Measham once had a canal, a railway, and a colliery. Now all of those are just ghosts on the landscape. The River Mease remains, after which the village is named, and is probably cleaner than when all the industry was in full swing. And there are a few other interesting things to see. The train station is now a local museum, where I began my walk today. Measham sculpture The first job was a small loop to join up with where I finished last time. Out along the old Ashby Canal, return along the old Ashby and Nuneaton Railway, and in no time I was back at the station building and goods shed. A walled area had been turned into a garden, now rather overgrown, though someone had done a better job maintaining the sundial. former canal Crossing the main road took me back onto the railway. This section is a cycle path known as the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail. I could have followed this all the way to Donisthorpe, and indeed the Ivanhoe Way does so, but I decided something else looked more intere...
I bumped into the Ivanhoe Way a few times while I was walking the National Forest Way , and earmarked it for future investigation. After several years exploring the Dove Valley , Limestone Way , and Portway , I've finally got back to this part of the country. The Ivanhoe Way was created in 1984. A very pre-internet leaflet is still available as a pdf online ; amazingly, much of it is still reasonably accurate. The route is also marked on OS maps. It's a 36-mile loop that takes in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Whitwick, Moira Furnace and Measham, and it's called the Ivanhoe Way because everything around Ashby is called Ivanhoe something-or-other. That's because Sir Walter Scott named a novel Ivanhoe and set part of it at Ashby Castle. Ashby Castle The route doesn't actually go to Ashby Castle, nor does it point out any other literary locations, so you won't miss anything by not reading the book. I actually have read Ivanhoe once and remember it being quite enjoyable. I t...