{"id":1795,"date":"2013-07-22T11:38:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T11:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/martinblack.com\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2017-02-18T22:40:40","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T22:40:40","slug":"hit-the-north-stage-8-melton-mowbray-to-grantham-with-wild-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martinblack.com\/oldsite\/2013\/07\/hit-the-north-stage-8-melton-mowbray-to-grantham-with-wild-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Hit the North! \u2013 Stage 8 : Melton Mowbray to Grantham via the Grantham Canal (with thrilling wild camp!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I walked this, the eighth stage of the\u00a0Hit The North expedition<\/a>,\u00a0in July 2013.<\/p>\n

Part 1 – in which I wander through Melton Mowbray thinking of pies and eventually find the ‘country park’<\/strong><\/p>\n

I arrived at Melton Mowbray (the\u00a0“Rural Capital of Food<\/a>“) mid-morning, it was market day and the town was humming with activity.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I spotted stalls selling the famous pies<\/a> and the good people of Melton eating those famous pies. \u00a0I, however, already had a Cornish pastie and other such goodies tucked away in my rucksack and didn’t want to add to my already weighty load.<\/p>\n

Still, I should really have planned it better…the pies did look good.<\/p>\n

After some time faffing about in the suburbs I found Melton country park<\/a> from where I could join the Jubilee Way<\/a> which in turn would eventually lead me to the village of Stathern. \u00a0My wild camp for the night was to be just beyond Stathern in the woods of the Vale of Belvoir.<\/p>\n

\"On
On the Jubilee Way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The country park was a delight. \u00a0Lush meadows, shady paths through woods, the \u00a0humming and buzzing of bees, heavy summer smells from the blooming flowers. \u00a0I whistled a happy tune and headed on northwards.<\/p>\n

\"On
On the Jubilee Way towards Scalford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Part 2 – in which I take shelter in a church porch, find a trig point and arrive at wild camp wood.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the time I reached Scalford the sun was high in the sky and I was parched and sweaty. ‘The Church is cold<\/a>‘ I remember William Blake saying and headed for the porch of the Church of Saint Egelwin where I sat for a while, drinking from my water bottle and listening to choir practice.<\/p>\n

I stopped to talk to a chap in a wheelchair just outside the church, he asked me where I was walking:<\/p>\n