TTV Swarkestone Circular Walk

This leisurely walk includes some extremely significant sites close to, or actually on, the Trent Valley Way. The route is mostly flat and uses a variety of paths, tracks and canal towpath.

This walk will mostly take you on good surfaces for walkers, but do bear in mind that there is brief road walking along Ingleby Road; on pavement through Stanton by Bridge and then briefly along the A514.

The terrain for this walk is mostly road and pavement walking and in general is good surface for walking. There is waymarking (including custom signposting) plus surface and infrastructure repairs carried out courtesy of the Melbourne Footpaths Group.

Do take extra care walking along the road when crossing the A514!

The key points of interest along this walk are:

• Swarkestone Bridge
  • A medieval causeway about threequarters of a mile long, from Swarkestone to Stanton by Bridge, marking the medieval divide between the North and South of England.
• Swarkestone Pavilion
  • Dating back to the 17th-Century, this holiday accommodation was formerly owned by the Harpur Family of Swarkestone and was built for an undetermined purpose. The leading theory is that it was built as a viewing parlour for games of bowls.
• The Holy Well at King’s Newton
  • A 14th century well built on the lands of St Catherine’s Chantry (dissolved in the 16th century). The well was restored in the 17th-century, thought to coincide with the Restoration of the Monarchy with Charles II. Despite being a ‘Holy Well’ there seem to have been no real special claims made about it’s properties, instead just having a reputation of being a source for high quality water.
• The Church of St Michael at Stanton by Bridge and the Church of St James at Swarkestone

For further information, see Ordnance Survey Map Explorer 245.