Kings Ripton circular walk (6.5 miles)

Good points of this walk (click map to enlarge) are…

• An easy circular walk taking about three hours
• Serene… you’re unlikely to meet anyone else on this walk
• Lots of wildlife
• Summer crops
• The beautiful village of Broughton
• The even more beautiful The Crown in Broughton
• Wildlife friendly management of the Abbots Ripton Estate
• Hares in summer

And bad points… none really. This is one of my favourite walks. You may find you have to make your way through some vegetation in summer but generally the paths are kept mown.

Turn off the B1090 into Kings Ripton and then turn left by the church to park. About half way down the road on the left you’ll see the footpath signpost. Looking at the more detailed map below, after about a couple of hundred yards you’ll come to a T junction. It’s probably easier to follow the route if you turn right (although the map arrows indicate following the route in a clockwise direction). You’ll find yourself walking along field edges for a mile or so, then over some styles and through fields until you come out on a road at Broughton village.

Turn left into the village. It’s well worth timing your walk so you arrive at The Crown during opening time. Although the bar menu is slightly more pricey than most it’s high quality stuff in delightful surroundings. It’s really heartening to see the survival of such a lovely village pub in delightful surroundings. Click the links for The Crown to check opening times.

Next take the road that leads away from the pub and past the church. A short way up the road take the path to the right marked by the footpath sign. Over a fence and along the left hand side of a field, then turn left at the top and you should be able to follow the mark signs for a short while, making sure you follow the route by turning left over a small bridge through the hedge rather than continuing round the field to the right.

By continuing to follow the signs you’ll come to Rectory Farm. At the very end of the farm track turn right and walk along the road for a couple of hundred yards until you see a wooden footpath sign to the left. Follow the field edges for a mile or so until you come to another road. Cross this and take the path to the right (not the one heading towards some houses, but the one leading towards Wennington Wood). Follow this track along the side of the wood until just past an area for farm silage and general rubbish you should take the road to the left leading away from the wood.

A couple of hundred yards down this road take the route to the left, and then turn right at the first opportunity after a part of the track lined with trees. From here you follow the field edge to the bottom, then along the bottom and follow the route signs. This will lead you after a mile or so to a road over a bridge, cross the road and you’ll find yourself back at the start of your walk.

Winter photos of the walk below, with some summer ones included as well. Click any to enlarge.