Walks 5 and 5a: Farnsfield and Bilsthorpe via Hexgreave and Belle Eau Park


From Farnsfield, through Hexgreave and along roads to Belle Eau industrial park.  Then along tracks and across fields to the top of a hill with fine views and down to Bilsthorpe.  Returning to Farnsfield along the old railway track.


Start:  The walk on the map starts from Farnsfield Co-op in the centre of the village.  Since then, however, the Co-op has imposed a one hour limit on parking in the car park and you may prefer to use the car park by the playground on Parfitt Drive a little way from the Ridgeway near the end of the walk.

If using public transport you can get the Sherwood Arrow bus from Nottingham or Worksop

Distance:  14 km

Map of Longer Route

Shorter Route

Distance: 12.5 km

Map of Route


From the Co-op entrance turn left along the Main Street crossing Tippings Lane.  Just after the Rustic Crust pizzeria cross the Main Street and turn up New Hill.  Go past the village centre and library.  At the top of the hill continue straight on over two crossroads, passing the tennis club.  600m from the Main Street the road descends and you leave the village.  Climb out of a dip where the old railway line crossed and then go down to automatic gates across the road.  Go through a smaller gate to the right to enter the Hexgreave Estate.

Keep going straight on along the road, which has very little traffic, for 600m to a junction.

Turn right and go up a small rise then after 200m reach another junction.  Turn left along a nice avenue of lime trees before the road climbs to reach the buildings which are the main part of the Hexgreave estate.  These are business units on either side of the road.  Stay on the road past them and start to descend among more trees.  At the bottom the road turns right but carry on across grass near a house to a small white gate.  Go through it to reach the verge of the A617.  Carefully cross and turn left.  After 80m turn right along a road with no verge, so take care.  Follow this road for 300m to a junction and then turn right.  Where a verge appears on the other side of the road near trees and a fence cross and walk along that to the entrance to Belle Eau Park, an area of businesses and a weighbridge.  Turn left into this and walk straight on all the way through until you reach a narrow concrete path that takes you uphill into fields.

 Follow this obvous track for 800m.  Just after some kennels turn left onto a field towards a wood.  Don't enter the wood but follow the field edge uphill alongside it.  At the top of the hill head across the field away from the wood going into a dip then up again to the next corner of woodland.  Keep on across more field then climb again to meet the wood again at the field edge.  Turn right for 100m then turn left through a gap in the hedge but before you do turn to look south.  The views extend as far as Belvoir Castle on the horizon.

 Walk by the wood for 150m to reach a track by the entrance to the wood.  Our route goes into the wood but first make a short detour further along the track to the next junction.  From there the views are excellent to the north to Edwinstowe and Rufford, and to the east where on a good day Lincoln Cathedral can be seen on the skyline.

 Return to the wood entrance and go past a barrier into the wood on a wide track.  Follow this for 300m until it bends right when you turn left along a grass track.  After 100m turn sharp right and keep following the track downhill for a kilometre straight until you reach the main road in Bilsthorpe.  Cross this and turn right to a roundabout where you take the first exit left into an area of houses along Forest Link.  Ignore all side roads off this and after 300m you reach a car park.  Go through that to join the Southwell Trail.




Walk along the track for 4km until you reach the edge of Farnsfield and a junction of tracks.

Take the path going left and follow this for 300m until it descends a bank to reach the road to Hexgreave we walked earlier.  Turn right uphill and follow the road back into Farnsfield retracing our route.  At the bottom of New Hill turn left to the Co-op where we started.









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