Catesby & Hellidon

 Anyone lucky enough to live on the boundary between Warwickshire & Northamptonshire, near villages like Napton, The Catesbys & Hellidon will know that this lonely plateau is covered with green lanes, all looking self-important, none appearing to lead anywhere in particular.  Perhaps they joined the salt route to Northampton via Badby; perhaps they led to big estates; perhaps they were old enclosure roads.  But whatever their raison d'etre, they must, at some stage, have been used by drovers…

The bridle paths and byways at the top of OS Explorer 206 – a map that beats everything (including many National Parks) for unspoilt countryside – are worth a visit.  There are so many circular walks that you never have to retrace your steps.  I've done three (and one bike ride) along them, either alone or with friends.  If I lived near there I would go back twice a year until I pop off. 

Some of these pictures were taken in February, some in April, both some time ago.  But it's beautiful there all the year round.  I won't try to explain them; they explain themselves. 

Go out & buy OS Explorer 206, now.