Distance: 16.8 miles

Difficulty of the terrain: medium

Get the route via: Ordnance Survey Maps or download the GPX. file from Dropbox

Circular walk from Market Harborough Railway Station across and around the upland limestone plateau in Northamptonshire where the Battle of Naseby occured in June 1645, ending Charles I’s hopes of winning the 17th Century Civil Wars.

The Story

The Walk

Getting Back

Charles I’s Embarrassing Baggage

Naseby is a little village high up on one of northern Northamptonshire’s limestone plateaus.

This relatively sparsely populated area known for its Cotswolds like countryside (the similar band of south Midlands limestone runs through both areas) and relative proximity journey timewise to London thanks to the Midlands Mainline is where numerous rivers rise. Which gives Naseby and surrounding villages like Sibbertoft and Clipston hydrological connections to the North Sea and the Bristol Channel alike, despite their position near England’s middle.

Naseby itself is the source of the River Avon which runs south west of the village for eighty five miles all the way to Tewkesbury where it converges with the River Severn. While the other major river that rises in the area is the Welland which flows east to join the North Sea. The other two major rivers in the area are significant tributaries of the Nene which runs almost the entire breadth of Northamptonshire and then on across Cambridgeshire to the North Sea.

The area’s great natural importance is only one reason why Naseby and the area around it is significant. If most people have heard of Naseby then it is because of the great battle fought on the plateau in front of the village on the 14th June 1645.

That is because it was here that Parliament’s recently constituted national New Model Army and the Army of the Eastern Association of Counties destroyed the bulk of Charles I’s remaining forces bringing the major part of the 17th Century Civil Wars in England to an end.

In early May 1645 Parliament decisively controlled the North and East of England, while the King decisively controlled Wales, the western Midlands and South West. The line of control broadly stretched through Staffordshire and Warwickshire down to the Cotswolds. Having had a relatively good run during 1644, overcoming Royalist resistance in the north of the country, Parliament was now threatening the King’s war time capital at Oxford, which forced Charles I to come east and defend it.   

During the build up to battle, the Royalist’s main army moving towards Oxford attacked and captured the Parliamentary stronghold of Leicester and began moving south east towards the insurgent’s heartlands, as Parliament’s forces abandoned their march on Oxford to intercept it. 

Jointly led by Charles I and the Royalists most famed and feared commander Prince Rupert of the Rhine, this force comprising around 9,000 mounted and foot soldiers consisted of the best troops and equipment the Royalists possessed after nearly three years of civil conflict.  

At this time both Charles I and Prince Rupert were dismissive of the capabilities of the New Model Army. Aware that there was a significant Parliamentary military presence on the high ground where Naseby is situated the Royalist army had the option of attempting to avoid it, but Charles I in particular was keen for there to be a battle, hoping that it would tip the direction of the war more in his favour.

Parliament too, was keen for there to be a battle. The combined forces of the New Model Army and Eastern Association, while scattered around the Naseby area, numbered over 14,000 men, significantly more than the Royalists. For this reason Oliver Cromwell, then amongst Parliament’s most prominent commanders actively told Thomas Fairfax who was leading the New Model Army not to occupy the highest point of the Naseby ridge, so as not to deter the royal army from attacking them.

On 14th June the two armies lined up facing each other on the bumpy plateau just north of Naseby. As they moved to attack the Royalist army had some success fighting parts of the Parliamentary line, even causing some units to retreat. However, the Parliamentary soldiers’ strength in numbers, effective training and good equipment meant that there was never that much chance the Royalist army would overcome them.

By the end of the day scattered surviving units of Royalist soldiers were fleeing the Naseby area. Charles I famously had considered leading one final last ditch cavalry charge but was dismayed from doing so, meaning that while his military strength was completely destroyed, he at least lived on to assert his rights as sovereign another day. 

During their flight, many Royalist soldiers mistook a track leading to the River Welland near the village of Marston Trussell for the main road north to Leicester. At the time the river was in flood so they could not cross it. Here near the village’s church several hundred of them were slaughtered by pursuing Parliamentary soldiers. The riverside location where this happens remains known locally as Slaughterford field to this day. 

All in all around 1,000 Royalist soldiers died at the battle with 5,000 more taken prisoner. It is also purported that around 100 Welsh speaking women who were with the army as camp followers were murdered following the confrontation because the Parliamentary soldiers, mostly from South East England, Yorkshire and East Anglia mistook their language for Irish. 

Such was the disarray the Royalists retreated in, that the king abandoned his personal belongings so as to get away. For this reason the Parliamentarians captured his personal baggage which revealed that the king had been engaged in various desperate correspondence to foreign powers and Roman Catholic Irish leaders requesting their support. This was published by the Parliamentary authorities as evidence of the king’s malice.

After Naseby the New Model Army pressed forwards recapturing Leicester on the 18th June 1645, and then bypassing Oxford, heading into the far south west of England to take out the remaining Royalist resistance there. This compounded the Royalist defeat at Naseby, though Charles I managed to remain uncaptured and protesting his rights as king until 1647, when he was finally taken prisoner.

The Civil Wars themselves dragged on until the autumn of 1651 when the future Charles II was defeated by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester which precipitated his flight via the Boscobel House oak tree into nearly a decade of exile.

The Walk

Get the route: via Ordnance Survey Maps or download the GPX. file from Dropbox

I create the Walk Midlands routes via Ordnance Survey Maps Explorer enabling me to take them on my phone. Subscribe yourself via the banner above.

This circular walk to the Northampton village of Naseby, across the hilly plateau where June 1645’s Battle of Naseby decisively settled the main English phase of the 17th Century Civil Wars in Parliament’s favour, begins from Market Harborough Railway Station.

A paucity of public rights of way in the Naseby area, besides roads, means that with the exception of some of first parts of the walk inside Market Harborough, this walk is almost entirely along roads, albeit almost all with either wide grass verges and relatively few sharp bends, or pavements.

Market Harborough Railway Station is on the Midland Mainline.

Cross the forecourt heading for the road in front of the station.

On the other side turn left again, crossing a bridge running over a small stream. It is waymarked as leading to the Brampton Valley Way, a cycle path. You want to reach the Brampton Valley Way so keep an eye out for these signs.

Having crossed the bridge follow a walkway running alongside the stream heading to the right.

This runs around the edge of Market Harborough town centre.

Soon you come to the side of a branch of Lidl, keep on walking straight ahead along the walkway beyond it.

Very soon after Lidl you come to crossing lights opposite a branch of that other German discounter chain Aldi.

Cross over the road here and head down the walkway on the other side.

Soon you approach a medium sized branch of Sainsbury’s on the far side of a large car park.

Turn right at the corner of Sainsbury’s walking through a mixed retail area beside the River Welland on the edge of the town centre.

Soon you reach a road which you cross and continue straight along the Welland path on the far side.

Continue walking straight along the path beside the Welland, crossing a small car park, then walking along a stretch of the path which is wooded and runs close to the river bank.

Presently you reach the town’s Welland Park. Follow the network of paths more or less straight across the park at this point. When I walked the route on a Saturday in October 2024 there were hundreds of park runners undertaking a challenge which limited the opportunities for photographs.

On the far side of Welland Park you reach the residential Farndon Road. Turn left here and walk to the cross roads with Welland Park Road.

Here cross over to the right and begin walking along Welland Park Road.

Look out on the left for a green metal Leicestershire County Council footpath waymark pointing to the left down a snicket.

Head down this snicket and out onto a cul-de-sac.

Here turn right and head for a footpath sign just beyond the driveway of some recently built houses.

Upon reaching the footpath turn left, and follow it through a thicket and across a patch of scrubby meadow approaching a recently built estate.

On the far side of the meadow you reach the large new housing estate.

Once on the estate turn right and walk along the wide central avenue.

Continue along this road right across the estate.

Having reached the far side of the estate you come out next to a small park flanked by trees and bushes with a children’s play area in the centre. Walk straight ahead along a path running across the park past the climbing frames.

On the far side there is a way marking post next to a short wooden footbridge which takes you across a ditch into a thick tangle of bushes.

Follow the path straight ahead through the bushes. It is here that you imperceptibly cross the county boundary between Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Soon you reach an open field. Upon doing so walk straight ahead, following the line of the right of way, across the field, walking slightly to the right.

On the far side of the field there is a wide metal gate which leads out onto a lane. Once through the gate and onto the lane turn left.

Soon you enter the outskirts of the village of East Farndon.

Upon reaching the main road through the village turn right and walk uphill. Here you are ascending towards the top of the plateau where the Battle of Naseby took place nearly four hundred years ago.

Approaching the centre of the village look out on your right for a road running uphill off to the left past a war memorial.

Having turned right onto this road, continue heading steadily uphill for some distance.

Just past a white rendered house which had scaffolding around it when I walked the route there is a road off to the right.

Turn right down this road and walk steadily downhill towards the edge of the village.

Continue downhill now heading away from the village out into the countryside.

Then walk along the long straight road, passing a few farms, a vineyard and some other scattered dwellings for quite some distance.

Presently you reach a junction just south of the village of Marston Trussell where some of the worst slaughter occurred during the Battle of Naseby. Here turn left and begin walking along the busier main road. Take care while doing so, but thankfully there are few sharp corners and the grass verges tend to be wide.

Continue straight along the road until you reach a junction. Here turn right.

Carry on along the road for quite some distance.

After a fairly sharp bend the road begins climbing quite steeply up towards the top of the plateau where Naseby sits once more.

Just round a bend you reach a junction next to a large house called The Coombes. Here, turn left.

The road keeps climbing, approaching the village of Sibbertoft which sits one hundred and seventy metres above sea level.

Upon reaching Sibbertoft follow the road straight through the village.

On the far side of the settlement the road curves sharply to the right.

Right on the southern edge of the village there is a little green which serves as a roundabout. Here carry on straight ahead and slightly to the left continuing to head south out of the village.

Continue along the road, and it curves around sharply.

Presently you reach a junction where you take the right hand fork.

Then you carry on along the long straight road across the plateau towards Naseby village.

Approaching the village at the crest of a low ridge to the right you see a monument raised in memory of the battle.

There is a short path running from the road towards it.

Having walked past the top of the ridge and the monument’s location you continue further along the lane and reach the bridge across the busy A14 which slices through the landscape. 

Past the A14 you carry on straight across a junction to approach Naseby village.

Follow the road into the village approaching the tall spired church. It is opposite this that the source of the River Avon lies.

On reaching the church turn left and follow the main road along the northern edge of the village.

Soon you reach a junction where you turn left to begin the return leg of the journey to Market Harborough.

Leaving Naseby you pass an obelisk to the right which is another monument to the battle during the civil wars.

A little further on you cross the A14 again.

On the far side you reach the summit of the walk, one hundred and ninety four metres above sea level and the location of a site called Fairfax’s Viewpoint. This supposedly is where the New Model Army’s commander Thomas Fairfax watched the progress of the battle in June 1645.

Past Fairfax’s Viewpoint the road runs downhill.

You continue along the road, this is one of the worst stretches in terms of traffic volume, speed and corner visibility.

Continuing for some distance you cross a crossroads approaching the village of Clipston.

Entering the village of Clipston you walk straight ahead.

Presently there is a junction near the centre of the village and you turn right continuing along the main road through the village.

Carrying on along the main road you pass the village’s little pub and continue straight ahead.

You follow the road out of the village and back out into the countryside.

On the edge of the village take a right hand turn, then left at a junction to continue north towards Market Harborough.

After some distance, walking up a slight incline, you pass a spot, marked with a Cross of St. George flag known as Rupert’s Viewpoint where supposedly Prince Rupert the Royalist commander watched the progress of the Battle of Naseby.

Continuing past Prince Rupert’s Viewpoint you near the northern edge of the uplands around Naseby.

Here you reach a junction where you turn left approaching East Farndon once more.

You walk back through the village.

Then along a road with a good pavement down from the plateaus towards Market Harborough.

Passing the new estate and the entry sign for the town you enter Leicestershire again.

Walking through the suburbs of Market Harborough you reach Welland Park once more.

Here turn right and walk along Welland Park Road approaching the town centre.

Continue until you reach a junction on the edge of the town centre.

Here, turn left and approach a set of traffic lights.

At the traffic lights, cross the road to the right and continue straight along the road in front of you.

Soon on your left you see the retail park with the Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Waitrose which you walked through at the beginning of the walk. Turn left here and cross the car park approaching the River Welland walkway.

Once on the Welland walkway, turn right retracing your steps towards the station.

Cross over the road and continue around along the walkway on the far side.

The walkway curves to the left now approaching the station.

Once opposite the station, cross the road and head up a flight of steps to the concourse.

This is where the walk ends.

Getting Back

Market Harborough is served by a regular train service on the Midlands Mainline north towards Leicester (which has good east west connections towards Peterborough and Birmingham via Nuneaton) as well as more northerly parts of the East Midlands like Loughborough, Nottingham, Derby and Chesterfield. As well as south towards Kettering, Wellingborough and ultimately London. Market Harborough is also a local bus hub with services running with varying frequencies from the town to destinations across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.