The Wild Side of Welford: Field, Furrow & Towpath

Location

Northamptonshire/Leicestershire border

OutdoorLads shares the exact meeting point with people who have signed up, closer to the date. See the OutdoorLads listing for details.

About this event

The ancient coaching village of Welford sits on the extreme edge of Northamptonshire – tight up against the border with Leicestershire. Lying half way between Northampton and Leicester, Welford became an important resting place for stage coaches – at one time having seven Inns or Coaching Houses along the present High Street. These days, the village is very easily accessible - just a mile or so from junction 1 of the A14.Our walk begins with arguably the stand-out selfie opportunity of the year. A chance to get a picture taken alongside Postman Pat and his black and white cat! During the meticulous research phase of preparing this walk(!), I couldn't find a reason why Pat and Jess are celebrated here in this way – especially since the postie's round is miles away in Cumbria! Anyway, let's not quibble – Welford is proud to celebrate these iconic characters and they've become a popular attraction.Pat points the way to our first path which takes us around the periphery of the village before we head off across the fields to the Grand Union Canal.Joining the towpath, we soon skirt around the site of the medieval village of Downton. Don't get too excited – the history of this village is largely unknown, having been completely deserted by the early 18th century. Both the canal construction and the modern mechanised plough have taken their toll. Spoiler alert: nothing remains!We'll have just over 2 miles to enjoy this particularly tranquil stretch of the Grand Union Canal before we join a brief section of the Jurassic Way – a long distance path which connects Banbury in Oxfordshire with Stamford in Lincolnshire, largely following an ancient ridgeway traversing Britain. This path takes us up into the Hemplow Hills and a beautiful wooded area. As we emerge from the trees, we'll pause for a picnic lunch.A series of footpaths and bridleways take us east and then north until we hit the upper reaches of the River Avon. We're very close to the river's source near Naseby and so, at this point, the Avon is nothing more than a babbling brook. Hard to believe that after Rugby and Warwick, these waters flow through the iconic tourist scene at Stratford before running past Evesham to join the Severn near Tewkesbury.We'll walk alongside the Avon across the final few fields before Postman Pat welcomes us back to Welford.For those that want to stay on, we have the option to walk a couple of hundred yards through Welford's charming Pocket Park to cross over the border into Leicestershire and enjoy refreshments at the Wharf Inn.  Dogs are welcome: Our walk includes field paths, bridleways, village streets and we cross one minor A road. We may encounter sheep, lambs, cows or horses and there are a few fields where landowner signs request dogs on a lead.Waiting List: If there are no places left on this event, please join the waiting list as people frequently drop out during the week before an event, and you are very likely to get a place.Don't waste that space! If your plans change and you are unable to make the event, please cancel your attendance so that others get the opportunity to sign up and make travel plans. New Members: Please feel free to join this as your first OutdoorLads event. If you have any questions then please Message Me, or go to the My First Event section of the website for more information.  Want to keep in touch with what's going on in the Midlands / ODL Central Region? You can bookmark our upcoming events list via the short link: https://outdoorlads.events/central.Pictures:  All images taken by the Event Leader (May 01, 2026) with permission for OutdoorLads to use and reuse.