Welland Valley - Seaton to Great Easton

Essential Intel

This is not a simple walk-round mission. The route includes driving between villages, with approximately 2 miles covered by foot and 10 miles by car, and it is not circular. You return to Seaton by vehicle after visiting the other villages.

The church at Gretton (Clue 9) locks its gates at 5pm, so make sure you get there before then. The cafe in Gretton is closed on Sundays.

Navigating The Route

This is a part-walking, part-driving Spy Mission through the Welland Valley from Seaton to Great Easton, with Top Secret Agents sent to Welland Valley to discover a four-digit code, change the locks on a device containing masonry bees and foil N. E. Bridges' plan to take the Harringworth Viaduct apart brick by brick.

The operation covers approximately 2 miles by foot, or 10 miles by car, and should take around 3 hours to complete. You'll begin in Seaton, at the car park of The George and Dragon Inn near the church on Main Street, then continue between Welland Valley villages including Gretton, Caldecott and Lyddington as the viaduct-saving intel unfolds.

This Trail is pushchair accessible, but not suitable for wheelchairs. The route includes some narrow lanes with no pavements, often busy road crossings and steps up into the churchyard.

Keep Mini Agents closely supervised, especially where the mission follows narrow lanes without pavements or crosses often busy roads.

Getting There

By car: Start the mission in Seaton, at the car park of The George and Dragon Inn, near the church on Main Street (LE15 9HU). Park in the car park in Seaton, near the church on Main Street.

Alternative parking points along the operation are: Along Seaton Road near the cross (NN17 3AF), where you should park near the cross; By The Green in Gretton (NN17 3DE), where you should park carefully on High Street as near to the Green and War Memorial as you can; The Green in Caldecott (LE16 8RW), where you should park by The Green; and The Old White Hart Inn in Lyddington (LE15 9LR), where you should park at The Old White Hart Inn on your left.

By public transport: Make your way to Seaton, at the car park of The George and Dragon Inn near the church on Main Street, to begin the mission. Bear in mind that this operation includes driving between villages and returns to Seaton by vehicle after visiting the other villages.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Agents can join this countryside operation 🐾

The route includes narrow lanes, some stretches with no pavements, often busy road crossings and steps up into the churchyard, so keep canine recruits close and under control throughout. There are many peaceful picnic spots in this stretch of countryside if your squad needs a breather.

Food & Drink Stops

Code-cracking across the Welland Valley calls for decent supplies.

There are cafes and inns in several of the villages. The George and Dragon Inn is at the start, and the White Swan and the Plough Inn are passed on the route. The cafe in Gretton is closed on Sundays.

If you'd rather bring your own rations, there are many peaceful spots for a picnic in this stretch of countryside.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Harringworth Viaduct

The big target of N. E. Bridges' brick-by-brick plot is well worth lingering over. Completed in 1878, Harringworth Viaduct has 82 arches with an average height of 57ft. It contains 20 million bricks, and if they were laid flat to form a path 5ft 3ins wide, they would stretch 200 miles from London to York. It is also a great location to watch famous engines like the Flying Scotsman go steaming across.

The Green and stocks and whipping post, Gretton

Gretton's Green comes with a wonderfully unusual set of stocks and whipping post, built to accommodate five people - three in the stocks and two manacled to the whipping post. They were last used in 1858 when a villager was put in them for failing to pay a fine for drunkenness.

The medieval Village Cross on The Green, Lyddington

Lyddington's medieval Village Cross dates from the 15th century and has had a surprisingly eventful life. In the 1830s it was removed by drunken navvies and then lay discarded in a builder's yard for many years. It was restored to its place on The Green in 1930 with artefacts of the time buried beneath it.