Unearthing Local Treasures

I spent a while this week trying to decide on somewhere to take Finn for a walk. I’m always going to the parks nearest me, so I thought it might be a nice idea to try something different. Northampton is a small town, but there’s still parts of it I haven’t visited.

In the back of my mind I had a vague recollection of visiting Hunsbury Hill Country Park as a child. I’ve never been since, discounting it as just a park in the middle of a housing estate. However, after some brief research it suddenly seemed quite interesting, and as it’s only 3.5 miles away I thought it would make a nice setting for a midweek outing.

Firstly, it’s home to an Iron Age hill fort, which is now  a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The site was also used for ironstone extraction from the 1880’s and part of the railway used to transport the rocks is still there. In fact, it is now maintained by the Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust  who run trains at certain times throughout the year.

Also, running through the park is part of the drover’s lane which was used by Welsh farmers bringing their sheep to Northampton Market. This path leads down to the canal if you fancy a longer stroll.

As if all that history wasn’t enough, there is also a lovely little cafe, play area and, a rare treat these days, parking was free. Not bad for ‘just a park in the middle of a housing estate!’ Thanks has to go to the Friends of West Hunsbury Parks who have obviously done a sterling job maintaining these facilities.

I can’t believe I didn’t know all this was here!

I challenge you all to head out this weekend and find somewhere local that you’ve never visited before. I’d love to hear about the treasures you unearth so tag me on instagram, twitter or facebook and tell me all about it!