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Ivanhoe Way: Ashby de la Zouch to Heath End

On the face of it, the next section of the Ivanhoe Way was not a particularly exciting walk - and I'd done a large part of it before, as part of the National Forest Way. I almost skipped this bit. But I found plenty to keep me interested - some large mushrooms, a wasp nest in a hollow tree, and a footpath sign with a hole right through it.


I parked in a housing estate in the north of Ashby and walked along a typical suburban alleyway to reach Hood Park. The path followed the Gilwhiskaw Brook, which I have to keep mentioning just because it's a fantastic name. I last saw it near Measham, just before it met the River Mease.



The library in Ashby de la Zouch is attached to a small museum. I've never been in; I'll have to remedy that someday. Not today, though; I needed to keep walking.


Although I simply had to stop to marvel at this old truck. An ivy trunk had grown right up through all the metal behind the cab. I'd never seen anything like it!



New housing estates are springing up on the edges of the town. I don't know why they insist on calling them names like Ashby Fields, when fields are the one thing they aren't, any more. 



Don't worry, there are still plenty of fields. Some of them even have sheep in.




The route overlaps with the National Forest Way and the Cross Britain Way, which causes a certain amount of jostling for position on the waymarkers. As I walked along, memories surfaced: ah yes, this was the field where I got lost, and here is that footbridge over quite a deep gorge.


Heath End is a single lane of beautiful large houses. The Ivanhoe Way instructions told me I could seek refreshments at the Saracen's Head. Sadly the pub closed over 25 years ago. I perched on a stile and ate a sandwich instead.

sign at Heath End

Heading back now towards Ashby, I continued through some nice woods - this was where I spotted the wasp nest in a tree - and across some more fields, where strange blobs in the grass proved to be large mushrooms.




Somewhere around this point I realised I must have left Leicestershire. The comforting yellow-topped marker posts had disappeared, and the waymarkers said "National Trust" on them, suggesting that I was on the Calke Abbey estate. I'd crossed into Derbyshire, I discovered, just after leaving Heath End.



I consulted my map to see where the county boundary was, and discovered that I would cross it just before reaching a bridleway at Old Parks Farm. So, when I got there, I took a selfie. You'd think the border would follow the track, but it's got some odd kinks in it - possibly reflecting this area's history as a medieval deer park. Just west of here, near Smisby, is a site marked Manorial Earthworks on modern maps, but Tournament Field on older ones. This is where the tournament was held in Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe. There's no public access, which probably explains why the Ivanhoe Way avoids it entirely.



Almost back at my starting point now. The steps up to the A511 Ashby bypass had a flood of light coming down them. A large house with a tower was once known as Ivanhoe House; now it's called Cliftonthorpe and has been converted into posh flats, so I didn't want to take any obvious photos.


Cliftonthorpe

And I was back at my starting point, having had quite an interesting walk after all.

Ivanhoe Way Ashby de la Zouch to Heath End 

7.5 miles / 12 km  5 October 2026

xx

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