Discover Rutland – Heritage Trail 2 – Fields and Follies

When we reach a junction with another pathway, we are going to turn right. The bridleway skirts the trees of Tunneley Wood as it veers to the right. After a while, we depart from the Viking Way on our left, keeping to the tarmac path.

Continue past a large farm building to the right and then we head towards the location of Fort Henry. After about a mile we reach two lakes – Fort Henry Lake to the left and Lower Lake on the right. Soon after this, a footpath is signposted to our right.

Here we need to climb over the stile into the field that surrounds Lower Lake. We walk alongside the lake until we reach another stile. This takes us back onto a hard footpath that curves to the right, skirting the bottom end of Lower Lake and leads back towards Exton village.

The footpath begins to climb as we move away from the lakes of Fort Henry into an area that was quarried for ironstone in the mid-20th century.

Soon we will reach a crossroads – here we take the bridleway marked to the left. As we climb upwards, the spire of Exton church will come into view ahead of us.

We need to cross a cattle grid to go into a field with some lovely large horse chestnut trees. From here we will come into Exton on Stamford Road alongside a small green until we find ourselves back where we began.

If you have time – we recommend visiting the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul. To get there from the village green turn left and walk a few hundred yards out of the village which is signposted.