Plumley Rail Trail

Grade: Easy/Moderate
Distance: 7 3/4 miles/12 km (with option to half the length)
Time: 4 hours (for the full walk)
Map: OS Explorer 267
Terrain: Mostly flat, but with numerous stiles
Barriers: 12 stiles, 1 kissing gate
Toilets: At refreshment stops

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This circular walk explores the beautiful countryside around the village of Plumley, within the parish of Plumley with Toft and Bexton.

The landscape is dominated by fields (for arable and dairy farming), hedges and large numbers of deciduous hedgerow trees with a scattering of small woods. There are two lakes, numerous field ponds and the delightful Peover Eye trout stream within the parish. The walk takes you through some magnificent scenery, from streams and farmland to woodland and leafy lanes.

Situated within the Parish is Holford Hall, a magnificent large moated timber house built in 1620 for Mary Cholmondeley, the last heiress and survivor of the Holford family, on the death of her husband Hugh. It suffered from neglect and fell into disrepair in the nineteenth century. Owned by ICI for much of the last century, it is now restored and in private ownership.