Sibson - Sheepy Parva - Sheepy Magna - Ratcliffe Culey

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.

Sheepy: Old English for dry ground where the sheep graze. The villages straddle the River Sence where it forms a large lake. Sheepy is divided into two parts, Sheepy Magna and Sheepy Parva, each with its own manor. A small congregational chapel was opened in 1816 on the outskirts of Sheepy Magna Village. It was converted to a memorial hall in 1918 in memory of the dead of the Great War. The village school was founded by Thomas Cotton Fell in 1847. The present church of All Saints, rebuilt in 1778, stands on the site of a much earlier church, dated 1320 - 1380.
Ratcliffe Culey: Old English for red cliff or bank, stands just above the low marshlands where the Rivers Sence and Anker join, very close to the borders of Leicestershire and Warwickshire. The present All Saints Church, originally St Leonard's, dates from the 14th Century, circa 1320. The decorated style and the 'Y' tracery windows date it mid- to late 14th Century. It is unusual as having been built with no major additions or alterations in succeeding centuries. The church is depicted on all the village road signs.
Sibson: the lovely old Cock Inn is thought to be about 700 years old. It is said that the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin visited it in 1715.

England - Central England - Leicestershire - Countryside

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Church, Flowers, Good for Kids, Great Views, Lake/Loch, Mostly Flat, Public Transport, Restaurant, River, Wildlife

7/2/2020 - Anthony Carroll

Walked most of this route (from waymarks 1 to 12) 2nd July 2020. Ground dry but not parched, no flooding. Flat walking through unspoilt & quiet countryside. The footpath was open between marks 9 & 10 (well clear of the 'dangerous' building,) although there does indeed seem to be an alternative path near mark 9 (not on OS Map.) We did get ourselves into some minor difficulty at the footpath crossroads approaching mark 12 – from our direction the visible footpath sign turns right, the one we wanted was obscured. But to be fair I find Leicestershire signage & stiles the best in the Midlands, possibly in the country. The highly visible Leicester footpath posts are a godsend to anyone walking a new route.

7/24/2015 - David Stephens

Walked 22/07/15 - fortunately, recent light showers did not create the water-logged and muddy conditions experienced by those who have commented before. Navigation fine; however, the footpath is closed as you approach Ratcliffe Culey because of dangerous state of derelict building on edge of village. The detour takes you westwards to the fork in the road and back into the village to pick up the path again. As the map indicates, a level walk through fields and three pleasant villages. Drier weather would have allowed us to appreciate the walk better.

7/13/2011 - Mangal Mistry

13/07/11 – Unlike previous walkers, I did this walk in drought-like conditions. Although this is a walk through beautiful countryside, every field I went through looked brown and crops in the fields struggling to grow. River, ponds, and streams at very low levels or dried up. Walk was very easy to follow. Lake at Sheepy Magna is a nice spot to have a picnic. I enjoyed doing this walk. You can see my photos of the walk at : https://picasaweb.google.com/115223343309924949617/Copy32OfCopyOfMyPics000396Walk3460SibsonSheepyParvaSheepyMagnaRatcliffe130711

4/7/2010 - Kenn Coates

I did this walk on Sunday 4/4/10. It had rained heavily the night before and the river at the start point was flooded covering most of the field and making the second stile inaccessible even though I was wearing wellingtons. Found my way around this through Sibson village. The last field before Sheepy Parva had cattle with young and the path was badly affected by deep mud; craters were filled with manure and urine and going was very heavy. The river between Sheepy Magna and Ratcliffe was also flooded but passable with care. Several of the stiles are not dog friendly. Still a fabulous walk and just made it a bit of an adventure, though we saw a party with children who had been unable to negotiate the second bit of flooding.

8/13/2009 - David Lally

I "did" this walk on 8th August 2009, which was after a few weeks of rain. The route was very easy to follow and on the whole easy. The path between Sheepy Magna and Tatcliffe Cully was however flooded to the depth of about a foot at the footbridge over the Sence at SK 32806 00545. I had to back-track and go via the Road to the west.