Harby Parish Walks

Turn right out of the car park and then left along Nether Street; when you reach the Nags Head pub cross the road and follow Colston Lane out of the village. There is a pavement on the left which crosses over to a right verge by Garden Studios. After the old dairy site there is a short section of verge without a surfaced path Be careful of traffic.

A At the Grantham Canal bridge turn right onto the surfaced towpath.

B Continue until Bridge 43 then turn right onto Langar Lane. Go back into Harby and, opposite the garage (which is the village cafe and Post Office), turn left for the village hall

Turn left out of the car park and go past the village hall. At the war memorial go left and head along the path and driveway to St. Mary’s parish church. The church is sometimes open to look around inside. At the churchyard gates take the metal gate to your left, into the field, and then turn right.

1 After the next gate, angle diagonally left to the yellow footpath marker in the centre of the field, then angling left again, follow the path downhill to the right hand corner of the field. After the gate, cross the canal footbridge and turn right along the canal You may see numerous waterfowl on this stretch.

2 At Bridge 45 leave the towpath and go onto Canal Lane. You can divert left here for the nearby Dove Cottage Hospice cafe open most days mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Otherwise go right, over the bridge where there are picnic tables and at the road junction head straight on for about half a mile until reaching the T-junction with Stathern Lane.

3 Cross the main road and, at the bridleway sign, enter the field opposite. Walk diagonally right to where the hedge bends to follow the line of electric power poles. Pass through the hedge at the bend then, keeping the power line on your left, follow the hedge. Go through two gates and into the tree-lined bridleway. Cross the first byway, marked by red arrows on the yellow marker post.

4 At the next junction of paths take a right turn into the second byway, which then leads straight onto Green Lane.

5 On reaching Stathern Lane cross the road and, almost opposite, go up the narrow surfaced footpath of Greggs Lane. At the T-junction turn left onto 'Gas Walk' (another surfaced footpath) then right into Dickmans Lane. At the end go left into Burden Lane. At the next junction turn right into School Lane, past the village sign and primary school and back to the village hall.

Turn right out of the car park then left along Nether Street, which becomes Main Street, passing the Nags Head pub. Cross the road by the Valley Christian Centre and take the narrow footpath signposted along the right hand side of 17 Main Street (avoid the parallel private tarmac lane between thick hedges to the right).

i Behind the houses cross two stiles, then after the second, angle diagonally right, across the paddock, to the far corner, and cross a narrow footbridge. Turn right going alongside the hedge and brook until the next stile. Angle diagonally left across the next field to a stile near the furthest corner. Continue in the same direction to cross the corner of the next field – the stile is hidden in the middle of the hedge ahead.

ii Cross the next large field angling diagonally left, towards the fence and stile in front of two large trees, passing an old cattle trough.  Hose is now visible. Immediately ahead is the imposing Hose Grange Farm. Now follow the wide grassed path keeping the hedge to your right, heading for the stile in the corner of the field. Cross the next field bearing slightly left of your line of walk.

iii In the next field keep Hose Grange to your right and diverge gradually left away from the hedge. Aim for the gap between the two-storey house (with three identical white windows upstairs) and the long bungalow to the left of it.

Cross the stiles either side of the farm access track, head for the yellow-topped footpath marker post then go between the houses. Head straight on along Chapel Lane, passing the Baptist Church on your right. Follow the road round a right hand bend and then a left bend.

iv At the next road junction you will see the Hose village sign. Turn right onto the Colston Bassett road. Alternately for the Rose and Crown pub, which serves food, continue straight ahead into Bolton Lane. Continue on the road, passing on your left the community orchard, allotments and a large building (a former steel works), before reaching the Grantham Canal.

v At the canal where there is a picnic table turn right onto the canal towpath Note the medieval ridge and furrow in the first two fields on the other side of the canal. At bridge 40 pass through two metal swing gates and keep on along the towpath. On this stretch you will see Harby windmill the upper part of which was removed, when Langar airfield was built in 1940, to improve clearance for heavily laden bombers. Today the British Parachute School is based on the airfield and you may well see parachutes descending.

vi At Colston Lane bridge cross the road and continue on the towpath. When you reach Bridge 43, turn right onto Langar Lane, into Harby and back to the village hall, turning left opposite the garage, cafe and Post Office.

Turn left out of the car park and along School Lane, passing the war memorial and primary school. At the village sign turn left onto Burden Lane. Take the next turn right and go along Dickmans Lane. At the T-junction with Stathern Lane cross the road to the stile opposite. Take the footpath into the field keeping the hedge on you left.

a At the next gate (where two paths diverge) go diagonally right across the field towards the right hand stile and yellow footpath post. After the stile turn sharp right through a gateway and, in the next field, angle diagonally left towards the stile below the telegraph pole.

b Turn right onto the grassy bridleway. Upon reaching Waltham Lane cross the road and go straight on, following the obvious bridleway through the fields towards Hose, and keeping the ditch and hedge line on your left.

c Behind the Belvoir Vale tennis club take the tarmac byway left uphill. Go past the Mount Pleasant miniature pony farm on your left. Your route continues straight ahead on the stony lane (which is now a public footpath) that drops down hill towards a group of barns.

d Follow the lane until you are halfway past the barns. Turn left off the track; the footpath here twists right then left round the edge of the barns. Then follow the field-edge footpath with the hedge to your left through two fields, until a clearing which is the route of the old railway. On the right is an overgrown mound which is the remains of a bridge over the railway. The legal route of the footpath used to go this way until it was officially diverted for this leaflet.

e Go straight across the clearing and up the tree-lined bank opposite. Cross the stile then continue straight on uphill, keeping the hedge to your right, upto the right hand corner of the field and over the stile. Turn sharp left onto a bridleway (which is not obvious on the ground) with the hedge to your left and the pylon line to your right. You have a terrific view across the Vale of Belvoir and to the woods of Harby Hills upslope to your right. Following the hedge continue into the next field until the bridle gate on your left.

f Go through the bridle gate (which is between two tall posts) then angle diagonally right towards the opposite high hedge. Ignore the first stile opposite (this is a footpath that crosses the bridleway in the middle of this field) but head further to the right of this, towards the second yellow waymark post, which is next to a bridle gate. Cross the old railway bridge and follow the bridleway keeping the hedge on your right, towards the red brick house and outbuildings.

g The bridleway now goes left following the right hedge to skirt round the former farm buildings. Join the stony lane which follows the right-hand hedge through a number of fields before joining Waltham Lane. Cross the road and turn left along the grass verge downhill towards Harby.

h On the right, just after R-E-S Tractors, Animal Feeds etc. at Willow Farm, cross the footbridge and stile, and take the left hand path crossing diagonally through several paddocks to a stile in the opposite corner near the telegraph pole. Cross a small footbridge, over the bridleway, and into the field opposite. Now retracing your outward route from b through the fields into Harby, and along Dickmans Lane, Burden Lane and School Lane to the village hall.