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...
After a night in a tiny AirBnB in Canterbury , where there were chocolates on the table and artwork on every inch of the walls, we boarded a ferry with an absolute minimum of fuss, enjoyed a smooth crossing of the channel, and were deposited in the decidedly unscenic surroundings of the port of Dunkirk two hours later. Once we got past the cranes and shipping containers, though, the countryside was flat but pleasant. We stopped at a small town called Cassel, reached by cobbled roads winding up a hill. On the summit was an old windmill and a topograph telling you the distances to various improbable places; St Omer may have been visible in the haze, but Manchester was surely over the horizon. In Lille, we found our apartment, unpacked the luggage (one rucksack apiece), and set out to find food. Our first choice was fully booked, so we embarked on that kind of aimless wandering where everyone is hungry and no one wants to actually choose a restaurant. We reached a Lebanese place call...