Summary: A nice, pleasant and relatively easy and relaxing walk is in store for the lucky few today!!! There are no big hills, muddy or boggy paths to contend with. Southwell lies in a lovely and picturesque area of Nottinghamshire.
The walk in a nutshell…… We leave the southern edge of Southwell and set off in a clockwise direction to skirt
the western side of town and head for Halam. Passing the small hamlet via its outskirts our focus now is in getting to Edingley – we should get there around midday.
The first dilemma of the day…… do we visit The Old Reindeer Inn – only 120 yds off our track or do we stick to our original track and head for the Southwell Trail and, eventually, a place called “All Mine Cakes (By the Lake)” at Maythorne??? What a dilemma!!! Choose what – we pass by the latter after a lengthy spell on the Trail.
Leaving the Trail is a deliberate ploy of mine because walking in a long straight line for too long becomes a bore. Instead, we go to Maythorne and pick up the River Greet (after passing the Cake place) and follow it’s meandering (it is a very curvy river) back to the outskirts of Southwell where we’ll pass by the end of the Southwell Trail. Coincidentally, there used to be a rail station and booking office on this spot in days gone by but now…… the said buildings have been turned into a very interesting pub called “The Final Whistle”. This place is well worth a visit as the courtyard has been made to look like a proper railway station c/w rail lines and platform. Inside the pub, there are lots of memorabilia from the days of it being a booking office etc. There’ll be no trains today, though there may be one or two huffers and puffers depending on the pace we are able to maintain!!!
There follows, an interesting walk through part of the town with views of 
the Minster back to our awaiting coach and friends at the car park behind the Leisure Centre.
All in all, this is a very nice walk on good paths throughout and with lovely scenery that we can enjoy throughout the day. There is nothing that is hard or strenuous and in a couple of open elevated spots we even get lovely views of the surrounding area…… what is not to like about that???
Background
The town of Southwell, which lies to the south of the River Greet some 14 miles from Nottingham, is often referred to as 'The jewel in Nottinghamshire's Crown'. It has an abundance of shops, tea rooms, and pubs as well as the famous Norman Minster and the popular Racecourse.
An article in the Sunday Times not too long ago listed the town as one of the places 'where we would all like to live'. So your opportunity on the day to see what you think.
The Walk
This is a pleasant walk of some 8.5 miles along tracks, footpaths and some minor roads in this interesting area of Nottinghamshire. Part of the route will be along the well-known Robin Hood Way, as well as the Southwell Trail, now a disused railway line, popular with walkers and cyclists
We leave the Leisure Centre car park and turn westwards along the quiet outskirts of the town, through the area of Westhorpe to meet the path running northwards up Cundy Hill in the general direction of the hamlet of Halam where we join the first section of the Robin Hood Way.
After a couple of miles we turn northwards, by-passing New Hall Farm, to begin our first short section of road walking into the village of Edingley. From here we follow Edingley Beck which will eventually rejoin the Robin Hood Way and the Southwell Trail. 
The section along the 'trail' is straight and flat so plenty of time to chat and not worry too much about where you are going, but do keep a look out for the turn on the left to Milethorne Farm where we were intending to have a drinks break at the tea room but unfortunately it is closing down so we may decide to continue southwards through Norwood Park.
We eventually reach the outskirts of town, meeting the earlier part of our walk which will take us back to our starting point at the Leisure Centre car park.
We hope you enjoy our walk..
'C' Walk - Leaders- Colin & Andy. Distance - 5.1 miles. Ascent - 292 ft. Grade -Easy. Anti-clockwise.
We will have a good time today - this walk is very flat with no stiles - around the lovely, little town of Southwell. We do quite a bit of road walking and, therefore, encounter little or no mud and have an excellent opportunity to get to see the area.
Southwell is a minster and market town in Nottinghamshire. It is home to a wonderful, quiet, all-weather racecourse which Colin and I visit quite often. Interestingly, the remains of an opulent Roman villa were excavated beneath the Minster in 1959. Part of a mural from the excavation is displayed inside so well worth a look. We will partake of some refreshments in the Minster Refectory.
THE WALK
After our refreshment stop we backtrack past the Minster and do some road walking and walk down a shady lane which leads to a leafy trail and a small lake. There is a lovely cafe there with seating outside called All cakes by the lake. This place would be great to have our lunch but was closed during the recce and when I rang later I was told that, unfortunately, it is due to close down before our walk. 
We may still be able to sit outside but, if not, only a short distance from here is Norwood park golf club where we can use a very ‘natural’ form of seating.
We then walk around a farmhouse and surrounding fields and a short walk down the road before we go down to a stream, over a short footbridge and follow the path which brings us back to the coach. There are lots of little shops, tea rooms and pubs to keep us happy around the town before we board for the journey home. Southwell Trail
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