Egmanton - Laxton - Egmanton

Bob Richards

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This walk was originally contributed by David Berry to whom we are most grateful. It has now been reallocated to Bob Richards; many thanks to you too, Bob.

This walk is set in the undulating Nottinghamshire countryside 10 miles to the northwest of Newark. The old coal mining area of Ollerton is 5 miles to the west but does not impinge on the scenery of this walk. Egmanton is a typical, small, red-brick village of this area with church and pub. Laxton is a little bigger, again with church and pub. It is England's last open field farming village with an ancient strip field system. There is a visitors' centre explaining this feudal scheme and, on the walk, a couple of explanatory placards are passed. The majority of the walk is on farm tracks and field footpaths but the last mile is along a quiet country road with little traffic.

England - Central England - Nottinghamshire - Countryside

Features

Church, Great Views, Museum, Pub, Toilets, Wildlife

9/23/2024 - Molly Crisp

Nice walk, but I agree, between 15 and 23 difficult to navigate. At 15 no second stile although remnants of a gate, look out for stile in left hand hedge, midway down, not easy to spot. No obvious footpath at 16, sheep in field with electric fencing. At 20, footpath sign missing, head diagonally to half way down field, footpath sign visible in the hedge. A lot of the stiles are not dog friendly unless you have an agile Labrador that can jump anything.

7/20/2021 - kevin Hartley

Very good walk. All very straight forward with the exception of the section between waypoints 15 and 23. Care must be taken here as over the intervening years the terrain has changed considerably and the path is not well marked.

8/26/2013 - Georgina Sear

Perfect weather and a near perfect walk. The stile referred to a point 10 and subsequent ones in this section are all now gates (including a redundant one which is not needed). It seems a shame not to refer walkers to the motte and bailey castle, especially as, if the visitor centre is closed, one would not necessarily know about it. Likewise the close farms which are passed. The description at 3 is confusing - all I can say is follow the map! At 16 the 'path, bearing left, just visible' was most definitely not visible during August and this part is terribly overgrown. I have the scratches and stings to prove it. Awful, but I was determined to get through. It might be better in the winter when the vegetation has died back. Not even a pair of secateurs would have helped. Dense bramble, thistles and nettles. Generally well described, but at times a little confusing. For example at 13 it says 'there is a public footpath sign', yet the description doesn't actually tell you to take it, and others in a similar vein. A very pleasant and interesting walk indeed.

1/27/2007 - Alistair Wright

This was a really good beginners' walk and was the first one I have done from walkingworld so thank you to the contributor. The route was fairly easy to follow. It got a little complex trying to navigate through some farmers' fields just at point 11 so I decided just to turn right at the end of the playing field and follow the main Egmanton to Laxton Road and rejoin the route at point 12. I also struggled a little to find the route that previous walkers had taken at point 21. Essentially at the point where the hedge starts to bend right down the hill you're best to cross the field to the opposite side at between a 30 & 45 degree angle. As soon as you get to the brow of the hill you will see the stile on the opposite side of the field at the end of the hedge. All in all a very enjoyable stroll through some Notts rolling hills with some interesting history along the way.