Short Walk On The Grand Union Canal at Husbands Bosworth

There’s nothing better to do on a breezy November morning than to trudge through the mud in your wellies. Leicestershire’s extensive canal towpaths are a convenient and easy to navigate (no map needed!) route to follow when you’re trying to fit a short walk in between Sunday lunch and the early dark evenings.

Start out at the Husbands Bosworth Millennium Wood Nature Reserve. There’s parking for a couple of cars just off the A4304 on Mill Lane. Head straight away down the main road (good footpath) towards North Kilworth until you reach the canal about 5-10 minutes away. Over the bridge, on the North Kilworth side, is a path down to the towpath. Now head under the bridge to start your journey along the canalside (you can also do a similar walk in the opposite direction towards Welford Wharf and back along the main road).

Mind your step as it is often slippy along here and the towpath isn’t too well maintained, or maybe it is over-used! Wellies or decent walking boots are essential. No matter what time of the year the canal always looks serene. Although by now the leaves have changed from beautiful reds and oranges to dark brown there is still a tranquil, relaxing atmosphere as you walk along the path.

It’s nice to see the boatmen and women going about their lives, we met a man collecting firewood for his boat’s stove. Lots of dog walkers use this route too.

It’s only 1.2miles to the main road. Once you get to the tunnel (you can see the light at the end if you peer down it!) head up and over and there’s a long steep ascent and then descent to the A5119 as you are walking up and over the tunnel. Again, if you’re feeling adventurous you can cross the road and carry on over to the canal on the other side, this goes all the way to Theddingworth, Foxton Locks and eventually Market Harborough. However, ours was just a quick one, so head back up through Husbands Bosworth, up Bell Lane until you reach the crossroads at the top (pop into the Bell Inn for a quick half) and keep going down the road towards North Kilworth for about ½ a mile until you reach the top end of the Millennium Wood.

There’s a short loop around the woods you can do and have a rest on the dipping platform while looking for frogs and newts, despite being so close to the main road this is a haven for wildlife. Foxes, badgers, dragonflies, Barn Owls, Red Kites, kestrels, moor hens and buzzards have all been spotted here, so take your time to have a look around before you return to your car.

Fosse Meadows Nature Area

Just off the Coventry Road near Sharnford and on the ancient Roman road, the Fosse Way, is a little park ideal for children, grown-ups and dog walkers alike.

Autumn is my favourite time of the year due to the colours and the cool weather and the natural change before the harsh winter climate. Fosse Meadows is the ideal place to spot wildlife from one of the bird hides, find fungi of all varieties and give the dogs and children a good run around!

There are a myriad of paths winding around the nature pond, play area, fields and woodland. We chose to take a winding route in and out of the woods to spot some fungi. The area itself is not huge so you won't find you're getting lost and the main paths are paved and well marked.

The colours today were fantastic, with such a variety of trees and plants there is lots for children to explore and many pine cones and different leaves to collect. Unusually for one of our walks there is no pub in the vicinity but if you are in desperate need there is a short walk across the fields to Sharnford where you'll find the Sharnford Arms. There's not much to say about the route to take as it is entirely up to you, you can easily criss-cross about the woodland for a couple of hours, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.