Three Bridges near Thurcaston, Leicestershire

Reading Ian's excellent blog I was taken with the notion of microadventures (something he picked up from Alastair Humphrey's website). Of course, his idea of microadventures is somewhat more adventurous than mine ever would be, sleeping out in the countryside with only a sleeping bag for protection, doing the Leicestershire Round in four days, cycling 100kms. The kind of things that make me panicky just thinking about them. Anyway it did inspire me to make some small effort to get out and do some exercise (or what passes for exercise in my head).

Coincidentally, I was reading about King William's Bridge over Rothley Brook. This is an interesting little river which runs from near Cropston to join the River Soar just north of Rothley. Many bridges cross it during it's journey, including the aforementioned King William's bridge which was (probably) widened to let William III's coach get over it on his way from Leicester to visit the Grey family at Bradgate House in 1696. Looking at Charnwood Borough Council's listed buildings website I saw three other bridges nearby associated with the Brook. So I decided to walk around these and photograph them. A kind of micro-microadventure.

I parked in Cropston and headed out outwards the first bridge. I always like it when a public footpath sign leads between houses - you never know quite what you're going to see at the end of the path. In this case it was a field of something green that looked a bit like sprouting broccoli. The path crosses the field and joins another footpath leading from the Cropston Road. Britain's footpath network has to be one of the great wonders of the world.

After a quick ten minute stroll you reach Coffin Bridge. According to local lore this is so-called because if you had the misfortune to pass away in Cropston there was nowhere to bury you (and there still isn't - it being one of the few villages I know of without a church) and you had to be carried over to Thurcaston where they could accommodate you. It sounds like a plausible story. The oldest part of Cropston is at the far eastern end of the village and drawing a line directly from there to Thurcaston church would pretty much take you over the brook at this spot. It is a lovely bridge. In the distance you can see Thurcaston and it's only a few hundred metres up a gentle slope before you reach the village. The path divides the other side of the bridge with the left fork taking you to the church.

Through the churchyard and north up Anstey Lane takes you to another footpath sign heading away from the village back to Cropston. A little way along this path brings to the other two bridges on our little perambulation.

All these bridges are listed Grade II, they are all described as 16/17th century - although all have clear later additions or amendments. All were listed in March 1984 along with several other buildings in Thurcaston including "Latimer's House". Hugh Latimer, one of the Oxford Martyrs, was (almost certainly) born in Thurcaston, but debate rages (or at least simmers) about his exact birthplace. Anyway, what might or might not have been his house is a little further up Anstey Lane, and very nice it is too.

But back to our micro-microadventure. The first bridge no longer serves much purpose other than it enables the walker to get a good view of a small, stagnant pond. In fact, as you walk towards it you might not even notice there is a bridge there at all. As you get closer, however, it resolves itself into a small and perfectly formed one. Presumably a tributary of Rothley Brook once ran through here, as surely no-one would have gone to this effort to build such a sturdy bridge - especially not in the 16th century when all those stones would have had to have been lifted into place by hand. It's difficult to gauge it's size from my photo but the daffodils give you some idea. A lady was walking her dogs nearby but I didn't think she'd appreciate me trying to get her to stand still on the bridge for scale. She was having enough problems trying to keep her three hounds from jumping into the brook.

Moving swiftly on few more metres brings you to the final bridge. Known as Sandham Bridge, for reasons I am not clear about. This is the crowning glory of the three bridges. A genuine packhorse bridge with low parapets and niches on either side it stands pretty much has it has done for three hundred years. From the western side, looking back towards Thurcaston, the view is mostly as it has been for a hundred years, with the church in the distance surrounded by a few houses. Looking the other way you can see the "new" end of Cropston only a couple of hundred metres away.

Following the footpath up the hill, passing some ancient ridge and furrow fields on your left, brings you out onto the appropriately named Sandham Bridge Road and then onto Station Road (so called because it passes Rothley Station, now part of the Great Central Railway). Turning left here brings you back to old Cropston where (if you were me) you had left your car earlier.

So, not exactly a ramble, more a leisurely stroll through a tiny part of Leicestershire. But so much history in such a small patch of land, all seemingly unchanged for hundreds of years. But not really. On the right of the path towards Cropston someone had started a new hedge. Lots and lots of neatly contained saplings lined up along the edge of the field, replacing a much older hedge which had obviously reverted back to it's natural state. Combined with the whatever the crop was I saw when I started off, it reminded me that this is far from being a stagnant landscape (unlike the little pond) but one that is always changing and, as the patches of newer stone on the bridges testify, one in need of constant care and attention.