Narborough Parish Walks

Narborough and Littlethorpe are situated six miles to the south west of Leicester. The River Soar and the Railway bisect the two villages.
Narborough is a very old village. The name means “north fort” or “defended site”. It is believed that in Saxon times, the name referred to a defended house north of Croft. This may have played an important part in the running of an estate, which comprised Narborough, Huncote, Croft, Sutton, Cosby and Littethorpe. The estate probably began to break up in the 10th century and isolated farms became centralised, forming the villages we know today.
The late eighteenth century was a period of rapid building in the Parish of Narborough. Following the Act of Parliament of 1752 to enclose the medieval open fields, the landscape rapidly began to assume the appearance we see today.
Recently, many new building developments have changed the appearance of Narborough and Littlethorpe. It was the Enderby and Narborough District Plan, 1981, which allowed extra development in Narborough, and changed it into a small town.
For a fuller history of Narborough and Littlethorpe, we recommend Mr. R.P Jarrett’s book “Narborough and Littlethorpe, a Revised Parish History”.

Walk 1: 3 1/2 km (2 miles), allow 1 1/4 hours, easy walking, flat surfaced paths, only one set of steep steps.
P public car park near the Council Offices, Desford Road

From the car park use the pedestrian exit onto School Lane opposite the Robjohn Hall. Turn left and follow the lane to the church. Take the first kissing gate on your left.
A Follow this path (the Black Pad). Nb. There is a large children’s play area just before reaching the bypass). Cross the Narborough by-pass via the pedestrian crossing and continue to where the path ends at Forest Road.
B Turn right along Forest Road, then left into The Pastures. Continue past The Woodlands Unit. Turn left into Hardwicke Road, then before the Copt Oak pub turn right into Copt Oak Road. (There is another children’s play area on this corner).
C At the end of the road, take the step up onto Whistle Way and turn left along this raised path.
D At the first bridge, follow the path down to the right and on to Huncote Road. Turn left and continue to meet the main Coventry Road. Cross this into Leicester Road and back toward the village. At the roundabout go straight over to return to School Lane.

Walk 2: 3 1/2 km (2 miles), allow 1 1/4 hours, easy walking, flat surfaced paths
P public car park near the Council Offices, Desford Road

Use the pedestrian exit onto School Lane opposite the Robjohn Hall and turn right. At the mini roundabout go straight over into Coventry Road. Continue to the B4114 traffic lights and turn left.
1 Approximately 800m down the road a footpath leads left across the railway line, before turning left along a hedge, past Lodge Farm to enter Littlethorpe. The path becomes Oak Road, continue along it, crossing Sycamore Way, until it reaches Biddle Road.
2 Turn right and immediately left onto Rucklington Street. To return to the village and the start point stay on this road which becomes Station Road.