Start: The Plough Inn, Upper Boddington NN11 6DH
(S/E) With your back to The Plough go left (West) down the road and turn right (North) into Frog Lane. Here you join the Millennium Way and you will see our black waymarkers from now on.
(1) Go ahead round the left bend and immediately take the footpath right ( where sign bans cycling ) going along to Methodist Church to reach the road. Turn left (West) onto the road and, at end of the houses, pass through the gateway.
After 30 paces take the gate right and go through the copse to cross the first footbridge and continue along the track to take the right-field corner wooden gate. Continue with the hedge right through the gap into the field. Go diagonally 1/2 left across the field to take a second footbridge into the next field, then going ahead to cross a third wooden footbridge.
Continue left around the edge of the next field heading for the waymarker post in the top left corner. Go left through the hedge gap keeping along the edge of the field with the hedge right. Exit the field by the corner gap and go ahead steadily up the field valley to the gap in trees to find a single plank ditch bridge.
(2) Cross the plank bridge to the field and go with wood left around the field edge. At the far hedge gap go left on the bridleway keeping the hedge and trees right.
At field end go through a gap in spinney and turn right (North) to go with spinney right. Stay ahead on the grass track with the wood right to eventually exit by the corner gap into the field. Go ahead over the centre of the field to the mid-fence metal gate.
Take the gate and turn right to pass the dew pond on right, then through a small metal gate continuing slightly left in the grassy corridor between hedges. Corridor swings right leading down to a gate. Take a look at the views. Take the gate with the hedge right and continue down through an avenue of trees, then through the gate and ahead to reach the road.
(3) Go through a large wooden gate, cross the road and then go through a large metal gate into a large field. Head directly towards the pylon on the horizon to the right of the large telecoms tower to reach the left corner gate (near buildings).
Go through the gate to pass in front of the barn to the driveway and take stile immediately right. Then go diagonally left across the field passing a telegraph pole to take the corner stile, then the second stile into a field and go with the hedge and power lines left to take corner gate. Take the next gate opposite and go 1/4 right, parallel with power lines, to take the mid-fence gate to the farm driveway.
(4) Turn right for 30 paces then left through the gate and follow the right edge of the field to find a wooden bridge in the top right corner (here we leave The Millennium Way). Take the wooden bridge into the field and go left along the field edge to take the gap into the next field.
Go along the left edge of the field to the corner to take the wooden gate to the farm access track (Shooting School opposite). Go right on the access track and, just before the right-hand corner, take a large unwaymarked metal gate/fence stile on left into the field and continue with the wire fence and trees left.
(5) On reaching the next corner do not go through the wooden gate but go right staying in the same field continuing with the hedge left for approx 100 yards to take the metal gate left into the next field. Stay along the edge of the field with a hedge left and around the two sides of square copse projecting into the field.
On reaching the far corner ignore the gate left (target shooting area) and instead go right for 50 paces to take a stile left (South) then further stile to cross the wooden footbridge into the field.
(6) Go directly ahead across the centre of the field towards the left-hand side of a large tree to take mid hedge stile and footbridge to the next field (you may find the stile blocked, so go through the gap to the right and then head back diagonally left).
Cross the field to take obscured wooden footbridge and cross the next field to take another obscured footbridge in the hedge ahead. Stay directly uphill, often through crops, over next field towards ridge ahead, to find and take cattle grid between two large trees. Stay on the farm track with the hedge right then cross the second cattle grid to eventually reach a lane.
(7) Turn left on the lane to enter the village of Upper Boddington. After a short distance turn right into London End and go to the end of the lane which brings you back to The Plough for some welcome refreshment. (S/E)
