A sunny meander through Maltby with the Doncaster Ramblers

A beautiful, early autumn morning welcomed 33 Doncaster Ramblers to the unusual hilltop village of Laughton-en-le-Morthen, once the site of a Norman castle and now boasting a stunning church steeple that can be admired from many miles away.
The ruins of Roche AbbeyThe ruins of Roche Abbey
The ruins of Roche Abbey

Our genial walk leader, the intrepid adventurer Richard, explained the route and we set off under pure blue skies across open fields, through the village of Letwell to our coffee stop on the green under a spreading beech tree in the lovely village of Firbeck.

From here we headed past Stone and into the idyllic valley, home to the spectacular ruins of Roche Abbey, Dave Binnington writes.

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From there, we followed the wooded valley upstream, enjoying the ripe harvest of blackberries, before arriving at our lunch stop in Maltby and the excellent Wetherspoons pub, having already completed over eight miles.

Doncaster Ramblers enjoying the sunshine on their walkDoncaster Ramblers enjoying the sunshine on their walk
Doncaster Ramblers enjoying the sunshine on their walk

Our shorter afternoon stretch took us up through Hooton Levitt, Carr and Brookhouse where we spotted the aforementioned steeple of Laughton and our final destination.

Although the whole walk was about 13 miles in length, it didn’t feel like it as the scenery was constantly changing, we visited some of the prettiest villages in South Yorkshire and the weather was stunning throughout the day. Thanks, Richard, for a great day out and Lee, for seeing us all back safely. A day to treasure!

Places of interest on this route.

Laughton-en-le-Morthen – The tower and spire on All Saints Church rise to 185 feet, and can be seen for miles around. It is one of the finest examples of any village church spire in the country.

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Letwell - The village is famed locally for a number of listed buildings include St Peter’s church with it’s 15th century tower, an octagonal red-brick 18th century dovecote, and another late 18th century dovecote.

A number of Georgian buildings in Letwell are also listed, including farm cottages, the rectory, and the village hall.

Firbeck - An oval field in the village marks what was once the private racecourse of 18th century racehorse owner Anthony St Leger, who originated the St Leger Stakes.While the first ‘ St Leger’ race was held on Cantley Common in 1776, was not so named until over a year later, and moved to Doncaster Racecourse in 1778, local legend holds that the race was being run in Firbeck prior to this.

For more information about the Doncaster Ramblers and future activity please visit our home page and download full copy of our walk programme

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And follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/doncasterramblers/ where GPS Maps of many of our past walks can also be found

See next week’s Doncaster Free Press for another walk from the Doncaster Ramblers group.