Footpath Walks Round Loughborough - "Holywell and Longcliffe Woods"

I returned to my book “Footpath Walks Round Loughborough” today; the walk I attempted today was No 3 in the book ‘ Holywell and Longcliffe Woods.

This walk has changed immeasurably in 70 years as you will see, and its quite an interesting insight into the development of Loughborough.

My companion from 70 years ago begins his description thus; This is a delightful stroll for a summer’s afternoon. The walk is full of charm and under the trees by the brookside are spots ideally suited for the opening of the picnic basket.

I start my walk by finding an hours free parking on a side street. This will of course limit how far I can get and I will need to try to complete this walk in stages as a result.

The start from the town is made along the Ashby Road, past the Roman Catholic church and the spacious playing fields of Loughborough College – one of the finest situations for sport in the country. Inside the imposing entrance gates of Rutland Hall and Hazlerigg Hall, the most modern of the College residential hostels stands a curious looking engine, constructed in 1850 by James Watt for the South London Water Works, and presented to the College. Between the hostel buildings and the road is the running track and stadium, the first in the country to be constructed by an educational institute.

I walk along Ashby Road starting at the Roman Catholic Church as a familiar landmark. There is now a lovely mural of a girl and a slice of orange on the building next to the church. The colours complement those of the church. I don’t see any spacious playing fields at all. I suppose these have either been built on or could possibly now be out of sight. I do have to cross Epinal Way to continue along Ashby Road. I remember when Epinal Way was built and it tore through the allotments that were next to my school playing field. I wonder if the playing fields met the same fate. Ashby Road is thunderously busy and entirely unpleasant to walk along, I certainly long for the “full of charm” walk that my predecessor encountered. There are some lovely Victorian properties along the walk though and many have some finely decorated plaques. Ive included a selection here:

After Epinal Way I choose a public footpath that runs along the edge of the campus rather than take the direct roadside pavement. This footpath by chance take me to the “imposing entrance gates” that are mentioned in the book, and from there I can also see what I take to be James Watts ‘curious looking engine’. I can’t get closer for a better photograph as I have my dog with me and she isn’t allowed on campus.

After this I continue along Ashby Road. I can’t see a running track or stadium though these could be behind the trees that line the view between the road and the university.

Another residential hall to be called Martin Hall, after Sir Robert Martin is to be built to complete a handsome trio of hostels.

Again I cannot identify any of the buildings from the roadside, so I continue along Ashby Road.

At the foot of the slope we cross the Burleigh Brook, and pass the entrance to Burleigh Hall, perched in a commanding position on the hilltop. This residence dates back several centuries and during the Civil War was fortified by Lord Hastings and held for the Royalist cause. For some years it was without a tenant, and the estate coming under the hammer in 1918, the lands were divided and the Hall purchased as a residence for the farmer. Then the two fine avenues of trees which gave picturesqueness to the hill-top were felled.

The brook now runs alongside the Ashby Road for a way and then runs under it and off away from the university. Cars and large lorries are thundering along the road the entire time and I feel far too close to the traffic most of the time as the pathway is quite narrow especially by the brook. I find what I think is the entrance to Burleigh Hall though it is quite a modest affair for a grand house. However it is equally out of place in a university! The Hall itself has tragically long been demolished as have most of the genuinely historic buildings of Loughborough. It is sad to think that in our very recent past such decisions of cultural vandalism were undertaken. The buildings that have been thrown up in its place are genuinely uninspiring, ugly affairs and are not an improvement.

A few yards beyond the entrance gate, at the bend of the road, a stile is to be found in the corner of a small coppice. The path crosses and recrosses the stream, passing through pleasant meadows flanked by willows and overhanging trees. To the left front is a charming vista of the well wooded slopes of Longcliffe.

I think I walked as far as where the stile may have been, though it is of course, very difficult to ascertain. If I’m right it is where the large industrial, rusting metal, tormented, sporting sculptures are now and this is the point where I have to call it a day and retrace my steps as my parking will run out.