Napton on the Hill and Shuckburgh
Detailed walk map
PUB WALK
Ordnance Survey mapping © Crown copyright. AM44/10.
The Red Lion
TURN LEFT along Naseby Road and continue past Welford Grange to a footpath on your right. Continue downhill behind a barn to a gate. Bear right and cross the footbridge. Turn immediately left up the field to an iron gate. Continue with the hedge on your right to the next iron gate.
THERE IS now a permissive path sign on your right, which you can use if you wish. Otherwise, turn left diagonally across the field, to a post. Continue ahead through a gap in the hedge and go straight on. Follow the drain on your right and continue to a track.
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TURN LEFT and then right and left again to the road. Turn left and walk past the fork in the road and continue until you see a sign to the Red Lion pub. Turn left and walk back to the village.
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CROSS THE bridge and follow the stream, bearing left to a stile. Go over the stile and straight ahead towards Sulby Abbey in the distance and continue over a bridge to a gate.
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BEAR SLIGHTLY uphill to a track (passing Sulby Abbey to your right); you are now in the battle area. Cross over, bearing left to the top corner of the field. Turn right at the road and then left along the bridleway next to the Oak Tree Farm sign.
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CONTINUE ALONG the green lane and through the wood ahead and then cross the field to a gate. Turn right and follow the hedge on your right. Continue to the hedge in the adjacent field.
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This way for vino!
NOTES: We’ve done this walk and believe that the instructions are clear and accurate. Take a map – OS Explorer 223 – and allow enough time.
Above and below: the bar and dining areas of the Red Lion wine pub at Sibbertoft
The Red Lion wine pub and restaurant at Sibbertoft on the Leicestershire/ Northamptonshire border is one of those gems that crops up from time to time. It’s an ideal place to end your walk, especially if you’re partial to a glass of red, for the Red Lion was The Publican’s British Wine Pub of the Year 2010. It was also a finalist in the Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2011/12. From the outside the Red Lion appears to be a small, traditional village pub but inside is a combination of old and new, with a number of rooms including a welcoming bar area and a dining room. Proprietors Andrew and Sarah Banks have built an excellent reputation for the pub and are passionate about their work, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The menu is varied, and when we arrived it had just been changed, which chef Andrew tries to do at least every month. We ate from the a la carte menu, starting with warm bread and olives, a grilled goats’ cheese dish, a truly superb smoked salmon salad, followed by pork valentine, and chicken with haggis and whisky. Considering its award we were not surprised at the quality of the Sauvignon Blanc. The bill, including a bottle of wine and pot of tea, came to £48 (for two people), which we thought was good value. The Red Lion, 43 Welland Rise, Sibbertoft, Leics LE16 9UD, 01858 880011, www.redlionwinepub.co.uk
Sulby Abbey
Great Food Magazine 65