Stoke Golding - Wykin - Ashby Canal - Dadlington

Roy Davenport

You need to log in as a member of Walkingworld to access the details for this walk and have an active subscription. Please join, or log in above if you are already a member.

Stoke Golding is a Leicestershire village in the heart of England, on the edge of the Battlefield of Bosworth, where King Richard III lost his horse, his crown and his life in 1485. Stoke Golding calls itself the 'Birthplace of the Tudor Dynasty'. This is because it is reputed that Richard's crown was found in a bush nearby and that the people of the village witnessed the rural coronation of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. The Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Wars of the Roses and the last of the Plantagenets. Around the village on various houses and walls are ten blue plaques (The Blue Plaque Walk) giving some of the history of the village. During the walk you will come across six of these plaques. The walk then passes down to the Ashby Canal, one of the flattest canals in the country. It's quiet and peaceful. The occasional barge will be met, the helmsman expecting his greetings to be exchanged. You will also pass a marina with lots of multicoloured boats. There is an abundance of swans, ducks, geese and moorhens etc.

From the canal we pass through the village of Dadlington. The church is early 12th Century. In 1511 King Henry VIII authorised the founding of a Chantry Chapel here to commemorate the souls of those killed at the Battle of Bosworth (1485), fought in this parish at the field of Redemore. The bodies of many of those killed were brought here for burial.

The village is built on very gravelly ground; to quote 'from whence gravel is fetched to repair the highways', John Nichols, The History and Atiquities of the County of Leicester, IV, ii (1811). Indeed you will pass through one of these ancient gravel-pits.

England - Central England - Leicestershire - Canal Walk

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Church, Flowers, Food Shop, Gift Shop, Good for Kids, Great Views, Mostly Flat, Pub, Public Transport, Restaurant, Tea Shop, Toilets, Wildlife

8/26/2012 - Debra Wyatt

This walk was ok but not dog friendly. We had to actually pick the dogs up and put them over some of the stiles as the bottom of the styles had been covered and blocked and the rails were too narrow for a medium size dog to get through. At point 6 there is no longer a metal gate. The large double gate was padlocked from the opposite side and where the original metal gate appears to have been it is now a timber bar fence but dogs can get under and we managed to climb over.

4/8/2009 - Roy Davenport

OK March 09 RD

4/11/2008 - Tracy Ayres

Walked this Sunday 6th April. Very pleasant. Quite straight forward particularly on canal route - please note though that the cross over to picnic area and information board on canal is at bridge 22 not bridge 23 (point 11). Took me approx 2.5 hours to complete walking at a fairly fast pace. ***Recommended.

6/5/2007 - Roy Davenport

June 07 OK RD

6/27/2006 - Walkingworld Administrator

This walk was updated June 2006 with thanks to Ian Pretty.