LOCA L W AL K
Stamford Canal and Skyline
WALK DATA
Distance: 10 kms (6.25 miles) Typical time: 2 1/2 hours Height gain: 25 metres Map: OS Explorer 234 Start & Finish: Morrison’s Car Park (PE9 2FT; check any parking restrictions) Terrain: muddy in parts, especially in winter months
This walk takes you along the old Stamford Canal, through the delightful village of Uffington and along a ridge giving you a great skyline view of Stamford, including Burghley House; then back down across the gurgling Gwash River. A perfect walk for the Easter weekend. 70
RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING APRIL 2017
POINTS OF INTEREST
Stamford Canal, disused and without any water in it but still easy to spot; it’s one of the earliest post-Roman canals in England. It opened in 1670, around 100 years before most of the canal network. It ran from Stamford to Market Deeping and had 12 locks. It contributed to the wealth of Stamford, allowing barley to be transported to the town for malting. It closed in 1863, soon after the arrival of the Midland Railway in the area. The River Gwash has its source in Knossington and is the main feeder river to Rutland Water, which was formed by damming its valley at Empingham. From the reservoir, a controlled flow is released to maintain the flow around Tolethorpe Hall and Stamford and into the River Welland. The river feeds the millpond at Newstead before entering the Welland at Newstead Bridge. Uffington Manor was a glorious post-Restoration country house that tragically was burnt down in 1904. Our walk takes you past the original main entrance gates (shown left).