Rotary Walk

Rotary Walk

THURSDAY 21 JULY 2016

From The White Horse

Walgrave Road, Old

NN6 9QX

01604 781297

Starting at the White Horse in Old at the usual time, the walk is to the old village of Faxton and back across the fields. There are only two stiles and the paths are, for the most part, very easy.

Brian May

Hiking, Hacking, Hawking and Hats

Even though temperatures were slightly lower than the previous two days, we were nevertheless feeling the heat as we set off on our walk in search of the lost village of Faxton. Nine behatted Rotarians strode off confidently (or was that ambled gently?) from the White Horse pub in Old down a nearby country lane. We took in the bucolic scene as Brian explained that the village of Old is so named, not because it has been there a long time, but because it was originally called Walda by the Saxons. Walda in their day meant woodland or high heathland and, as we strolled out of the village along the tree-lined lane, the aptness of Old’s original name became very apparent. We were surrounded by classic views of Northamptonshire countryside in all its summer colours: golden fields of wheat, green trees and hedges, puffy white clouds and blue, blue sky. Two buzzards leisurely rode the thermals just above us.

It was a quiet lane, with the fastest traffic being the occasional cyclist pedalling by at what looked like an unhealthy pace given the heat. We paused briefly as walk meister Brian (not to be confused with John’s guest Brian) pointed out Shortwood House on the northwest horizon. We could clearly see its three-storey hawking tower which evidently dated from the early eighteenth century. We could imagine the local landowners despatching their hawks from this tower in search of prey. Kevin told us about another hawking tower in Boughton. How many such towers exist in Northants we wondered?

Pondering this piece of history, we turned off left and headed down a track and over fields towards the site of the former village of Faxton. It is believed that the village dates back to the early twelfth century but was only abandoned in 1960. Our walk leader explained that there was little left of the village now except a memorial, and this is hidden in a wood. There are a couple of small woods nearby but Brian had identified the correct one.  For us to find the village remains it took the fearless Kevin to strike off into the wood, hacking into submission the nettles and foliage much in the manner of early African explorers. In the centre of the undergrowth we did indeed come across the memorial, a font-like structure rather forlornly surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

Our next challenge was to find a way out of the wood. Not content with retracing our steps, the ever-brave Kevin forged a new path through the nettles and brambles back to our original track. Relief all round, especially for the two members of our party who were not wearing long trousers and had to deal with the full fury of the foliage.

The rest of the walk was, by comparison, uneventful. We continued through expansive wheat fields, along hedgerows and hard cracked earth. Pausing for the occasional obligatory group photos, we continued our hike. Some began to wonder when we would ever see Old emerging on the horizon but eventually its church tower reassured us that the post-walk refreshments (pints of beer) were not far away.  We successfully negotiated a stile or two and a field with cattle and horses and, after a brief stretch through cool leafiness, emerged on to the Old cricket pitch where fortunately there was no game in progress.

It remained for us to return to the White Horse and enjoy a very tasty lunch on its rear garden terrace, overlooking the church.  We were joined by Val, Stan and Diane and during our lunch, Ann presented Kevin with the Walker of the Month trophy.  His Faxton-hunting exploits made him a worthy winner.

Elspeth May