Willoughby On The Wolds – Walks, Churches and History

Willoughby On The Wolds combines walking experiences with church art and historical traces from several centuries. This gives families and other travel groups who like to structure their days in different ways a variety of points of interest: a short circular walk, a much longer long-distance trail, remarkable religious buildings and history ranging from the Anglo-Saxon period to the English Civil War.

Walks on different scales

The circular walk through Willoughby on the Wolds is 1.8 miles, or 2.8 kilometres, long. This route can be included in your daily plans as a walk in its own right. If you prefer a longer hike, the Notts Wolds Way offers a different scale: the long-distance trail is 26 miles long and runs from Bunny to Cropwell Butler. The first stage runs from Bunny to Willoughby on the Wolds.

The waymarking is also a specific navigational feature. The Notts Wolds Way is marked throughout by a distinctive black arrow on a white background. If people in your travel group have different ideas about what constitutes a day of walking, you can distinguish between the 2.8-kilometre circular walk and the longer long-distance trail without having to treat the two experiences as equivalent. The stated distances help you weigh the excursions according to your own travel plans.

Church art and history in the village

The Chantry Chapel of St Mary & All Saints contains nationally significant alabaster tombs. The Church of St Mary and All Saints is a Grade I listed parish church with fabric dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. In Willoughby On The Wolds, therefore, remarkable funerary art meets a church building whose surviving fabric spans several historical periods.

For a possible church visit, you can plan to visit St Mary & All Saints seasonally on Saturdays and Sundays, approximately between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Another personal trace can be found in the church floor: a brass plaque marks the grave of Michael Stanhope, who was killed on Willoughby Field at the age of 24. Details like these give a visit a concrete connection to individual people and events, rather than viewing history merely as an abstract year.

Historical layers and a nature-related feature

At Broughton Lodge, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery contained approximately 90 inhumation burials. The finds are dated to the late 6th or early 7th century. The settlement at Broughton Lodge is also identified with the Roman Vernemetum mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. On 5 July 1648, the last major engagement of the English Civil War in Nottinghamshire took place in a field north-west of the church in Willoughby on the Wolds. Those interested in the historical depth of a destination will therefore encounter Roman tradition, Anglo-Saxon history and a specific event from the 17th century here.

Millennium Wood is part of the Woodland Trust's Woods On Your Doorstep programme. This nature-related aspect adds another perspective to the walking and cultural themes. You can therefore plan your stay according to your preferred focus: a walk, a longer stage, church art or historical topics.

Which accommodation suits your travel plans?

When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday cottage in Willoughby On The Wolds, it is worth deciding first on your preferred pace. For a shorter outing, the 1.8-mile circular walk is available; if you would like to include the Notts Wolds Way, plan for a 26-mile long-distance route and the stage from Bunny to Willoughby on the Wolds. If your focus is cultural and historical, the churches, the brass plaque and the various historical periods can take centre stage.

If you would like to compare other destinations, you can also find Sutton In Ashfield, East Retford, Calverton, Beeston, Underwood, Normanton on Trent, Newark-On-Trent and Southwell.

For the higher-level travel overview: Nottinghamshire.