COUN T R Y ST R O LLS
Vale of Belvoir: Canals, Wharves and Old Railways This walk takes you along a charming stretch of canal, an unexpected reservoir and culminates in a ‘picture postcard’ view of Belvoir Castle
WALK DATA Distance: 7.3 Miles (11.7 kms) Height Change: 60 metres Typical time: 3 hours Map: Explorer 247 Parking: Main Street, Woolsthorpe by Belvoir Start & Finish: Post Office, Woolsthorpe Terrain: Initially very flat, but then one fairly steady climb Dog suitability: Good
POINTS OF INTEREST The 33-mile Grantham Canal goes from Grantham to Nottingham. The canal was conceived and constructed in the ‘canal mania’ days of the 1790s. It continued to make a profit until the opening of the Grantham to Nottingham railway in 1850 signalled the beginning of a steady decline in the commercial use of the canal. It was closed to all traffic in 1929 and was ‘abandoned’ under the London and North Eastern Railway (General Powers) Act of 1936. Parts of it have now been restored; you can find out more at www.granthamcanal.org Two reservoirs were also needed to feed the canal, one of which was the Denton Reservoir, which you see, and the other at Knipton, about 3 miles away Belvoir Castle is the fourth to have stood on the site since Norman times. The existing Castle was completed in the early 19th century after previous buildings suffered complete or partial destruction during the Wars of the Roses, the Civil War and a major fire in 1816. Visit www.belvoircastle.com to find out more. When ironstone was first quarried locally in the 1870s near Woolsthorpe at Brewers Grave (at the top of the road leading down into Woolsthorpe), the ore was transported by tramway to Woolsthorpe Wharf and shipped out by barges. However production soon outstripped what the canal could cope with and so an extensive railway system was developed from 1883 onwards, beginning with a branch line from Belvoir Junction to Woolsthorpe. This was soon extended as other deposits were exploited and by 1916 the line had reached Denton and Harlaxton. When quarrying ceased in 1974, this branch line fell into disuse and is now the cycle track that you walk along. The Rutland Railway Museum, dedicated to the East Midlands’ ironstone quarry heritage, has a locomotive shed from the Woolsthorpe ironstone quarry system on display. Go to www.rocks-by-rail.org to find out more.
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RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING MARCH 2015
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