. Head down here and take the right turn in less than a minute where there is a white marker on the post. Keep heading south till you come to the access road to Yarwell Mill and turn left here to walk into the holiday complex. Go past the mill on your left, turn right to cross the river and then turn right again immediately to pass the café and cross the bridge over the lock. Keep following the Nene Way signs and you will move swiftly away from Yarwell Mill. Keep the woods (and then the tributary) on your left, passing the sign to the Nene Valley Railway, and after a while you will start to arc south west towards Nassington, crossing the Nene once more along the way. When you reach the village turn right and then first left on to hur h treet hen you rea h it you can walk through the churchyard and then keep heading north on hur h treet and straight on to orthfield ane where the main road bends to the left. Just keep going and you will come to the bridleway and the ford almost as soon as you leave the village. Go under the old railway bridge and look out for the left turn in the trees very shortly afterwards. From here the path goes north west gradually uphill over a mixture of grazing and ara le fields for almost a mile efore rea hing ulehay Road. When you get to the road turn left and then follow it round to the right and 400 metres after the bend you will see the entrance on the right to the main path through Old Sulehay Nature Reserve Sulehay Woods. Take this path and keep heading east covers 210 acres and features all the ay through the oodland ith its magnifi ent a mixture of woodland, ancient oak, ash and maple trees. limestone quarries, grassland Just before you reach the end of the wood take the and wetlands. Old Sulehay footpath signposted to the left and, after a short stretch

Forest is a Site of Special in the woods, turn right when you get to the fence and

Scientific Interest (SSSI). walk down the narrow channel for 500 metres until you ome into ansford asture nature reser e ross the pasture and when you get to the road at the junction of ing s li e road and ld ei ester road turn right and al east back into Wansford alongside the road. The route goes under the dismantled railway just north of Nassington.

Essential information

WHERE TO PARK In Wansford.

DISTANCE Six and a quarter miles.

HIGHLIGHTS The old bridge at Wansford, the river Nene and Old Sulehay Forest with its magnifi cent ancient trees.

LOWLIGHTS After prolonged periods of heavy rain the Nene can occasionally fl ood making parts of this walk inaccessible, but that is quite rare and there is a detour staying on the roads between Yarwell and Nassington.

REFRESHMENTS The Paper Mills and The Haycock Hotel in Wansford.

DIFFICULTY RATING Three paws. It’s a long way but it’s pretty easy underfoot and there’s nothing steep.

THE POOCH PERSPECTIVE Good access to water in the fi rst half but you are likely to encounter some livestock.

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. START/ FINISH

The lock at Yarwell Mill.

ActiveBody

EDITED BY KATE MAXIM

And swing

Physio Sarah Babbs treats many golfers, who often don’t realise that their aches and pains are related to their sport

MANY, MANY OF my patients are golfers and I am often asked for help with injuries which may appear to be unrelated to golf. ut often find that if e dig deeper there have been niggles on the course for a while which prevent comfortable and successful play. And the good news is that often the rehabilitation for these injuries can make a positi e di eren e on e a playing nd even better news; if you don’t play golf all the relevant advice here will help you keep more mobile as well. olf has hanged for many espe ially professional golf. This started really with

Tiger Woods. Many were sceptical about his fitness regimes until his onstant inning pro ed them rong o golfers fitness and strength training is equivalent to that of many other sports. Mobility and power are equally vital. o ility or mo ement in di erent parts of the ody is important as ithout it the po er generated cannot pass through the body from the feet to the lu hi h a e ts the swing and club’s speed. The movement through the er i al spine the onne tion at the cervical spine and the thoracic spine and ri age through the lum ar spine and then around the hips are all equally important. If you ha e a sti ne and try a golf s ing you’ll notice that you can’t manage a full swing. Improve the neck rotation and the swing improves.

Many of us spend a lot more time sitting these days typing a ay at our omputers and feel sti er as e try to t ist round ust getting up and moving frequently throughout the day helps to improve this and extra stretches can improve it further. My favourite is one we call the thigh slide. To do this sit and pla e the hands on the thighs While keeping the head still and looking for ard slide the left hand for ard the right hand backwards to rotate the body and then repeat in the opposite direction. The back moves throughout giving a lovely movement and pre enting that feeling of sti ness

Shoulder mobility seems obvious but standing against a wall and lifting the arms over the head to reach the wall behind is a good guide to a reasonable range of movement. Being able to turn the arms outwards and inwards at the shoulder will help the follow through after the back swing and might prevent both hooking and slicing the ball.

Having good movement at the hip is important and being able to rotate your leg at the hip without twisting more than necessary in the spine helps with the swing. You can improve the amount of internal rotation hen the leg turns in ards ith both stretches and strength work such as the yoga pigeon stretch.

Strength will help to produce more power; hence force to the golf swing giving increased club speed and hopefully adding more distance to the shot. In so many ir umstan es transfer of for es is the most important element from the a s ing through the lu to its head onto the all and then releasing the force at the end of the swing. Important here also is balance and being able to transfer weight from the setting stance with weight balanced equally through oth feet to the transfer of eight from your lead foot with the back foot adjusted on its toe as you go through the swing.

Basic exercises to improve all of the above are those with which many will be familiar s uats lunges and deadlifts eing the most o ious hese all help ith strength of ourse ut s uats impro e mo ility lunges and single leg deadlifts improve balance. ardia fitness running al ing and cycling all help to manage the ability to get round the course without exhaustion and leaving enough energy for the 19th hole. Your physiotherapist will be able to help expand on these ideas helping ensure that golf is no longer as famously alleged a good al ruined.

To contact Sarah ring 07780 900201.