Scenic Northants - pretty villages and driving routes
Discussion
Really like what I've seen round Market Harbourough and Rockingham Forest, but it's a big county and I guess there's a lot more to it than I've found.
Thinking about a couple of weekends away in Northants / Rutland next year so where to start? Especially looking for suggestions for good pubs, rural villages, walks, good driving roads and pretty scenery rather than shopping and town centres.
Over to you Chaps
Thinking about a couple of weekends away in Northants / Rutland next year so where to start? Especially looking for suggestions for good pubs, rural villages, walks, good driving roads and pretty scenery rather than shopping and town centres.
Over to you Chaps
Northamptonshire and all it’s surrounding counties around the boundary areas have some great roads, countryside and good country pubs
Get yourself a good big scale road atlas, CAMRA Good Beer Guide and a book of Northants walks and the best walks, roads and pubs will soon become apparent
A few ideas to get you started, country roads, walks and places to visit are all around these:
Aston (near Oundle), Chequered Skipper, model village
Bulwick, Queen’s Head, a gem opposite the church
Great Brington, Althorp Coaching Inn
Farthingstone, Kings Arms, pub and it’s rear garden are a must
Naseby, Royal Oak, Naseby battle field(s) nearby
Rushden, Rushden Historical Transport Society, gas lit bar and museum
Stoke Bruene, BOAT Inn, (canal side bar), national canal museum
Sulgrave, Star Inn, Sulgrave Manor in the lovely south of the county
Sutton Bassett, Queen’s Head, Welland Valley and south Leicestershire
(North Oxfordshire – Stoke Lyne, Peyton Arms, how pubs used to be, don't ask for lager)
Get yourself a good big scale road atlas, CAMRA Good Beer Guide and a book of Northants walks and the best walks, roads and pubs will soon become apparent
A few ideas to get you started, country roads, walks and places to visit are all around these:
Aston (near Oundle), Chequered Skipper, model village
Bulwick, Queen’s Head, a gem opposite the church
Great Brington, Althorp Coaching Inn
Farthingstone, Kings Arms, pub and it’s rear garden are a must
Naseby, Royal Oak, Naseby battle field(s) nearby
Rushden, Rushden Historical Transport Society, gas lit bar and museum
Stoke Bruene, BOAT Inn, (canal side bar), national canal museum
Sulgrave, Star Inn, Sulgrave Manor in the lovely south of the county
Sutton Bassett, Queen’s Head, Welland Valley and south Leicestershire
(North Oxfordshire – Stoke Lyne, Peyton Arms, how pubs used to be, don't ask for lager)
That's great - thanks.
Been to Stoke Brune and the Waterways Museum and walked a bit of the canal there and had a pint last time we came.
Where are all the pretty stone villages like Rockingham located in the county? I put together a sort of rural village round trip west of Towcester last time we came and another from Rockingham up to Oakham then back to Market Harbourough which were good but the only "official" touring route info I could find was for Bicyclists on the Northants Council site and that didn't adapt too well for driving.
We'll be staying in Stony Straford next time near MK and are planning going mostly north from there and maybe a bit west. Want to find more picturesque villages with a nice pub doing B&B for a sort of semi regular mini break away from the south east.
Been to Stoke Brune and the Waterways Museum and walked a bit of the canal there and had a pint last time we came.
Where are all the pretty stone villages like Rockingham located in the county? I put together a sort of rural village round trip west of Towcester last time we came and another from Rockingham up to Oakham then back to Market Harbourough which were good but the only "official" touring route info I could find was for Bicyclists on the Northants Council site and that didn't adapt too well for driving.
We'll be staying in Stony Straford next time near MK and are planning going mostly north from there and maybe a bit west. Want to find more picturesque villages with a nice pub doing B&B for a sort of semi regular mini break away from the south east.
Jaguar steve said:
and had a pint last time we came.
I hope you saw the canal side bar and certainly not the modern pub across the roadJaguar steve said:
Where are all the pretty stone villages like Rockingham located in the county?
all over NorthantsJaguar steve said:
I put together a sort of rural village round trip west of Towcester last time we came and another from Rockingham up to Oakham then back to Market Harbourough which were good
yeap good areasJaguar steve said:
but the only "official" touring route info I could find was for Bicyclists on the Northants Council site and that didn't adapt too well for driving.
internet is not always the best source of information, try looking at the books I’ve suggested – the local WH Smith shops in Northants (as only an example, independent book shops also still exist) carry a good range of local booksI (roughly) plan all my trips away by the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and large scale road atlas first and then see what the internet can tell me about what I’ve found in the books
Jaguar steve said:
We'll be staying in Stony Straford next time near MK and are planning going mostly north from there and maybe a bit west. Want to find more picturesque villages with a nice pub doing B&B for a sort of semi regular mini break away from the south east.
Well having been born and raised near there I’d say it’s the least best area now – no need to go much further north just go west (or east or south, north Bucks has some lovely villages) the large scale road atlas will show allStony Stratford like a lot of small towns and small and large villages are very interesting if you walk round and them, streets off and behind the high streets can turn up many things of interest
Without the books to reference first the internet can sometimes be useless or worse – some of the best places hardly appear mentioned on the internet
My friends stopped at a nice place, Lower Catesby near Daventry, can’t find any direct link on the internet for it, other links do not take you to where I mean, perfect example of internet being useless, inaccurate and sites pretending to have information but they don’t
The people that run the New Inn, Abthorpe have a farm and accommodation a short walk away – http://www.slaptonmanor.plus.com/
Crewe Arms, Hinton-in-the Hedges has just started with two rooms (altho’ they’ve not updated their website to include this) http://www.thecrewearms.com/default.htm
Star Inn, Sulgrave does accommodation but has a temporary manager in at the moment so best check http://www.thestarinnsulgrave.com/
We never book in places to stay on our trips away we just go into a village pub and ask, always found somewhere, sometimes the bar staff have even insisted on ringing round whilst we’ve sat and enjoyed a quick half
Edited by Nigel At on Saturday 18th December 16:50
East Northants/Cambs border worth exploring... look for B660 (Ramsey to Kimbolton), then take in B645 (can be heavily policed) toward Higham Ferrers, loop back toward Thrappo on the A45 then off at Ringstead/Denford/Woodford/Cranford/Slipton/Sudbotrough etc etc Good beer at Wadenhoe and Barnwell too... Oundle to Corby road a good drive but watch out for bikers as they will be going for it
To the B660 I’d add B662
Gary was the good beer at Wadenhoe recent as I’ve not been for a while because the beer was so bad there last time
(Used to be/is?) a nice little triangular country walk around Wadenhoe (from a book we used to have)
Don’t bother with the beer at the Stoke Doyle pub, plus the pub has been modernised and ‘improved’ nothing wrong with a commercial building be modernised but some ‘improvements’ are just not (in my personal opinion and experience)
If you search there's a thread on this forum about good roads too
Gary was the good beer at Wadenhoe recent as I’ve not been for a while because the beer was so bad there last time
(Used to be/is?) a nice little triangular country walk around Wadenhoe (from a book we used to have)
Don’t bother with the beer at the Stoke Doyle pub, plus the pub has been modernised and ‘improved’ nothing wrong with a commercial building be modernised but some ‘improvements’ are just not (in my personal opinion and experience)
If you search there's a thread on this forum about good roads too
Pupp said:
Nigel At said:
Gary was the good beer at Wadenhoe recent as I’ve not been for a while because the beer was so bad there last time
We've used it a few times this year Nigel, on cycling runs... beer was ok. Mainly Digfield ales but none the worse for that and condition seemed fine... Digfield can be good from the brewery but not consistent, the pub can only do the best with what they receive so we'll give it a try again, certainly a nice part of the county
Tyre Tread said:
Market HArborough is actually Leicestershire and there are some really great parts of Leicestershire that you should try and include.
I have a few routes (If I can find them) that I've put together over the last couple of years and I'll email them to you if you like.
A strong yes to both, I recommend you take up the offerI have a few routes (If I can find them) that I've put together over the last couple of years and I'll email them to you if you like.
Shame about Mkt. Harboro’ being the wrong side of the border, perhaps the rates are cheaper
There are some great places around here. There's a few nice pubs in my area. I can recommend the Stoke Bruerne one as well.
The one in my village is much better now, Fox & Hounds, Lower Harlestone. The villages are all nice and quaint, here in Harlestone it's quite close to the town but you don't even realise it. Just walking over the countryside, through the garlic woods, down by the frozen lake, through a pheasantry, and so on.
There's Althorp House just behind us, a nice pub in Great Brington too, there's a good road between there and out to Flore that I sometimes have a quick run along. Stowe is a little south, past towcester on the way to buckingham, which is a National Trust site and has some nice roads running out there, and some lovely grounds.
The one in my village is much better now, Fox & Hounds, Lower Harlestone. The villages are all nice and quaint, here in Harlestone it's quite close to the town but you don't even realise it. Just walking over the countryside, through the garlic woods, down by the frozen lake, through a pheasantry, and so on.
There's Althorp House just behind us, a nice pub in Great Brington too, there's a good road between there and out to Flore that I sometimes have a quick run along. Stowe is a little south, past towcester on the way to buckingham, which is a National Trust site and has some nice roads running out there, and some lovely grounds.
sjmmarsh said:
Nice blats, with plenty of villages and unclassified roads to explore just off route for touringB672 Caldecott to Morcott crossroads (or other way round) is one of my favorite roads
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