Congerstone and Bilstone walk.

I said I would be back again, and here I am.

After lunch, Keith and I set off for a stroll into Congerstone. We walked up on to Bridge 47 and down the road into the village. Congerstone is a small, peaceful village in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. I would actually call it a sleepy little village, we passed a couple of houses and then saw the side of the pub.

I wonder if they have the sign that way up, so you can read it whilst your laying in the gutter after a heavy nights drinking?

The pub looks very grand for such a small village.

It seems like most small villages this one was once a farming community and whilst some of the farm buildings have been turned into dwellings, there are still a couple of farms carrying on the good fight.

The village is right on the doorstep of the National Forest and is bordered by the River Sence and the Ashby Canal. It has two listed buildings, the Church of St. Mary and the Old Rectory.

It is thought that the church was built in 1179 and is  now a Grade II listed building but it is also thought that non of the original exists today. The oldest parts of the building are the low tower and parts of the nave. There were some interesting and large gravestones.

After looking around the church, we set off along a footpath beside the church, which would take us to Bilstone a tiny hamlet, the footpath for some reason has been line with these protected trees.

This is the Mill sluice for the original Bilstone Mill. The mill house was rebuilt in 2006, with no sign of the original mill wheel, which is a shame. However the sluice is still operational if in need of some much needed maintenance.

This is supposed to be the mill pool above the sluice, which is definitely lacking in water. Which cannot be doing much for the Mill House which was fitted with a hydro electric power plant, when it was renovated. I reckon they must be struggling for power at the moment. Having finished our stroll around the hamlet of Bilstone we walked back to Congerstone via the footpath we had arrived by. It was an hour well spent and a chance for us to keep our fitness levels up. Back on the boat and the afternoon is now slowly descending into evening, so I will be cooking dinner and then settling down for the evening.

Chat soon xx